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I don’t know about you, but I can’t do two different (and simple, I might add) things with each hand, and last night I watched a pianist play Bach with his left hand and Andrew Lloyd Webber with his right, at the same time, and made it sound good!

David Scheel is a musical comedy entertainer in the vein of Victor Borge. He tells jokes, does impressive party tricks on the piano (a beautiful baby grand at the Melbourne Recital Centre) and is a whiz with accents. Why then, with all these good things going on, did I feel like some key ingredient was missing?

Above all, Scheel’s show would benefit from a good director. The jokes need to flow a bit more seamlessly with the music, and ultimately I think more music and less joke telling would suit the show, and Scheel, better. There’s no question that Scheel is a truly gifted pianist and composer, but his joke telling pales in comparison. Anecdotes of a life on the road as a musician, composer and actor don’t translate into short jokes all that well. But this could be greatly improved by some directorial assistance. It was clear several women, myself included, didn’t enjoy a Julia Gillard/Sarah Pallin joke; Scheel remarked that he doesn’t like political correctness, but that doesn’t excuse the use of misogynistic language.

That said, Scheel’s musical talents really are astounding. If you have any sort of working knowledge of classical music, this is definitely a show for you. If you haven’t, you’ll still enjoy it, but those that have are guaranteed to get a real kick out of Scheel’s talents.

Scheel plays Borodin’s opera Prince Igor as a cha cha and Handel’s See the Conquering Hero Comes as Country & Western. It’s amazing. Scheel also combines The Girl From Ipanema with Tea for Two in the same rhythm and the result is freaky, remarkably so. Also remarkable is when Scheel resurrects the lost art of “the classical impromptu” by getting audience members to tell him which keys to play in and whether on white or black keys, and then composing something on the spot, something I’ve never seen before.

The highlight, however, is Scheel’s rendition of the 20 most requested pieces (apparently they’re the same the world over) from his decades-spanning career. So sick of playing them, he joins them all together and plays them as one piece, each in their original key. It’s extraordinarily clever, the joins are seamless, and it’s a lot of fun.


2011 Melbourne International Comedy Festival
Don’t Shoot Me, I’m Only the Piano Player
David Scheel

Venue: Melbourne Recital Centre | Cnr Southbank Blvd & Sturt St, Southbank
Dates: 12 - 15 April, 2011
Times: Tue & Thu-Fri 6pm
Duration: 60 minutes
Tickets: $35 – $25
Bookings: 03 9699 3333 | melbournerecital.com.au