Photo credit: Michael Brosilow
‘2 Pianos 4 Hands’ starring Joe Kinosian and Ben Moss
Teddy and Richard are two boys with typical pre-adolescent interests: play hockey, jump on the cellphone, fight with their parents. But they both also aspire to be famous classical pianists. And their natural competitiveness with each other and the teachers and competitions they face are the crux of 2 Pianos 4 Hands, which opened the Stackner Cabaret’s new season last weekend.
Played—literally and figuratively—to delightfully comedic effect by Joe Kinosian and Ben Moss, these two actors play multiple roles as each other’s teachers and parents, moving at a high-energy pace under the fine-tuned direction of Laura Braza. Written by Teddy Dykstra and Richard Greenblatt, 2 Pianos 4 Hands showcases the virtuoso talents of these two fine actors skating away on those black and white keys. They play Beethoven, Billy Joel, name that tune. But we get a glimpse into the highly competitive world of training, practice, more training, more practice and, by the time they’re 17, the growing realization that they’re good, but not that good.
The production focuses less on character development and more on quick study caricatures, which actually fuel the humor like Kinosian’s very funny Italian “Godfather” sounding teacher, Mr. Scarlatti, or Moss’ take on heavily accented piano judges who unintentionally mispronounce words, making the bit even funnier and all too realistic.
So, the show rests completely in the hands (bad pun intended) of Kinosian and Moss, and they have a chemistry that works incredibly well together. Kinosian, a Wauwatosa native and graduate of the Milwaukee High School of the Arts, charmed audiences with his own Murder for Two a few seasons back, he is a natural born comedian. He is the show’s center, eliciting laughs with a glance to his many well-done impressions. Moss is just as talented but with a restraint that plays well off the other.
Stay on top of the news of the day
Subscribe to our free, daily e-newsletter to get Milwaukee's latest local news, restaurants, music, arts and entertainment and events delivered right to your inbox every weekday, plus a bonus Week in Review email on Saturdays.
For those who ever took piano lessons by choice or by parent (this writer included), 2 Pianos 4 Hands echoes this thought long after the final notes have been played: chasing dreams can be just as important as reaching them.
Through Nov. 3 at Stackner Cabaret, 108 E. Wells St. For tickets, call 414-224-9490 or visit milwaukeerep.com.
