SOUL DOCTOR Opens 12/24 in South Florida

SOUL DOCTOR, the exhilarating, riveting and hilarious new Broadway-bound musical, tells the true story of the beloved and controversial father of popular Jewish music, Shlomo Carlebach. Deemed a "CERTIFIABLE HIT" by Larry King and examiner.com, the pre-Broadway premier debuts in South Florida on December 24, with shows first in Miami Beach, then Fort Lauderdale.

Steve Margoshes, the legendary composer/orchestrator of such Broadway hits as Elton John's Aida, The WHO's Tommy and Smokey Joe's Café, has woven together 30 of Carlebach's timeless hit songs into a show that CNN's Larry King described as "A transformative theatrical experience, with soul-stirring melodies and a story that keeps the crowd roaring with laughter and song all night long!

SOUL DOCTOR takes us on a musical odyssey through the challenges and triumphs of this cultural phenomenon: his childhood escape from Nazi Germany, becoming a rabbinical prodigy in America; discovering Gospel and Soul music during his unlikely friendship with Nina Simone; his meteoric rise as a "Rock Star-Rabbi" in the 1960s, performing with Bob Dylan, Jefferson Airplane and The Grateful Dead; his struggle to reconcile his deep traditional roots with his desire to reach people of all backgrounds in the "free-love generation;" and his personal conflicts trying to keep his family together while traversing the globe as a "Soul Doctor," bringing joy and song to the lonely, the searching and the brokenhearted.

"Shlomo himself was like a great theatrical experience," said Daniel S. Wise, SOUL DOCTOR's playwright/producer. "Even if you were in a large crowd, Shlomo's magnetism and charisma would reach you in the most personal and intimate way, igniting your imagination to discover a new level of joy."

Six-time Tony Award winning Broadway Producer Richard Frankel says, "We produced Hairspray, which became an international mega hit because it had a 'Life-is-a-joyful-adventure' quality to it. And I feel the same quality in SOUL DOCTOR, which thrills me and makes me really happy to be associated with it."

Steve Margoshes has incorporated Carlebach's original hits into a spectacular theatrical score. "His incredibly rich, gorgeous melodies are among the most theatrical of all the music I've worked on," he says. "Broadway audiences are going to be taken in and carried away by this incredible and deeply moving story that is joyous and filled with laughter - like the great musical comedies."

SOUL DOCTOR has produced rave reviews www.shlomomusical.com/press.php "See it before it goes to Broadway," wrote Playbill. "Powerful and touching! A charismatic, enlightening evening that rouses the soul ... A must see!" wrote Bradley J. Troll of the New Orleans Times Picayune. Broadway World calls it "The first major Jewish-themed musical since Fiddler on the Roof." "This show is already a hit and destined to become a hit on Broadway for many years to come!" raved Larry King.

SOUL DOCTOR (www.shlomomusical.com) runs December 24 - January 8 at the Colony Theater, 1040 Lincoln Road, Miami Beach. It continues January 10 - 29 at Fort Lauderdale's Parker Playhouse, 707 NE 8th Street. Individual tickets for the show can be purchased at the Colony Theatre (305.674.1040), Parker Playhouse (954.462.0222) or through Ticketmaster, www.ticketmaster.com.