2 PIANOS 4 HANDS - Phoenix Theatre - a conversation with co-star Michael Kary

Michael Kary

by Gil Benbrook

As a companion piece to my article about 2 Pianos, 4 Hands that was published in the January issue of AZ Lifestyle magazine, here is more of my in-depth conversation with Michael Kary who co-stars in this production:
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Phoenix Theatre’s production of 2 Pianos, 4 Hands follows the journey of two pianists who have to decide whether to continue to follow their dreams of becoming classical pianists or do something else with their lives.  While Michael Kary, who plays one of the pianists in the show, never dreamed of being a classical pianist, his plan of being a professional actor ended up taking a slightly different journey than he originally thought.

For this Phoenix Theatre production, Mark Anders is co-starring with Kary as the two pianists.  While Anders has a vast experience with the piece, including starring in the two previous productions of the show at Arizona Theatre Company, this is Kary's first time appearing in the show.  2 Pianos, 4 Hands was created by, and originally starred, Canadians Ted Dykstra and Richard Greenblatt.  Based on their own experiences growing up, the show premiered in Toronto in 1996, toured extensively across Canada, and has now played globally, including runs in New York and London, with close to 4,000 performances.  Almost twenty years after first premiering, the show continues to have productions in Canada and is one of the longest running shows in that country.

Kary, who just happens to also be Canadian, says the questions that 2 Pianos, 4 Hands raises are relevant to any profession, not just classical pianists.  “Am I going to put everything on the line and go for it? How much do you invest? Who am I really?  Am I what my teachers think of me?”  His comment about what teachers think of you is especially relevant as he is also a teacher.  He teaches acting at Grand Canyon University, the school from which he also graduated.  So, in a way, his life has come full circle, and Kary now imparts the lessons he’s learned throughout his life onto his students.

Kary started taking piano lessons when he was 5 and continued on with his studies, even taking lessons while he was a student at GCU.  While he played in church worship bands, which “isn’t exactly classical music” he jokes, he also hasn’t legitimately played piano since he was 22.  He originally thought he was going to be a music pastor but couldn’t get around the performance aspect of the job, “I can’t leave worship and then worry about how I looked or sounded” when performing.

Michael Kary and Mark Anders in 2 Pianos 4 Hands
Phoenix Theatre, 2015

A trip to San Diego and a visit to the Old Globe Theatre set his sights on California as the next stop in his journey after graduating.  The professional actor training program at the Globe was something he had heard about on a tour of the theatre, but he knew that getting in to the program, or even getting an audition would be difficult.  So he took the experience he learned at GCU of knowing how to do many things within the theatre world, not just acting, and used it to his advantage.  Within a day of moving to San Diego he had a job at the La Jolla playhouse hanging lights for the shows.  When he went to auditions people would say “aren’t you an electrician?” He acted in several shows in San Diego and when he later moved to New York City he used the same game plan and found himself working at the Public Theatre and the NY Theatre Workshop as an electrician while he auditioned for acting roles.

Kary states that he isn’t a typical musical theatre performer.  His agent in New York would often tell him when going out for a musical theatre audition “don’t try to sing well, just be funny.”  When he auditioned for the musical version of Fame in New York, and knowing that they were looking for an actor who could play the trumpet in the show, he performed a humorous version of a song from Veggie Tales on his trumpet and clearly made an impression.  Not only did he find himself at the callback up against a former high school rival who always got the lead parts in their school shows, but he ended up getting the role.  His part got bigger during the rehearsal process once the creators of the show saw his wide range of skills.  “It was a great experience” Kary adds.  

He moved back to Phoenix in 2010 just when GCU was starting to expand their theatre program and through a series of events found himself teaching English at GCU as well as was given the chance to teach a theatre class.  He now only teaches theatre courses, including the acting classes from Shakespeare to contemporary scene study, does recruiting and scholarship awarding and works with the students to get them into secondary schools.  The idea of following ones dreams is something he imparts on to his students, along with having a great work ethic.  He adds that the program is an all around theatre program, not one that focuses only on acting, directing or design and that it gives the graduate a knowledge of all aspects of the profession.  He states that the end goal of the program is that a student “can walk into any market and find a job in a theater.”  It’s the same philosophy that Claude Pensis, the Dean of the College of Fine Arts and Production, taught Kary when he was a student at GCU.  He adds that both GCU and his personal goal is to “send these students out into the world with a different way of looking at things – as a place to serve and not just promote themselves.”

Michael Kary and Angelica Howland in The 39 Steps -
Phoenix Theatre 2013 (photo: Sara Chambers)

Kary first heard about 2 Pianos, 4 Hands back in 2002 when he was a working actor in New York City.  Flash forward to the fall of 2013 when Kary was playing the romantic lead in Phoenix Theatre's The 39 Steps.  He first mentioned the idea of doing the show with his cast mate and Phoenix Theatre regular Toby Yatso as a possible show the two of them could do together, since they were both actors who were somewhat experienced piano players.  Ironically, little to Kary’s knowledge, the show was already planned for Phoenix Theatre’s upcoming season.  He had already been getting his pianist skills up to speed before the announcement about Phoenix Theatre's season and when he heard that the show was already part of their schedule he said to himself “I think God is telling me to audition for this show.”  When he spoke to his students about the events surrounding the play he told them “this is what proactiveness can look like in your life” and that it was a pretty clear signal that this was the next step in his career.

Michael Kary and Mark Anders in 2 Pianos 4 Hands
Phoenix Theatre, 2015

Phoenix Theatre holds auditions for all of their upcoming shows for the season at one time.  Kary was going in to audition for the play One Man, Two Guv’nors but decided to also do something a little extra to show off his piano skills in hopes of landing a part in 2 Pianos, 4 Hands.  He auditioned for Phoenix Theatre’s Associate Artistic Director Robert Kolby Harper.  Kary decided to perform a monologue that included a piece of piano playing in it as a way to show his abilities.  It caught the attention of Harper and, after a callback, landed him the part.

The program at GCU teaches the students to have a skill set and to get hired back. “I think that’s what makes us a little different than most programs.  Anyone can get hired anywhere once, but to get asked back and have that kind of work ethic that people desire to have around is what we really push for.”   Kary has now been asked back to Phoenix Theatre.   He adds that the people at Phoenix Theatre really love what they do.  “They know exactly what they are doing and they enjoy it.”

For the past few months Kary found his life similar to the ones of the characters in the play with constant piano practice and a drive to be as good as he can be.  Before rehearsal started he was back taking piano lessons at GCU and practicing every day for several hours to get his piano skills back into shape.  He’s both nervous and excited about the show but knows that he's where he needs to be, both acting wise and career wise.  He adds that GCU’s theatre program “is thriving now with over 100 theatre majors and they still encourage me to perform.”  While it may seem like he’s taken a step back by coming home to Phoenix and to the school he graduated from, he now knows that moving back, teaching at GCU and getting the chance to continue to perform locally “was the best decision.”  With his ability to impart his life lessons onto his students, and the ability to still perform as well, he feels like he made the right decisions with his life and is precisely where he is supposed to be.  Which is exactly the theme at the center of 2 Pianos, 4 Hands.

2 Pianos, 4 Hands performs at the Phoenix Theatre from January 14th to February 1st, 2015.