LOVE A PIANO celebrates the music and lyrics of
the legendary Irving Berlin with 64 of his best-loved
songs. It is a singing and dancing celebration of
America and its people.
WEST COAST PREMIERE.
REVIEWS
By
Julio Martinez - Variety
I
LOVE A PIANO:
THE MUSIC OF IRVING BERLIN
... Au
Contraire.. This Show's Born To Dance
This
ditty-crammed tunertuner is one of only two shows
authorized to use the massive Irving Berlin song catalog.
ScripterScripter team of Ray Roderick and Michael
Berkeley infuse this vocal love fest with 64 Berlin
songs, ranging from the forgettable to the sublime...
Click
here for the entire review
By
David C. Nichols - Special to The Times
THE
BOUNTY OF BERLIN
THE MUSICAL THEATRE WEST REVUE "I
LOVE A PIANO" TRAVERSES SEVEN DECADES AND MORE
THAN 60 IRVING BERLIN SONGS.
When
asked where Irving Berlin ranked in American music,
fellow giant Jerome Kern famously said, "Irving Berlin
has no place in American music. He is American music."
The enduring truth of Kern's assessment underpins
the showbiz panache of "I Love a Piano," presented
by Musical Theatre West. This delightful West Coast
premiere of Ray Roderick and Michael Berkeley's salute
to America's greatest tunesmith is as invigorating
a song-catalog revue as any since "Ain't Misbehavin'."
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here for the entire review
By
Les Spindle- for Backstage West
I
LOVE A PIANO
Last
summer, producer-creator Tripp Hornick presented the
West Coast premiere of The Melody Lingers On: The
Songs of Irving Berlin at North Hollywood's El Portal
Theatre. The far superior I Love a Piano, by Ray Roderick
and Michael Berkeley, now in its West Coast premiere,
is another Berlin greatest-hits cavalcade. Less pretentious
than the semibiographical Melody, Piano gets right
down to business...
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for the entire review
By
Eric Marchese Special to the Register
I
LOVE A PIANO
West Coast premiere of the revue
is a fitting tribute to the great composer's longevity.
...Jackson
has a substantial presence and voice, so it's no surprise
she's called upon to deliver a Kate Smith-style rendition
of "God Bless America." Breithaupt has a pleasingly
broad tenor and an equally elastic stage persona.
Earley is called upon time and again for his expressive
lead tenor vocals, repeatedly answering the call.
Click here for
the entire review
By
Shirle Gottlieb for the Press Telegram
Rousing,
toe-tapping `Piano' celebrates music of Irving Berlin
...During
the course of two hours, six highly trained actors
present 64 of Berlin's delightful songs, augmented
by Roderick's charming but demanding dance routines,
which wowed everyone in the audience. The three guys
(Stephen Breithaupt, Kevin Earley and Dan Pacheco)
and three gals (Julie Dixon Jackson, Kathi Gillmore
and Jill Townsend) demonstrate astonishing performance
skills, both physically and vocally.
Click here
for the entire review
