2 Pianos, 4 Hands
Although a fan of classical music, I seldom have an opportunity to take in a concert. Imagine my glee, then, to find the Colony Theatre stage occupied by two magnificent grand pianos set against a sumptuous velvet backdrop and an artfully placed collection of frames (“Pictures at an Exposition” anyone?). Two quite proper pianists take the stage dressed in tails. But then, I’m confronted with….chopsticks? Clearly, this is not standard concert-fare.
What I do find is a pair of extremely adept and accomplished actors (Roy Abramsohn and Jeffrey Rockwell) impersonating the originators of this highly entertaining vaudeville turn that incorporates the music of the likes of Bach, Mozart, Grieg and Beethoven. All the big boys are represented as well as whoever invented chopsticks, with a perfect jazz rendition of “My Funny Valentine” thrown in.
The slender plot line that holds this plentiful cornucopia together recounts the journeys of the original Ted Dykstra and Richard Greenblatt through their youth and adolescence as they labored to become professional concert pianists. Their various piano teachers are an amusing collection of eccentrics in their own right (“I’ll just have a cup of tea and a lie-down, dear”). As the stakes grow higher, the two friends are warned, respectively, that they are headed for a) a career as a piano teacher; and b) a career as a lounge pianist. So it is amusing when the plateaus they each attain assigns them to such fates. But at 47 (for Dykstra), a midlife crisis brings them to invent this funny and richly rewarding evening with the classics.
Skillfully directed by Tom Frey, himself a former participant, performers Abramsohn and Rockwell show their acting chops best as they return to the early days of competitions and recitals. Think of the poor adults at one contest who had to sit through 47 pairs of youngsters playing the same piece! Unfortunately, the material falters as the boys venture beyond initial failures and segueways to the aha! moment that precipitated this play. We are told that the piece has played some five thousand performances throughout the world. Not a bad return for a drunken evening spent reminiscing about the vicissitudes of practicing piano.
The static quality of the production at the Colony is assuaged by the subtle shadings of light created by Jeremy Pivnick. Sound design – so very important for the blending of two pianos – has been overseen by another duo: drew Dalzell and Sean Kozma. Simple set is provided by Alex Calle.
2 Pianos 4 Hands continues at the Colony Theatre, 555 North Third St., Burbank, on Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00 pm, and Sundays at 2:00 and 7:00 pm through July 26th, 2009. Additional performances on Thursdays, July 16th and 23rd at 8:00 pm. Tickets, $37.00 to $42.00. Phone (818) 558-7000 ext. 15 or online at www.colonytheatre.org.