Review: '2 Pianos, 4 Hands' at the Colony Theatre

Two of the hardest working actors on the local stage right now are at the Colony Theatre in Burbank, performing “2 Pianos, 4 Hands,” a comic play that requires them to multi-task their way through two hours of classical-music-themed farce. If it’s often pleasurable to watch their on-stage hijinks and pratfalls, it’s also frustrating to see their efforts wasted on such frivolous material.

“2 Pianos, 4 Hands” is a scattershot evening of tiny skits in which actors Roy Abramsohn and Jeffrey Rockwell portray a gallery of personalities  —  an imperious piano teacher, a meek pupil and an eager conservatory student are among the most memorable. Throughout the evening, they perform snippets of classical masterpieces by Bach, Beethoven, Chopin and more on a pair of grand pianos.

The show, written by Ted Dykstra and Richard Greenblatt, gets a lot of things right about the classical music world. The relationship between teacher and pupil is frequently brutal and often sadistic. (Terrence McNally’s “Master Class” is perhaps the gold standard in this respect  —  with a close runner-up being Elfriede Jelinek’s novel “The Piano Teacher.”) For aspiring musicians, the competition to make it to the big leagues is more cutthroat than any MBA program.

But instead of exploring these scenarios in depth, the play uses them to land a chuckle before moving on to the next farcical setup. Comedy doesn’t have to be profound to be successful, but the funniest jokes often touch on dark truths. “2 Pianos, 4 Hands” tentatively approaches some of these themes only to back down again and again —  it’s a show whose foot is placed permanently on the soft pedal.

First produced in 1996 in Toronto, “2 Pianos, 4 Hands” has become a popular standby for regional theaters around the world and it’s easy to see why. A crowd-pleaser that makes few demands on the audience, the play is the kind of harmless spectacle that you might find on a cruise ship or, more appropriately, a piano bar. (And with only two actors, it’s affordable to produce.)

The play’s sense of humor wears thin in the second hour as the skits repeat themselves and the silliness takes on a forced quality. Director Tom Frey keeps his actors in perpetual motion as if to stave off boredom but he can’t solve the fundamental problem that structurally, the show has no anchor. Cast adrift, the industrious performers resort to flailing about like attention-hungry toddlers.

Musically, the show seldom rises above satisfactory and sometimes sinks well below that. Granted, the repertoire is particularly challenging, and if the actors (both of whom have studied classical piano) can’t always swim with the current, they deserve points for their considerable efforts.

“2 Pianos, 4 Hands” will most likely end up disappointing both hard-core theater and classical music fans. Resolutely middlebrow, this show’s eager-to-please attitude is self-defeating and ultimately boring.

-- David Ng

"2 Pianos, 4 Hands." The Colony Theatre, 555 N. 3rd St., Burbank; 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays; 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. Sundays, ends July 26; $37 - $42. (818) 558-7000 Ext. 15 or www.colonytheatre.org. Running time: 2 hours.

Photo: Jeffrey Rockwell and Roy Abramsohn. Credit: Michael Lamont

Comments

[stonecipher]

"Resolutely middlebrow"? That's the Colony Theatre....

[brenda litt]

I totally disagree with the reviewer. I attended the Opening Night Performance of 2 Pianos, 4 Hands on Saturday, June 20th. I thoroughly enjoyed the performance. It received a standing ovation. The audience appreciated the performance. I'm not sure what the reviewer was looking for, but he's off the mark, as far as this audience member is concerned.

[Patricia McCarthy]

I could not disagree more with this reviewer. The play is hilarious, the two performers amazing; two fine actors and musicians. I loved every minute of it and this critic does a disservice to theatre-goers. Anyone who has taken even a few piano lessons, or tried to teach anyone anything, will love it.

[Don Shirley]

This review is incomplete to the point of inaccuracy. Such comments as "A scattershot evening of tiny skits" and "structurally, the show has no anchor" sound like a description of a sketch comedy revue about unrelated characters -- a Groundlings show, for example. In fact, this play's "anchor" is the story of two boy pianists who grow into disillusioned men pianists. Because the characters are not talented enough to make the pianistic big leagues, it's fitting that their musical performances aren't completely flawless. Far from having an "eager-to-please attitude," the show dares to suggest that not every talented kid will become a professional artist and that theater audiences can survive relatively unhappy endings.

[John Paton]

Aside from pianistic hijinks at the beginning, Act I was a chamber of horrors: incompetent teachers, manipulative father, performance dread, mechanical Mozart. In spite of all, two boys learn to play the piano moderately well. In Act II, both are rejected from conservatories, and neither one ever finds his way to a truly competent and supportive teacher. Neither one tells us what other occupation he decided to follow, whether he ever fell in love, nor how he managed to go on loving music. The desired audience for this show must consist of those millions who love music but hated lessons. How much better the play could have been if we had witnessed some moments of exciting teaching, which, believe me, happens in thousands of music studios every day. Act II could have been how the two guys team up to discover the joy of playing piano duos and become mature men, free of regrets, whether in or out of the profession of music. The concluding Bach concerto, played in a piano duo arrangement, suggests that this happy outcome actually happened in real life, but the text of the play does not say so.