Two members of popular show band Dr. Strangelove are The Piano Men, a duo that promises plenty of Elton John, Billy Joel and other piano-heavy hits during a Surrey Digital Stage performance.
Richard Sera and Andre Kunkel are set to play an online “duelling pianos” concert Friday, April 9, starting at 7 p.m. on Surrey Civic Theatres’ Facebook page, the event webpage and the City of Surrey’s YouTube channel.
It’s another virtual Surrey Digital Stage show designed “to help people staying home connect with the performing arts,” featuring the pair on two pianos, sing-alongs and banter.
The debut performance April 9 includes a post-show chat with Sera, and the concert is available to watch online until May 21.
(Story continues below video of The Piano Men at Elements Casino Surrey in 2018)
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In “normal” times, a duelling pianos show involves lots of audience interaction, but not so right now.
“Even without an audience we still have that competitiveness where we want to outdo each other with our piano playing and be the better dueler – all in good fun of course,” Sera said in an event advisory from Surrey Civic Theatres. “We are way more supportive of each other than acrimonious! There is a lot of comedy involved in our show. We genuinely just have a really good time.”
Sera and Kunkel have been making music together for a long time, including their days in Dr. Strangelove.
“Through that we’ve done all kinds of gigs together, from corporate events to being the house band at the Roxy Nightclub (on Vancouver’s Granville Street),” Sera noted. “We have travelled the world together doing gigs, so our chemistry and ability to perform together is really strong.”
On tour, Sera has performed with Loverboy, Tom Cochrane, The Payolas, Trooper, Prism and other bands. His music-career highlights include appearing on The Tonight Show (doing “Life Is A Highway” with Cochrane) and a year-long tour opening for Bon Jovi, including two sold-out nights at London’s Wembley Stadium.
At Surrey Arts Centre and elsewhere, Surrey Civic Theatres presents “a curated mix of professional performances ranging from theatre, music, dance, stand-up comedy, and puppetry with an invitation to connect, laugh, dance, have thought-provoking conversations, and be inspired.”
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