Three Pianos January 8, 2011

This OBIE-winning hit music-theatre event, which wowed audiences and critics alike in a sold-out run at the Ontological-Hysteric Theater, is a theatrical explosion of Franz Schubert's 'Winterreise' song cycle. Filled with fantastical touches and inventive arrangements, 'Three Pianos' is a colorful and imaginative evening of chaos that explores Schubert's music, life and times. The play is set on a blustery winter night where three friends, each manning a piano, lead the audience through Schubert's famous work. Performing the song cycle while drinking and grappling with fundamental questions about the nature of music, the three pianists slip into a wild re-enactment of a "Schubertiad," a party based on those of Schubert and his friends, thus connecting them through the centuries. An evening of hilarity and heartbreak ensues in which the audience is invited to the party.