Last Thursday, Mer and I headed up to Hudson to see I Love a Piano, a musical review of the songs of Irving Berlin. This was another play in the season-ticket series that we were given as a gift. It was much fun.

Usually, we are pretty cool on musical reviews – they often do not have enough plot or story interest to be a “real play,” and they often fall short of being a “real concert” because the music is edited down to fit the review. In the case of I Love a Piano, the story arc, such as it was, mostly added either context or humor to the songs. Basically, several songs were sung as part of an era – a 1911 song shop, a 1920s speakeasy, 1940s wartime America, and a post-war period. Each period had very brief skits that allowed the actors to sing, and each skit was tied together by the character of an aging piano (with one bad key, as a running joke). The skits worked pretty well as an excuse to sing.

And, ahhhh, what songs. The play did part or all of 50 songs or so. What amazing talent Irving Berlin had. What a great set of music – fun and catchy. I especially liked the music from the 30s – I knew many of the songs from the Fred Astaire movies, and it made me smile to hear them again. Now I need a CD of the music!

The costumes were great – they kept changing with each era. The flappers of the 20s had especially fun costumes. The men were usually in a suit, a tux, or a uniform.

The show lasted about 90 minutes (plus an intermission). I certainly loved this piano!