Cast: 2M, 3W, 6 boys, 1 girl
Set: Unit Set, with all elements in black and white
Recommended for: young audiences
Music: a score by Laura Manning featuring incidental music and music played by Gregory available from Dramatic Publishing.
He wanted a puppy. They gave him a piano. Gregory has his heart set on a dalmatian puppy for his birthday, but his father buys him a new white grand piano instead. When the piano arrives, Gregory is furious. In an attempt to get his way, he paints black spots all over the white piano, treats it like a pet and names it "Steinway." A battle of wills follows. This play, filled with warmth and humor, revisits the gentle days of 1957 and the events surrounding Gregory's 10th birthday as remembered and reflected upon by Gregory's 16-year-old self. Epitomizing the imaginative, creative theatre we've come to associate with all of Julian Wiles' work, a boy and his piano is a moving play about the battles parents and kids sometimes find themselves locked into, and their struggles to find their way out of the fray.