2 Pianos 4 Hands Review

Ted Dykstra and Richard Greenblatt in 2P4H

Like all artistic endeavors, launching a successful theatrical production is akin to shooting Craps- one hopes for a lucky seven, but ultimately has no control of the outcome. Apropos of the successful theatrical production, there is no real way to predict how an audience will react until after the fact. However, 2 Pianos 4 Hands (2P4H) has been on a veritable winning streak for a decade and a half.

2 Pianos 4 Hands, created, performed, and directed by Ted Dykstra and Richard Greenblatt, first graced the stage at Toronto’s Tarragon Theatre back in April of 1996. The story follows the trials and tribulations of two friends (Ted and Richard), as they strive to be successful concert pianists. With a set that consists of two grand pianos vis-à-vis, the two actors take turns playing their younger selves, and the adults in their lives. It meanders (albeit with deft humor) through the seemingly inexorable hours of practicing scales, learning piano theory, contending with piano teachers and parents. More pointedly, 2P4H is a poignant examination of what happens when Life does not permit a dream to come to full fruition. Despite this decidedly darker undertone, the play is funny, uproariously funny.

2P4H is the brainchild birthed from the minds of Dykstra and Greenblatt, who both in their own right were well respected in theatre circles prior to their collaboration on this play. Together, they have done over 700 performances of the play, to more than 2 million people, in nearly 200 cities on this magnificent sphere of ours. In fact, 2 Pianos 4 Hands is arguably the most successful play in Canadian theatre history. It is humorous (as previously mentioned), it is clever, it is innovative, not to mention one is given the gift of Beethoven, Mozart, Liszt, Chopin et al, and the first movement to Bach’s Concerto in D minor at the very end.

2 Pianos 4 Hands runs at the Panasonic Theatre, 651 Yonge St. until November 20, 2011. As a personal point of interest, it will be the final run before Dykstra and Greenblatt retire this thoroughly enjoyable slice of theatre forever. Ergo, get thee to the Panasonic posthaste. Visit www.mirvish.com/shows/twopianosfourhands for more information.

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