Celebrating musicians whose pianist abilities girded other facets of their musicianship, Three Pianos reopens Florida Studio Theater’s largest theater, the Gompertz, for the first time since March 2020. What might have been an original cabaret revue expands in a venue that provides plenty of space for social distancing on and offstage. Personal interaction among the pianists, therefore, suffers not a whit. And the audience seems to enjoy having space to stand and applaud throughout.
Nygel D. Robinson has Broadway chops on the grandest of the three onstage instruments. He captures Ray Charles, Fats Domino, and Stevie Wonder especially well—the latter in earlier and later stages. Favorites sung and played include “What’d I Say,” “You are the Sunshine of My Life,” and “The Entertainer.”
Michael Maricondi, who starts on keyboard and moves to normal size piano, makes “Bohemian Rhapsody” his most memorable number. But the amazing volume that works on that song turns a big to shouting later in the program. He recovers with “Georgia on My Mind.” Michael trades places with Madalyn McHugh, who’s begun on a traditional piano with “One Fine Day” and again summons memories of Carole King with “I Feel the Earth Move.” She’s very much at home on keyboard later with King’s “Beautiful.” Her star song is “You Make Me Feel Like a Natural Woman.”
Altogether, the pianists bring songs past simple rock ’n roll, even fooling around with Liberace’s “Chopsticks” and a gloriously lit “I Made It Through the Rain.” A last Elton John and Bernie Taupin “I’m Still Standing” harks back to their earlier “Your Song.”
With keys rounding the proscenium arch in front and up and around two onstage arches, Bruce Price’s set certainly conveys the scenic metaphor for the activity. That a great deal of good research went into the show’s creation is obvious. Costumes emphasize three colors and textures.
Technical work is superb throughout, if projections sometimes seem a bit much. All in all, Three Pianos is good to see as well as hear.
