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a boy and his piano

He wanted a puppy. They gave him a piano.

  • Full Length Musical
  • Comedy, Drama
  • 115 minutes

  • Time Period: 1950s
  • Target Audience: Adult, Pre-Teen (Age 11 - 13), Teen (Age 14 - 18), Children (Age 6 - 10), Appropriate for all audiences
  • Set Requirements: Area Staging

  • Performance Group:
  • Community Theatre, College Theatre / Student, High School/Secondary
He wanted a puppy. They gave him a piano.

Gregory has his heart set on a dalmatian puppy for his birthday, but Pops, an impulsive music lover, buys him a new white grand piano instead. When the piano arrives, Gregory is furious. In an attempt to get his way, he paints black spots all over the white piano, treats it like a pet and names it "Steinway." World War III breaks out!

This play, filled with warmth and humor, revisits the gentle days of 1957 and the events surrounding Gregory's 10th birthday as remembered and reflected upon by Gregory's 16-year-old self. Epitomizing the imaginative, creative theatre we've come to associate with all of Julian Wiles; work, a boy and his piano is a moving play about the battles parents and kids sometimes find themselves locked into, and their struggle to find their way out of the fray. 

  • Casting: 2M, 3F, 7M or F
  • Casting Attributes: Roles for Children