If you want steady work on Connecticut theater stages, in roles that let you shine at center stage for hours on end, you should transform yourself into a piano.
In recent years, that imposing instrument has anchored such varied shows as “Autumn Sonata” at Yale Rep, “The Pianist of Willesden Lane” at Hartford Stage, “Murder for Two” at the Long Wharf Theatre and “Love and Money” at Westport Country Playhouse.”
In “Liberace!,” which tickles the ivories at the Ivoryton Playhouse through Nov. 15, the piano isn’t a plot device or fancy prop — it’s an essential extension of the show’s star, one of the most popular, well-paid and elaborately costumed performers of the 20th century.
The piano gets a major workout in this intense and unexpectedly deep biodrama about a resplendent star of the 1950s through the ’80s who was, we learn from Brent Hazelton’s insightful script, profoundly misunderstood and worthy of a listening with a fresh set of ears.
In “Liberace!,” you hear everything from Bach’s “Minuet in G” and Liszt’s “Liebestraum” to “Night and Day” and “The Beer Barrel Polka.” He creates variations on “Three Little Fishies” in the styles of Mozart, Beethoven and Strauss. The showstopper is an extraordinary Gershwin medley that weaves some of the composer’s pop hits (“Swanee,” “Fascinatin’ Rhythm,” “The Man I Love”) into the main themes of “Rhapsody in Blue.” (Musical arrangements are credited to Jack Forbes Wilson.)
As the living embodiment of Liberace, Daryl Wagner performs these masterworks unaccompanied and unbridled. He throws himself into the playing, his heavily ringed fingers flashing and his coiffed head bobbing and sweating. Wagner, already esteemed as a world-class Liberace impersonator who has performed with the respected Legends in Concert revue in Las Vegas, on Broadway and on tour, began his career as a singer and pianist in the lounge of the real-life Liberace’s Tivoli Gardens nightclub. He apes the Liberace style magnificently. In terms of physical similarity, he’s rather more attractive, which is a plus.
At its rhinestone-encrusted heart, “Liberace!” is a recreation of the exuberant, playful playing style of this singular performer. But between — and often during — these lush, vibrant piano performances, “Liberace!” offers enlightening anecdotes, thoughtful digressions on pop culture and heartfelt reflections and confessions.
The creators of “Liberace!” acknowledge that there are several different Liberaces that need to be impersonated here. There’s the insecure younger man, browbeaten by his father into playing formal, mannered renditions of the classical canon. There’s the cocky entertainer who works his way up from playing piano in strip bars to wowing audiences of thousands with a hit TV show and Vegas superstardom. There’s the closeted gay man who tries to keep his private life private but who finds himself suing a gossip magazine for libel when it declares that he’s homosexual; years later he’s defending himself in a palimony suit brought by “love of my life” Scott Thorson. Ultimately, there’s the over-the-top persona Liberace dubs “Mr. Showmanship,” which the pianist admits he conjured up in order to deflect attention from his personal struggles.
The show, which was developed at the Milwaukee Repertory Theatre and has been produced at a handful of theaters (with other actors/pianists in the bespangled central role) is still being tinkered with. The Ivoryton production, directed by the Playhouse’s artistic director, Jacqueline Hubbard, and lavishly furnished by scenic designer Daniel Nischan, allows for all the customary embellishments of the celebrity-tribute theater genre, with Wagner regularly descending into the auditorium to chat up the audience (and even invite one lucky person onstage for an amusing piano duet). Onstage, he interacts with mannequins, including one dressed to resemble his boyfriend Thorson. The show is set vaguely in the present tense, with Liberace (“Lee” to his friends) announcing from the outset that he is “dead. Dead as a doornail.” This allows him to swear onstage, tackle topics that were controversial in his own time, and chronicle his career to its final moments. (Liberace died of complications from AIDS in 1987.)
Liberace! ends on a downbeat note, with Liberace bemoaning that his death shone a harsh spotlight on his personal life rather than his impressive career as “Mr. Showmanship.” The mood could easily be turned around by a glitzy encore number, but chooses to stay dark.
“Liberace!” is deeper, sharper and bolder than fans of the celeb-trib form have any right to expect. It has all the glitter and feathery fluff that you’d associate with this bubbly, irrepressible performer. But there are shadows formed by that iconic candelabra on Liberace’s piano.
“LIBERACE!” is at the Ivoryton Playhouse, 103 Main St., Ivoryton (Essex) through Nov. 15. The running time is 2-1/2 half hours, including a 15-minute intermission. Performances are Wednesday at 2 & 7:30 p.m., Thursday at 7:30 p.m., Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. Tickets cost $42, $37 for seniors, $20 for students and $15 for children. Information: 860-767-7318, ivorytonplayhouse.org.
