The key to great comedy

Excellence in musicality combined with high comic acumen is a formula that dates back to, and beyond, Victor Borge. It was left to Ted Dykstra and Richard Greenblatt to refine the system to a cutting edge with their unique entertainment package, “2 Pianos 4 Hands.”

True, Dykstra and Greenblatt -- the original four hands of the title who started the process a decade ago -- are not on stage at the Laguna Playhouse, where this terrific two-hander has just unfolded. But their personas are, in the form of Richard Carsey playing Greenblatt and Tom Frey as Dkystra. And it’s Greenblatt’s deft directorial hand guiding the whole proceeding.

Those who have studied the piano, whether for a few weeks or as a career choice, will be particularly entertained by this show, but even such tin ears as your correspondent found it immensely satisfying.

The answer to the old gag “How do you get to Carnegie Hall?” is never more evident than in this production.

Practice, practice and more practice. This effectively sums up the show’s first act as the two young men tickle the ivories tentatively, to the consternation of their respective tutors -- with Carsey and Frey alternating as student and teacher.

In this portion of the program, the emphasis is most assuredly on comedy -- though we all know what’s coming when the finished product is molded.

Or do we? Before the pianists join forces to close the show with a brilliant duet of the first movement from Bach’s D-minor Concerto, there are the inevitable professional disappointments that await all but the direct descendants of Mozart, Beethoven and Grieg. Many seek a professional career in music at the highest level, but the perfect-pitch Vladimir Horowitzes out there are few and very far between.

Nevertheless, Frey and Carsey pound away with a vengeance, reluctantly at first, then with a singleness of purpose that boggles the mind. Along the way, each actor-pianist is afforded his opportunity to demonstrate his other gift -- for comedy, ranging from subtle to broad, and keeping the first-act pot boiling.

The only trouble with the show as structured is that the student-teacher phase of the process extends into the second act as well, when the boys should be grown up and taking their ivory-tickling more seriously. Once this segment is played out, though, we get some particularly entertaining moments as -- frustrated in their quest to become serious artists -- they venture into the world of pop music and jazz.

Modern audiences particularly will groove to Billy Joel’s “Piano Man,” whereas students of the piano will be tickled by Hoagy Carmichael’s “Heart and Soul.” There’s even a medley of pop tunes from the likes of Jerry Lee Lewis to quench the thirst of more upbeat playgoers.

Finally, in a closing segment guaranteed to bring audiences to their feet, Carsey and Frey plunge into the Bach concerto, one of those mesmerizing moments that the theater is all about, be it the live stage or the concert hall. That so much substance may be gleaned from two characters, rapidly alternating roles and viewpoints, is a treat for the viewer and a tribute to Dykstra’s and Greenblatt’s vivid imaginations and prescient insights.

This is a show calculated to appeal to the most tone-deaf audience member as well as to those with years of practice, practice, practice.

IF YOU GO:

*WHAT: “2 Pianos 4 Hands”

*WHERE: Laguna Playhouse, 606 Laguna Canyon Road, Laguna Beach

*WHEN: Tuesdays through Fridays at 8 p.m., Saturdays at 2 and 8, Sundays at 2 p.m. through Feb. 5

*COST: $20 - $59

*CALL: (949) 497-278720060113h3hei2kf(LA)