Each manning a piano, the trio slips into a wild reenactment of a Schubertiad—a musical salon thrown by the composer and his friends. Unfortunate butchery of the German language ensues as they grapple with fundamental questions about the nature of music, love, and drunk dialing. Join in the eccentric merrymaking of this OBIE-winning music-theater event that wowed audiences and critics alike in its sold-out runs in New York.
| A.R.T. Guide to Winter 2011-2012! | The Three Pianos Educational Toolkit! |
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Need to know
Price of admission includes a glass of red wine or non-alcoholic cider.
Wednesday, December 21 at 2:00 PM was a dry performance.
In addition to our regularly scheduled post-performance discussions, Christopher Gibbs, Professor of Music at Bard College, editor of The Cambridge Companion to Schubert and author of The Life of Schubert, held a post-performance discussion on December 15.
Notable dates
Price of admission includes a glass of red wine or non-alcoholic cider.
Wednesday, December 21 at 2:00 PM was a dry performance.
In addition to our regularly scheduled post-performance discussions, Christopher Gibbs, Professor of Music at Bard College, editor of The Cambridge Companion to Schubert and author of The Life of Schubert, held a post-performance discussion on December 15.
Photos & Videos
Press
Three Pianos and a little Schubert at the A.R.T.
Boston Lowbrow review of Three Pianos
In a season that’s notably short on Christmas shows compared to recent years, it’s actually pretty incredible how the three polymath players behind Three Pianos have turned Schubert’s melancholy and heartbroken song cycle Winterreise into a warm and jocular testament to music, music making, and friendship.
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Three Pianos Parties with Schubert’s ‘Winterreise’
WBUR “Here and Now” Interview for Three Pianos
At a Valentine’s Day party several years ago, three friends — Rick Burkhardt, Alec Duff, and Dave Malloy — discovered a shared love for Austrian composer Franz Schubert’s song cycle “Winterreise.”
As they played the music, drank and debated, an idea was born: to create a theater piece that incorporates Schubert’s music.
The result is “Three Pianos,” and it takes place both in Schubert’s time and today, at an all-night party where pianos are not only played but used as props– they’re sat on, spun in circles, used as a bar and a bed. Even the audience gets to drink wine and take part.
The Village Voice describes the show as “like being cozily tucked away with a clutch of nerdy music-loving friends.”
“Three Pianos” won an Obie in New York and is currently playing at the American Repertory Theater in Cambridge Massachusetts. Here & Now‘s Robin Young met with all three performers there. They told her that the show is a recreation of something called a “Schubertiad,” a type of party that Schubert held with poets and composers where they would make art.
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The Delights of Three Pianos at the A.R.T.: Three Guys Who Love Schubert
Boston Phoenix: The Delights of Three Pianos at the A.R.T.
Three guys. Not singers, but they sing. Not pianists, but they play the piano. Three pianos. Actors whose love of music doesn’t seem like acting. They’re in Three Pianos, a theater piece — hard to call it a play — that’s just begun a run at the A.R.T. (through January 8). In New York, it won an Obie. Here, it won my heart.
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Whimsical notes from ‘Three Pianos’.. Lost in the Winter of Schubert’s should
Boston Globe review: Whimsical notes from ‘Three Pianos’
In the beguiling production that is now at American Repertory Theater under the direction of Rachel Chavkin, a spirit of whimsy prevails for much of the evening, with plenty of wisecracks and slapstick elements.
But when the mood turns stormy or elegiac, and when “Three Pianos’’ touches deep chords of longing or solitude, it is with the understanding that nothing can pull you through a dark night of the soul like music.
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Playbill.com
Three Pianos, Wild Swans and Futurity Will Join Porgy and Bess in A.R.T. Season
“The American Repertory Theater has announced its full 2011-2012 season, which will launch with the previously announced production of Porgy and Bess, starring Audra McDonald and Norm Lewis. Also planned are world premieres of Futurity: A Musical by The Lisps and a play based on Jung Chang’s Wild Swans.” – Playbill.com
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TheaterMania
Sarah Benson, Norm Lewis, The Lisps, Audra McDonald, et al. Set for A.R.T.’s 2011-2012 Loeb Drama Center Season
“American Repertory Theatre has announced its 2011-2012 season for the Loeb Drama Center, which, as previously announced, will open with The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess, running August 17 – October 2. Diane Paulus will direct the production that will star Norm Lewis and Audra McDonald in the title roles.” – TheaterMania
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Time Out New York
Three Pianos: Franz Schubert’s Winterreise gets deconstructed with a six-pack of beer
“At minimum, the recipe for a good party includes a hearty stock of friends and acquaintances, stirred with liquor and topped with tunes. But what if your hosts’ idea of a party playlist is two-dozen somber, chilly songs by Franz Schubert? That’s the unlikely starting point for Three Pianos…” – Time Out New York
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Credits
Creative team
By
Rick Burkhardt, Alec Duffy, and Dave Malloy
With music from
Franz Schubert’s Winterreise, Op. 89 (1828)
Directed by
Rachel Chavkin
Scenic Designer/Illustrations
Andreea Mincic
Costume Designer
Jessica Pabst
Lighting Designer
Austin R. Smith
Sound Designer
Matt Hubbs
Production Manager
Dave Polato
Production Stage Manager