John Leslie sits at the piano, deftly bouncing his fingers on the keys like a child popping bubbles floating in the air. He briefly looks up with a big grin and expressive eyes that easily lend themselves to his on-stage aura. He looks back down and speedily moves his hands along the keyboard, almost as if they were dancing to the upbeat ragtime melody of “Dizzy Fingers.” The piece is one of his favorites to perform in this month’s production of Liberace! at Stageloft Repertory Theater in Fiskdale, MA, near Sturbridge. “It’s one of the most fun things to play!” he says.
This production of Liberace! marks Leslie’s fourth time embodying the legendary showman. First performed at Boylston’s Calliope Productions in 2014, Leslie then brought the show to San Jose, California, and then back to Massachusetts for Vanilla Box Productions at Holy Name High School in Worcester. He started learning to play the piano as a child and performed his first recital in fifth grade. “When I was growing up, my mother would buy me records for gifts. I had a collection of 6 or 7 Liberace albums,” he says. “I liked Liberace and his music. It all kind of resonated with me,” he added, connecting to him as a fellow pianist.
Leslie first discovered Liberace! after flipping through a catalog of theatrical production distributors and the idea sparked to undertake the one-man show. “Being an actor and piano player—I fit those bills. I didn’t know what would be involved or how much script in terms of memorizing, but I proposed it to Calliope Productions, so they said, ‘Well let’s try it!’”
Memorization seemed to be one of the challenges associated with this role, but now Leslie has the 100 pages of music and 30 pages of monologue by heart. Flipping through the sheet music, all the intricate notes blur together to the untrained eye, but to Leslie, they are as clear as the crystals adorning Liberace’s piano. He has spent over 40 years as a professional musician and is constantly involved with other aspects of theater, including acting, directing, choreography, and teaching.
In Liberace!, the script by Brent Hazelton takes the legendary pianist back to Earth to perform for one night. Liberace, self-aware that he is deceased, speaks directly to the audience through the theatrical ‘fourth wall’ throughout the show and sprinkles his memories of his career with various musical performances. “I think it’s the humor of the show and relating to the audience,” Leslie says of the show’s recurring success. The show includes music from many genres, from popular ragtime to classical pieces. In preparing the music, Leslie took extra care to refine his skills for the vast Liberace! repertoire.
“Between the set and costumes and the music, he is pretty well represented,” says Leslie of the production. Outlandish costumes displayed on stage and a candelabra on the piano embody the famous extravagance of the real-life pianist. Leslie even sports gargantuan rings on his fingers as he plays. “They don’t really get in the way,” he says of the sometimes cumbersome accessories, “I just have to strategically place them!”
After resounding receptions from audiences in his past performances, Leslie continues to feel that the positive message from the show comes from Liberace’s desire to spread happiness through his music. “People get a good feeling about it,” he says. “It helps people remember him. There will be a time when people might not have ever heard of him, so it’s a way to keep his memory alive.”
As Leslie strikes the final keys in “Dizzy Fingers,” the notes echo briefly before fading softly. In his impromptu bow, a brief glimpse of showmanship worthy of Liberace himself appears. Though on stage, Liberace returns to Earth for one night, but with Leslie’s heartfelt performance, his spirit will live on after the curtain falls.
Catch John Leslie every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday of September until the 25th at Stageloft Repertory Theater.
Originally featured in Wordsby Arts & Culture News.
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