Whatever happens to all those kids who are burning with ambition to become the next Renee Fleming, the next Yo Yo Ma, or the next Oscar Peterson only to find that, for one reason or another, they are not quite going to make it?

Well, we know what happened to Richard Greenblatt and Ted Dykstra, once piano whiz kids who swept all before them on the Kiwanis circuit. They both fell short in their aims to become concert pianists, went into theatre instead, and ended up writing 2 Pianos, 4 Hands.

That was 15 years ago and 2P4H has gone on to be one of the most successful Canadian plays in history. It’s been seen by more than 2 million people, played 200 cities in 10 countries and, one sincerely hopes, brought a measure of financial security to the Dykstra and Greenblatt families.

Now Dykstra and Greenblatt are back, performing what’s said to be their last encore, at Toronto’s Panasonic Theatre. The show remains as fresh and deliciously entertaining as it was the first time I saw it in April of 1996, the performers as relaxed and engaging as ever.

It tells of the travails of young Rich and Teddy, grinding away at scales and Chopsticks before graduating to Bach, Chopin and Liszt. There are tears and triumphs along the way, heated arguments with parents and hours and hours of practice by themselves while all their friends are out playing baseball and hockey.

Lavishly illustrated with classical music, the show takes us through the disaster that was the first Kiwanis concert, the agony that is musical theory, the terror of the Grade 7 piano exam and finally the moment of truth — entrance exams to the Royal College of Music (Ted) and the Faculty of Jazz (Richard).

Both are told in no uncertain terms that they don’t have what it takes to become a great pianist. They both have talent but that’s not all it takes. You need dedication, focus and discipline (which is a tough thing to ask when you are only 17).

The show offers a disturbing glimpse of what life might have been like for the two “failed” pianists — giving piano lessons at a second-rate music school, trotting out “Piano Man” at a cocktail bar filled with inattentive listeners.

Fortunately, Greenblatt and Dykstra took a different route and ended up striking a chord with anyone who has sweated over music lessons under unsympathetic teachers. Music’s loss has been theatre’s gain.

And the delicious irony is that Dykstra and Greenblatt have flung things back in their examiners’ faces. Both are disciplined and focused performers and here they are, entertaining thousands with well-played classic music and earning a good living doing so.

Cool, as the young Ted would say.

Robert Crew
Special to the Star