David Hyde Pierce On 'Song Travels'

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"Any show that's any good is much better a month later," Davie Hyde Pierce says of Broadway critics who only show up the first night. "And if it's been done right, it's way better a year later, but such is life."

Courtesy of the artist

"Any show that's any good is much better a month later," Davie Hyde Pierce says of Broadway critics who only show up the first night. "And if it's been done right, it's way better a year later, but such is life."

Courtesy of the artist

Actor, singer and comedian David Hyde Pierce is best known for his Emmy-winning role as Niles Crane on the long-running TV series Frasier. He's also a Tony-winning actor for his role in Curtains. As a child, Pierce began in classical music as a pianist, but one summer, that all changed.

"I was up at Williamstown — the summer theater there — and they have a cabaret, and they did an evening of Irving Berlin," Pierce says. "And I'd never sung that way in public. They gave me the song 'A Pretty Girl Is Like a Melody,' which was ironic for me because, having grown up as a musician, making that sort of metaphor — or simile, I guess it is — was ironically appropriate for me."

Pierce and Song Travels host Michael Feinstein open the show with "A Pretty Girl Is Like a Melody," and then their discussion ranges from Beethoven to rap lyrics to Spamalot, as Pierce sings a few of his favorite standards with Feinstein at the piano.

This program originally ran May 25, 2012.