FROM THE AISLE: THREE PIANOS

Full disclosure: I’m a little drunk. I was going to wait until I sobered up to write this review, but then I thought, f*ck it … being slightly tipsy is the perfect state in which to give my impression of Three Pianos, A.R.T’s wonderful new show playing now through January 8^th at Loeb Drama Center.

Here’s why.

Three Pianos is about three friends who get together one night and play through “Winterreise,” a 24-song cycle by Franz Schubert. Now, if this sounds stuffy to you, please read on. You see, Schubert used to have friends come over to his house so that he could perform his new works for them. These little salons were dubbed “Schubertiads” and consisted of a lot of drinking, singing and grand declarations.

The play’s three stars (the incredibly talented and immensely likeable trio of Rick Burkhardt, Alec Duffy and Dave Malloy, who also wrote the show), then, put on their own Schubertiad, performing Schubert, drinking and discussing the melancholy nature of relationships.

What’s more, the audience, too, participates in the party.

As you enter, you’re given a cup of wine. Then, during the show, ushers come around and replenish your drink.

Hence my slight inebriation. Also, hence my reasoning for writing under the influence.

Because Three Pianos is a joyous celebration of music––funny, delightful and infectious. But it’s also more than that.

It’s also a meditation on the often futile nature of art and the hardships of love and romance. “Winterreise” is German for “winter’s journey.” Schubert’s gloomy collection of songs tells the story of the Wanderer, a man who leaves his nameless lover in the middle of the night and meanders through the cold, dark woods. He’s sad and contemplative, ruing his past and dismally imagining his future.

Burkhardt, Duffy and Malloy, playing themselves, take on the spirit of the song cycle, applying its dejected tone to contemporary mores. Malloy has recently gone through a break-up, and he becomes a version of the Wanderer, as does Duffy and Burkhardt in their turns.

They console each other, bicker, banter and bounce off of each other the way only old friends can.

Also, the audience is treated to some depictions of the real Schubertiads, as well as given some contextual information about Schubert and his cronies. These mirror in tone the party going on in modern day. It’s a wonderfully clever conceit and these guys do everything they possibly can with it.

I really hope you go see Three Pianos. This part classical music performance, part history lesson, part play is a special thing, the kind of rarity that, while you’re watching it, you realize you won’t come across again.

[Three Pianos. Now through 1.8.12. Loeb Drama Center. 64 Brattle St. Harvard Square, Cambridge. Begin at $25. 617.547.8300. americanrepertorytheater.org]