About the Show

Part of Theater for the New City's Dream Up Festival: This world premiere drama explores the relationship between an older African-American piano student and his younger Caucasian piano teacher.

After a chance meeting between television scribe Walter Jones and writer/composer Scott Hiltzik, the idea for 'About Clarence and Me' was born. Sitting next to each other on a five-hour bus ride from New York City to Boston in 2003, the two writers discovered they had many shared interests. Coltrane, classical piano music, and theater were discussed; ideas were thrown back and forth; and personal stories were shared. By the time the Greyhound arrived at South Station, the story was set and their collaboration underway. Through a poignant narrative and a rich assortment of original piano music, 'About Clarence and Me' explores the commonality of the human experience.

Critic Reviews (4)

“Performed as a part of Theater for the New City’s Dream Up Festival, the gritty backdrop of New City’s Community Theater is a fitting backdrop for the racial and generational issues explored therein. Supported by the excellent performances from the show’s co-protagonists, ‘About Clarence and Me’ is an impressive and creative outing from Hiltzik and Jones that should certainly make its way back to New York City following the conclusion of the Dream Up Festival.”
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"With a sensitive script by director Walter Jones and composer Scott Hiltzik, the actors stay true to the melody. The result is a touching tribute to the power of both art and friendship across generations and cultural boundaries. Yes, it’s sentimental, and rather predictable...But DeMone easily transcends what could have been a boisterous and gravel-voiced stereotype to steer an able Roll and a willing audience safely around the dangerous curves."
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"'About Clarence & Me' is a hopeful and light show about reaching across barriers that divide us in order to make connections...Full of original as well as familiar music, 'About Clarence & Me' is a feast for piano music lovers...The spoken dialog flows less easily than the music...But that is a minor complaint in the scale of the show...'About Clarence & Me' is as breezy and lovely a jazz piece."
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"The play keeps banging away at sentiment, taking us to a place that we knew (or would that be feared?) it was going. The last fifteen minutes of the script are not only unnecessary, but undercut the piece’s earlier emotional power. Yet 'About Clarence and Me' is still a treat. It takes on a number of current issues, the struggles among the races to communicate, the discarding of the elderly, and the price paid for neglecting love."
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