The encounter happened when Denis Robinson, a 91 year-old resident of London, England was playing piano at the St. Pancras train station. It’s not his 1st time doing it since the elderly guy comes three days a week to the station only to play piano. The commuters don’t pay that much attention to Denis, that is why he was taken aback when a woman who turns to be a professional singer and actress stopped to join 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!
