Two ‘Piano Men’ at Stackner Cabaret

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“This is not a concert. This is a party!” exclaims performer Steve Watts at the start of Piano Men 2. “The only rule is to have fun.”  

And clearly that “rule” was followed to the max by the two piano guys—as well as the audience—at the Rep’s Stackner Cabaret opening night. This rollicking high-energy, comedic and very spontaneous production features not only just two performers—Watts and Kenney Green-Tilford—but the audience as well.

With two pianos facing each other, these two extraordinary talented musicians turn the show back onto the audience, playing song requests they submitted beforehand. Michael Jackson? Got it. Broadway show tunes? No problem. Heavy metal? Oh yeah. (In case you’re wondering, “Enter Sandman” by Metallica). 

And the fun lies in these two highly gifted performers calling out the names of the audience members along with their requests, much to the delight and shoutouts. Green-Tilford, a self-admitted Disney fan, took an extremely funny take on “Poor Unfortunate Souls” from “The Little Mermaid. It was just of many highlights as he repeated the dialogue (in the low husky voice of character Ursula, the sea witch) in rapid-fire fashion while running the ivories in spectacular style.

And his droll take on the back and forth between Elphaba (soon to be the Wicked Witch of the West) and Glinda (the good witch) from the Broadway musical Wicked was another genius move leading up the hit, “Defying Gravity.”  And the audience knew every single word.

Ditto for Watts’ cover of Elton John’s “Bennie and the Jets” as he turned the well-known high falsettos into a parody as the audience happily falsetto-ed along.  

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But in all the humorous storytelling that goes along with the piano men, Watts told the personal take of his family seeing Henry Mancini perform live years ago, a life changing event as  he then (at the suggestion of his mother) started taking piano lessons. The request was “Moon River,” and the heartfelt interpretation was evident to all.

As the night wore on, rock classics took center stage, most memorably, the very challenging “Bohemian Rhapsody” by Queen which really had the audience rocking out. And doing a very fine job themselves with all the time changes and faux operatic vocals. Well done everyone!

But to hear the very familiar—and comforting—refrains of the Beatles’ “Hey Jude” showed that the two piano men can basically do anything from any decade. All you have to do is request it. They play it. And they definitely follow the “rule” to have fun performing it—audience definitely included. 

Piano Men 2 runs through May 19 at the Stackner Cabaret, 108 E. Wells St. Running time: 90 minutes with no intermission.  Recommended for ages 12 and up. Please Note: Kenney Green-Tilford performs through April 28. Marcell Guyton performs April 30 through May 19. For more information call the Rep Ticket Office at: 414-224-9490 or visit milwaukeerep.com.