Pianists will tickle ivories, audience

How do you get to the Laguna Playhouse? The same way you get to Carnegie Hall -- practice, practice, practice.

And all that practice will be on display beginning Saturday, when “2 Pianos, 4 Hands” officially arrives after the customary four evenings of previews.

The play will be a virtual concert for classical music fans, with selections by Bach, Beethoven, Mozart, Grieg, Chopin, Liszt and a few more modern composers such as Richard Rodgers, Lorenz Hart and Billy Joel.

“2 Pianos, 4 Hands” was created by actor-pianists Richard Greenblatt and Ted Dykstra -- who played themselves in the original production. Their characters will be assumed at the playhouse by Tom Frey and Richard Carsey, with Greenblatt shifting into the director’s chair.

Behind all the tickling of the ivories is the story of two young men sharing a common goal -- stardom as concert pianists. The show follows their bumpy careers and their eventual acceptance that, while they’re very good, they just may not be good enough to headline at Carnegie Hall.

The opening scenes are geared to jog the memories of anyone who has taken piano lessons -- that painful process of repetition under the unforgiving (and unseen) gaze of an instructor. The later moments chronicle the two fellows’ success -- or lack of it -- on the concert circuit.

The two grand pianos will be on stage as the lights go up. The four hands belong to Frey and Carsey, both of whom have extensive training at the keyboard and lengthy experience as professional actors.

Carsey currently is the principal conductor of Milwaukee’s Skylight Opera Theater, where he served as artistic director for eight seasons. Frey, who has performed both roles over the last few years, studied piano at Western Michigan University and graduated from the professional actor training program at the North Carolina School of the Arts.

“2 Pianos, 4 Hands” bows in Saturday at 7:30 p.m. in a special invitation-only opening night. Subsequently, the show will be presented Tuesdays through Fridays at 8 p.m., Saturdays at 2 and 8 and Sundays at 2 until Feb. 5.

For tickets, call the box office at (949) 497-2787, ext. 1.20060106h3hei2kfNo Caption20060106isla9lncStratton McCrady(LA)Tom Frey and Richard Carsey star in the Orange County premiere production of “2 Pianos 4 Hands,” created by Ted Dykstra and Richard Greenblatt and opening Jan. 7 at the Laguna Playhouse.