2022: The journey of the 4 Hands continues...
…first stop: THE PETERBOROUGH PLAYERS, New Hampshire…
“2 PIANOS 4 HANDS made a triumphant return to the Peterborough Players, with beautiful musicianship and a funny, touching story whose themes reach far beyond the original subject matter…It’s relatable - and with a lot of that relatability come the laughs, which [Jefferson] McDonald and McGloin were drawing out all night…The nature of the play means the success of the performance relies solely in the hands of the actors…McGloin was featured as the Emcee in the Players’ season opener ‘Cabaret’, where he was a standout, so I went into the performance expecting to see that same musicality and physical performance and was not disappointed. I was thrilled to see that energy and charisma matched by McDonald…Both because they are constantly character-switching with only minimal costume cues, and because they have to embody a range of ages, the physicality of these parts is key, and McGloin and McDonald are able to capture the changing body language as their characters grow and change in a way that’s hard to put to words, but utterly works for the parts they’re playing…The two have done the show together previously at the Cincinnati Playhouse, and that chemistry shows. The musical duets, performed live on stage, need perfect coordination and silent communication, and in a less well-matched pair, wouldn’t have created the magic on the stage at the Players…”
Monadnock Ledger-Transcript
“…McDonald, as Teddy, and McGloin, as Richard, prove themselves true masters of their crafts as both pianists and actors. To say their transitions between various supporting roles in each other’s lives and backstories were seamless would be an understatement…When portraying their characters’ childhood years, both managed to garner the genuine sympathy from the audience that a child would. McGloin shined throughout his performance with precision and expressiveness, while McDonald captivated the audience with his comedic timing and remarkable range…Both men backed up their performances with impressive piano playing, interweaving the music with their performances masterfully, keeping the audience firmly in the palm of their hands from the second fingers hit ivory…”
Monadnock Beat
“…This music-filled tour de force is often hilarious, at moments heartrending, and one hundred percent entertaining…The production requires and delivers virtuoso performances, both theatrical and musical, of its two stars who play not only the pianists Richard and Ted from childhood to adulthood but also the opposing character’s parents, teachers, and other key figures as the two come of age. Matthew McGloin, who gave a riveting performance at the Players earlier this summer as the Emcee in Cabaret, returns to play Richard, the more restrained and uptight of the pair. His lifelong friend and rival, Ted, played by Jefferson McDonald, is the more vocal and animated of the two…Their lives run in parallel, intersecting from time to time. The childhood scenes are funny and light, full of bad (but ever improving) piano playing, quirky teachers, and scolding parents. As the scenes go on and the young men’s talents develop through practice and (sometimes wavering) commitment, the play moves into deeper emotional territory. We glimpse the impact of the isolation caused by endless hours spent practicing. Our heroes are lonely and supremely vulnerable to the devastation that can come in the form of a few career-smashing words spoken by a single authority figure. Both actors, as the pianists, drop into these more adult situations with quiet, palpable emotion. And both show impressive range in their other roles— McGloin powerfully inhabits a conservatory gatekeeper role, and McDonald combines humor with piercing candor in the role of a jazz instructor…I found myself so fully absorbed with watching and hearing the performance that, at times, I had to stop and remind myself of the incredible talent I was witnessing. Ted and Richard were not just showing us their lives; they were playing the soundtrack to those lives with their own hands and doing so masterfully…It’s no surprise that music and the world of music permeate every facet of this show. As much as this is the story of two men’s artistic journeys, it is also a love letter to music, primarily to the ageless beauty of classical music, but also to the significance of all forms of music in our lives…The pianos in the title come before the hands. And on stage the two shiny grand pianos are larger than the lives weaving around them. Fitting, as the timeless classical music played on them truly transcends individual lives. Richard at one point, despairing, asks of classical music, “How is it relevant?” By the end of the show, my only question was “How is it not?..”
The Keene Sentinel
Photo by Eric Rothhaus
Additional Press for peterborough…
Promo ad
broadway world announcement
…next stop: the MAYFIELD THEATRE, EDMONTON, ALBERTA…
“…whether they are acting as their own young selves struggling with parents, school grades and practice time or, in turn, becoming their parents or piano teachers, musician/actors Jefferson McDonald (Ted), and Matthew McGloin (Richard) do the show proud….McDonald is engaging, funny and a dynamite pianist. The man loves the piano--it shows…McGloin's Richard is a strong counter-point, as skilled a piano technician as his co-star, and especially vulnerable when facing the admissions officer of a jazz school or playing for drunks in the local nightclub. His rendition of Billy Joel's Piano Man is lovely…The pair play off each other well, and you can tell they've done this before. Both U.S. actors have taken on the demanding role more than once in their careers, and they're doing it again for Edmonton audiences--with gusto…It's a big love letter to those important people in our lives--teachers who have nurtured a love of music, challenged young players to stay the course when they want to quit, and inspired creative souls to realize there are all kinds of ways to express talent and skill…”
Alberta Prime Times
…and finally: north coast rep, san diego…
“…[director Tom Frey] said casting the show is a difficult process and it requires actors with diverse skills and great stamina. The show is so physically demanding that he likes to give his actors a month of recovery time between productions. ’It takes a crazy background to play these roles,’ he said. ‘They have to be able to play piano at a really high level, and they have to be gifted character actors.’ Starring in the North Coast Rep production are Jefferson McDonald and Matthew McGloin, who have worked together in three previous productions of the play. Frey cast McDonald and McGloin for a 2019 Cincinnati production that was to be followed by four or five other stagings across North America, but the pandemic scuttled most of those plans. In August, they reteamed for a production at Frey’s own theater in Peterborough, N.H., and they finished a second run in Edmonton, Canada, in October. Talks are now under way for several more runs because Frey said he thinks McDonald and McGloin are one of the best onstage teams he’s ever assembled. ‘They both have a really personal connection to the story. They’re both incredibly gifted as comedic actors. They’re great piano players, and they both work incredibly hard. Harder than a lot of the teams I’ve seen. And they’ve got incredible chemistry,’ Frey said…”
Rancho Santa Fe Review interviewing our director Tom Frey
“…Starring Jefferson McDonald as Mr. Dykstra and Matthew McGloin as Mr. Greenblatt, 2P4H is a back-and-forth telling of the lives of the two men who, from a very young age, were classical music proteges. Snoresville, right? Not in the least! There is so much slapstick, caricature, and laugh-out-loud humor from their experience in youth competition that this show would be a riot even if the two didn’t actually play piano (and incredibly well at that). The first ten minutes are wordless (can’t say silent, since the two pianos certainly get used) and are a brilliant demonstration of how small gestures, a glare, a look askance, and a sigh can be worth more than a soliloquy. Memories of Victor Borge and Red Skelton come to mind watching the two of them vamping for us. But just as we start to wonder if the whole show will be like that, they break into a series of verbal vignettes bouncing us through awkward youth competitions, bizarre piano teachers, coming-of-age rebellion (against both parents and classical music), auditions for top schools, and uncomfortable piano jobs (playing at seedy bars and teaching beginners). Every step of the way, we’re loving them each more, beyond enjoying their fantastic fingerwork…”
Stage and Cinema
“…Stepping into their roles adroitly… are actor/musicians Jefferson McDonald (Ted) and Matthew McGloin (Richard) who have flawless command of their numerous character roles as well as incredible chemistry with one another. Their hilarious duo scenes are interspersed with classical, jazz, and rock tunes performed live on the two onstage pianos, self deprecating commentary (“How are you supposed to make your fingers DO that?”), and parallel scene structure that earns laughs while also showing the competitive nature of the industry. Directorial choices are sound and blocking works well for the North Coast Repertory space and, beyond that, there is a comfortability here; it is evident that the creative team of director and actors are well matched…”
San Diego Story
“…Richard and Ted…are ably and charmingly embodied by Mr. McGloin and Mr. McDonald. They are not only fine pianists (not at the level of Gould or Horowitz, as the script has them admit, though marvelous all the same). They are also excellent comic actors. I'd say that they come more from the tradition of Victor Borge than of Liberace, but it's tough to find actors who can sustain a two-hour, one-intermission performance and play the range of music required…”
Talkin Broadway