Denis Robinson is a 91 year-old resident of London, England who heads to the St. Pancras train station to play piano three days a week. The commuters usually do not pay much attention to Denis, which is why it came as a surprise when a woman who happens to be a professional singer and actress recently stopped to perform with him.
Ceili O’Connor was walking through the train station with her fellow performers who are starring in the international touring company of “Cats” when she saw Denis playing the piano. Ceili was so taken by Denis’ playing that she could not help but stop to sing with him!
In “Cats,” Ceili plays Gumbie/Jennyanydots and also understudies for Grizabella, who sings the beloved song “Memories.” Ceili is an incredibly talented singer, and she shows this in the video below by performing “Somewhere Over The Rainbow” with Denis.
As her cast-mate Matthew Rowland recorded them, a small crowd formed around Ceili and Denis. The commuters were completely transfixed by the unlikely duo’s incredible talent!
“We’re on our way to Brussels for the next leg of @CatsMusical tour,” Matthew wrote on Twitter alongside the video. “I saw this guy playing and called @CeiliOConnor as I knew he needed a singing partner. Captured a bit of the magic here. He was so sweet, saying Ceili ‘made his day’ and that she must be ‘in a show.’ Precious x”
Video of the performance has quickly gone viral, touching the hearts of people all over the world. Ceili admitted that she was stunned by all the attention the video got!
“Thank you for all the kind responses but the real star is my lovely new friend on the piano who lifted us all up by sitting down and playing his heart out. I could have sang with him all day,” she tweeted. “I wanted to share this wonderful man with you because he certainly loves later life and is proving you can still spread joy and do what you love later on in life.”
Check out the performance for yourself below!
We’re on our way to Brussels for the next leg of @CatsMusical tour. I saw this guy playing and called @CeiliOConnor as I knew he needed a singing partner. Captured a bit of the magic here. He was so sweet, saying Ceili “made his day” and that she must be “in a show”. Precious x pic.twitter.com/Lx8oNfkO0b
— Matthew Rowland (@matthewrowlandx) March 18, 2019
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