Soul Doctor- Oy Gevalt!

[WhizzerMarvin]

Posted: 8/5/12 at 1:06am

Saw this tonight, and although not completely without merit, it's very rough around the edges. As a general rule I don't think any piece of theater (or movie) needs to be 3 hours long unless you absolutely need every minute and are utilizing them to perfection. It seems the creative team hasn't put "Soul Doctor" through the editing process, and a lot of this should have been trimmed before it even saw a public performance. There's an interesting story there, but it's hard to pick out of the current rambling narrative.

The musical tells the story of Shlomo Carlebach, a Jew who escaped Austria before WWII and moved to Brooklyn with his family as a young boy. He grew up to be a famous (according to this show) musician, who recorded over 25 albums of original Jewish music. The most interesting aspect of his life, to me, was that he was close friends with Nina Simone, brilliantly played by Erica Ash, and also performed with people like Bob Dylan and John Denver.

The show now takes us painstakingly through every moment of Shlomo's life from 1938 to 1988. It takes almost an hour before he meets Nina when things start to get interesting. I almost think it would work better as a two person musical between the two of them. Their unconventional friendship could be the canvas to tell the story of both their struggles to make it.

Right now it plays like Shlomo's Wikipedia article with samplings of songs sprinkled in. It's informative, and perhaps suitable for a Hebrew school pageant, but it's not dramatically interesting.

The actors give it their all, but by the third hour it seemed like more of the same: Shlomo writes some more songs and affects lots of people.

Ash is the standout and whenever she's on stage things liven up a bit.

I think there's a show in there somewhere, but right now it's still waiting to be found.

[g.d.e.l.g.i.]

Posted: 8/6/12 at 12:06am

^ You mean like maybe a musical about Nina Simone starring Erica Ash? 'Cause that's what jumped out at me.

[binau]

Posted: 8/6/12 at 12:24am

Is this the musical I invested $1 in?

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/andersonenvy/soul-doctor-broadway-launch?ref=live

[WhizzerMarvin]

Posted: 8/6/12 at 10:42am

Ha, yes you just in helped this move one (small) step closer to Broadway. I like how it's called "The new Shlomo Carlebach musical," as if there was another one we were going to compare it to!

And no I don't think Ash should do a Nina Simone musical. I like the contrast between Shlomo and Simone. There was just way too much going on and the focus needed to be narrowed. Their relationship is an interesting slant on the material and I think the creators should go with it. At the least, if they don't like that angle, they should choose some focus for the piece. A 50 year timeline of his life is boring.

[ggersten]

Posted: 8/6/12 at 11:30am

Shlomo Carlebach was an amazing man. He didn't really "perform". He just seemed to sing from the heart. I was only able to see him live twice. He would lean his head back as he sang - as the melody and words seemed to overwhelm him and he looked up and closed his eyes as in prayer - and made everyone feel warm inside.

His melodies have become part of many synagaogues' liturgy. He is revered by many in the Jewish community. He didn't sell out sports arenas - but he would perform in auditoriums and small meeting rooms. He just wanted to spread his love of Gd and Judaism. He always seemed genuine. I know nothing of his life story, so would be interested in this show.

[dramamama611]

Posted: 8/6/12 at 11:41am

Well, it looks like you won't be an investor, after all. You are still the only donation! It looks like they changed the wording of their plea as well.

[themysteriousgrowl]

Posted: 8/6/12 at 12:24pm

Will they be doing any performances in shlo-mo?

[WhizzerMarvin]

Posted: 8/6/12 at 12:29pm

ggersten- I never meant to imply anything about Carlebach as a human being. It doesn't matter to me if he was a good or bad man, or whether or not he was genuine with his ministry. What matters to me is how well his story is told. You can take almost any historical figure, no matter how famous, and either make his or her life exciting or bland.

If I only wanted to find out his life story I would take five minutes and read his Wikipedia page, which I did after the show. When I go to a theatrical presentation of someone's life I expect it to be, well, theatrical, especially when it runs for three hours.

[ggersten]

Posted: 8/6/12 at 12:59pm

I agree that the play's the thing. I was responding to the comment about him being "famous (according to this show) musician". It's true that his fame may have been limited - but in that sector for which he was concerned, he was indeed famous.

I don't know whether his life story is interesting or not. You are right that it is up to the play to make that life interesting. If it doesn't do that, more's the pity.

[dexter3]

Posted: 8/6/12 at 6:37pm

If the musical is actually a whopping 3 hours, then the writers obviously have the in-love-with-their-own-musical syndrome. Which also means it probably won't be ever but cut down significantly. Honestly, to sustain a 2012 audience's attention for 3 hours, it would have to have the writing of August Osage County and the special effects of a Circe show...