INTERVIEW: Broadway star Donnie Kehr honors ‘greatest piano men’

What do Ray Charles, Billy Joel, Elton John, Little Richard and Ludwig van Beethoven have in common? Well, the piano, of course.

Master pianist Donnie Kehr, along with Greg Ransom and Peter Peterkin, have put together a musical tribute to the greatest piano players of all time, and they are set to premiere their show, The Greatest Piano Men, this week in New York and New Jersey. Audiences can catch their performances Aug. 15 at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark, New Jersey; Aug. 16 at the Capitol Theatre in Port Chester, New York; and Aug. 17 at the NYCB Theatre at Westbury in Westbury, New York.

“It is a celebration, a tribute to all the greatest piano men from Beethoven to Billy,” Kehr said in a recent phone interview. “Here’s the thing, there are a lot of tribute bands out there that do Elton and Billy and who are very good, but we wanted to go one step further and include all of them, all of the greats — like Jerry Lee Lewis, Fats Domino, Little Richard, Ray Charles, Stevie Wonder, Beethoven. And the list goes on.”

The Greatest Piano Men is predominantly a rock show, lasting 90 minutes and featuring hit after hit after hit. Kehr called the musical influences for the evening “piano warriors that broke through the airwaves with their fingers on the keys and inspired generations.”

“It’s a rocking history lesson,” he said. “It’s a lot of fun. It’s an eight-piece band and three pianos. It’s pedal to the metal from start to the end. … We just rock it out and have a good time. It’s people that you wouldn’t expect. There are a lot of piano men in the world that the new generations don’t know of, so in a way it’s combining all of these greats that made a difference in the world of piano playing. It’s a chance to honor them and their music, and that’s what you can expect.”

There will be moments on stage when Kehr, Ransom and Peterkin play individually on their own pianos, and other times they will play all together, which can be difficult.

“We all have to figure out, OK, you take the bottom,” Kehr said. “You take the bass. You take the midsection, and I’ll do the higher stuff. We go around that way because you want to make sure it’s very clean and clear, so that it doesn’t get muddy.”

Kehr looked far and wide for the best pianists to accompany him on stage. He spent a year developing the show, and choosing the best players was key. Throughout the evening, Kehr will play the Joel part, while Ransom will take the John part. That makes sense for Ransom because he fronts a tribute band called Benny and the Jets.

“This guy, it’s wild, he sings like Elton John, but that’s actually how he sings,” Kehr said. “He’s not trying to do an impersonation of Elton John. He actually sounds like him, just naturally, and I found that intriguing. So I asked him to join us, and then a gentleman called Pete Peterkin out of Las Vegas. I saw some footage of him doing Ray Charles and Stevie Wonder and Little Richard, and I was floored, amazed. This guy is so talented, so I brought him in.”

He added: “I spent the past year developing this show and creating it and getting it to a place where we’re ready. We didn’t want to do it until we were ready, so now we are.”

Kehr started playing piano when he was 11 years old, and he has never stopped. His greatest success has been found on Broadway, a place he has been performing since he was 12 years old. His first show was Legend, which also starred Academy Award winner F. Murray Abraham. He also originated the role of Marcus Macauley in Joseph Papp’s musical adaptation of The Human Comedy. In addition, he has appeared in Aida and Billy Elliot: The Musical.

Perhaps his most fulfilling experiences have been in Jersey Boys (he was in the original production and the Clint Eastwood movie) and The Who’s Tommy.

“I was in the original cast of The Who’s Tommy for Pete Townshend, created that on Broadway and sang ‘Pinball Wizard’ on the record and in the show, and that was a pretty great feat,” he said. “The other one that I did that is well known is Jersey Boys. I was in the original cast of Jersey Boys and also did the movie for Clint Eastwood, and that was an amazing flight. Actually the director, Des McAnuff, directed both of those shows, Tommy and Jersey Boys, and so we’ve been friends for a long time.”

The Greatest Piano Men looks to continue this career of musical highlights, and Kehr believes it will rank near the top of his résumé.

“There’s a lot of tribute bands that honor Billy and Elton, and that’s great,” he said. “But we wanted to go a step further and bring all of them together. … So all of us are coming together for the first time for this production and for this premiere, and we’re going to work together for a week. We’re going to get it out there and throw it against the wall, and hopefully it sticks. I think it’s going to. It’s a really good show. I’m very excited. I’ve been doing theater for my whole life, and I only get excited about a couple things that come around, like Jersey Boys or Tommy. And this is up there with them because this is a great show, a theatrical experience, a rock concert and a history lesson all in one.”

By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com

The Greatest Piano Men will play Wednesday, Aug. 15 at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark, New Jersey. Other tour stops: the Capitol Theatre in Port Chester, New York; and NYCB Theatre at Westbury in Westbury, New York. Click here for more information and tickets.