Amidst pushy parents, eccentric teachers, hours of repetitive practice, stage fright, the agony of competitions and exams, and the dream of greatness, Ted and Richard grow up as "piano nerds." As they mature, they become more aware of the gap between the merely very good and the great, and come to the humbling realization that concert stardom may be out of reach, but they just might be two of the best piano players in the neighbourhood, and that in itself is worth celebrating.

Ted Dykstra is an actor, director, and playwright, and the co-founder, with wife Diana Bentley, of Toronto’s indie theatre The Coal Mine. Ted is the co-author (with Richard Greenblatt) of the acclaimed and hugely popular play 2 Pianos, 4 Hands. His musical Evangeline was produced in Charlottetown, PEI for two seasons, as well at the Citadel Theatre, and currently he is composing music for Dion, a rock opera based on The Bacchae. Ted has performed on every major stage in Canada, as well as in film and television. He has directed award-winning shows across Canada, including at Soulpepper Theatre, of which he was a founding member. He has received six Dora Mavor Moore Awards, as well as Gemini, Merritt, Sterling, and Chalmers Awards, and has many award nominations for acting, directing, composing, writing, and producing. For him, all of the above pales compared to being the proud father of Theo, Rosie and Henry.

Ted Dykstra's profile page

Richard Greenblatt was born and raised in Montreal and trained as an actor at The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, England. He returned to Canada in the mid-70s and has been working as an actor, director, writer, musician and educator ever since. His work has taken him across the country, throughout the U.S., and in Europe and Japan. The vast majority of his extensive directing work has been with the development and premieres of original scripts, many of which were for Theatre for Young Audiences. His handbook for scriptwork, Text and Context: The Operative Word, was published in 2021. Richard has written and performed two solo shows (Soft Pedalling and Letters from Lehrer), co-authored two plays with Diane Flacks (Sibs and Care), and co-authored the immensely successful 2 Pianos 4 Hands with Ted Dykstra, which they performed almost 1,000 times and has been seen around the world in hundreds of other productions. He has taught acting and directing at most of the top training institutions in Canada and is the recipient of numerous Dora and Chalmers Awards. Richard lives in Toronto.

Richard Greenblatt's profile page

"…celebrates so strongly not just music but optimism triumphing in the face of disappointment."

Patrick Langston, The Ottawa Citizen

"2 Pianos 4 Hands is like a favourite song."

Paula Citron, The Globe and Mail