The Piano Teacher
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Carroll, Gehringer
Photo by Henry DiRocco
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By Joseph N. Feinstein
When I was forty-two, I decided to fulfill a lifelong dream to learn how to play the piano. I found a teacher and began the arduous task of having her teach an old dog some new tricks. That her interest was in my fingering techniques, while I was primarily interested in simply learning how to play something more than "Chopsticks,"caused an early parting of the ways. I never called her again. Such is the plight of Mrs. K, played magnificently by Linda Gehringer in this production, for she, too, has many hours to think about all her students, none of whom ever call her to say hello.
Using the technique first seen at the Mark Taper Theater, Julia Cho, the playwright, has Mrs. K open the play by speaking directly to the audience. She even offers several people in the first row some of her cookies. We are privy to her background, her marriage to Mr. K, her reminiscences, and her points of view: "It's good to be good at small things"; "I stopped teaching children because they became so rude." Mrs. K tells us, "I fell in love with my husband because "He looked at me as if he was thirsty and I was rain!"
But it's her loneliness with which we become most concerned. And, when one of her students, Mary Fields (played engagingly by Toi Perkins), appears on the scene, followed later by the arrival of Michael ( Kevin Carroll, in an excellent SCR debut performance), that the action and story line fully develop. It is then that we discover why none of the students wanted to return. That secret will be revealed for you, as it was for me during such a state of rapt attention and silence by the audience that you could have heard that proverbial pin drop, even on the carpeted floor!
Ms. Gehringer's performance is worthy of a Tony, and Perkins and Carroll contribute mightily to the play. Kate Whoriskey's direction keeps all of us focused on each and every word of Ms. Cho's important dialogue. Jason Lyons' fine lighting design creates the necessary moods to enhance the action of the play. There is only one more week to see
this show. Don't let the opportunity go by!
The Piano Teacher, South Coast Repertory-Julianne Argyros Stage, 655 Town Center Drive , Costa Mesa, 92626 Tel. 714-708-5555 March 28-30 @ 7:45 p.m.; March 31 @ 2:00 p.m. and 7:45 p.m.; April 1 @ 2:00 p.m. and 7:45 p.m. Tickets: $28-$60.
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