2014 TONY Awards, Lena Hall, and the NYC Dueling Pianos style...

Nothing makes us happier than seeing our friends and colleagues achieving the success they are so richly due. Last night was one such occasion, when at the 2014 TONY Awards, Lena Hall won her first TONY Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Musical for her role as Yitzhak in HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH.

I had the lucky occasion to work with her in 2009 on a developmental reading of a musical of my own, THE CURE, which was about to have a production in the New York Musical Theater Festival.

In fact, Lena has also worked theatrically with another member of the Shake Rattle & Roll Pianos family - Paul Leschen. Paul is also a musical theater composer, and Lena was the lead in his Off-Broadway production of BEDBUGS, in NYC last year.

The musical theater world of New York is a small one - a tight-knit community - much like the national Dueling Pianos community is.

Practically every Dueling Pianos player who has come out of the NYC scene has some connection to theater. Brad Alexander, Paul and myself are all musical theater composers. Steve Watts is an actor with a national resume', Zach Goodman is a music director for various developmental projects, and Donnie Kehr has been on Broadway in TOMMY, AIDA, BILLY ELLIOTT, and JERSEY BOYS. (Donnie will also be making his screen debut in Clint Eastwood's Jersey Boys as Norm Waxman later this month...)

So, with this close a connection to the theater/cabaret world that is the lifeblood of New York City's piano bar culture, it's easy to see how the "NYC Dueling Pianos style" evolved.

Last year, I was fortunate enough to do one of the Piano Barbarians podcasts with Steve Savage. (If you've never heard the series, and like Dueling Pianos ,google it now!) On the podcast, he asked me about the NYC style, and to this day it's the thing from that broadcast that I get asked about the most.

So, what is the "NYC style"?

In three and a half words - rock n' roll cabaret.

Songs mixed with story, banter and a heavy emphasis on crowd interaction.

At its heart, cabaret is an evening of songs connected by monologues or other storytelling by the performer, taking their audience on a journey with a beginning, middle and end.

Now, replace the cabaret's typical showtunes with a selection of Bon Jovi, Billy Joel and Britney Spears, and voila - Dueling Pianos NYC edition.

Some people who come to us from other Dueling shows around the country are surprised by how much conversation we engage the audience in, during the show. Rarely, a drunk will shout from the darkness "Play the song!", but most join in the fun. We find it makes a much richer experience, when the show feels like an arc that takes the audience along for a unique, once-in-a-lifetime ride, rather than just a performance of requests. Here in New York City, the worlds of theater and rock often intermingle with great success. The Tony-winning Hedwig and Lena Hall are proof of that. Hopefully, you'll believe that we are too. Tickets for Shake Rattle & Roll Dueling Pianos are available here.

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