Soul Doctor Pre-Broadway Tour Conicides with General Assembly in New Orleans

SOUL DOCTOR: The Shlomo Musical, the new Broadway-bound musical celebrating the life and music of Shlomo Carlebach, will be in New Orleans for its pre-Broadway tour at the same time as the 2010 General Assembly and International Lion of Judah Conference. Performances will begin Saturday, November 6th and run through Thursday, November 11th at the Le Petit Theatre du Vieux Carre.

Attendees of the premier annual North American Jewish conferences are invited to experience the first major Jewish musical in a generation, before it heads to Broadway in 2011. Special tickets, group packages and theater parties will be available for GA/ILOJC groups and organizations who would like the opportunity to offer their members a one-of-a-kind entertainment experience in the Big Easy.

SOUL DOCTOR tells the true story of one of the most beloved and controversial personalities of the post WWII generation, Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach. The father of contemporary Jewish music, he ignited the spirit of millions around the world with his melodies, storytelling and teachings. He created a new genre of Jewish music - partially influenced by the black spirituals and his relationship with a then-unknown Nina Simone - and changed the modern Jewish experience. He is often credited with helping to revive Jewish identity in the aftermath of the Holocaust.

This must-see production is a celebration of 30 of Carlebach's soulful and joyous melodies which features a musical score by two-time Drama Desk Award winning composer Steve Margoshes (FAME, THE WHO'S TOMMY, SMOKEY JOE'S CAFÉ, Elton John'S AIDA). The Broadway cast includes Ben Crawford (star of Broadway's SHREK and LES MIZ) as Shlomo, Rosalind Brown (FOOTLOOSE) as Nina Simone, Tony Award nominee Eleanor Reissa (MY FAIR LADY, THOSE WERE THE DAYS), and Jamie Wax (GOIN' TO JACKSON). The cast is directed by Holly-Anne Ruggiero (JERSEY BOYS, 700 SUNDAYS), with choreography by Gerry McIntyre (ONCE ON THIS ISLAND) and musical direction and arrangements by two-time Grammy Award nominee Seth Farber.

The book/libretto is written by playwright Daniel S. Wise, lyrics by Drama Desk Award nominee David Schechter, and additional material by Carlebach's daughter, Neshama Carlebach.

The production team includes Jeremy Chess and Daniel S. Wise, in association with Jerome Levy, Edward L. Steinberg and Joel Kahn, and general management by Frankel-Green Theatrical Management, whose Broadway producing credits have garnered over 37 Tony Awards, including for HAIRSPRAY, THE PRODUCERS, STOMP, YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN and A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC.

Shlomo Carlebach is known as one of the most pivotal and unconventional Jewish personalities of the post WWII generation. As a child, he narrowly escaped from Hitler's Germany. Once in America, he left the traditional yeshiva world to become the first emissary of the Chabad movement. His surprise departure from the traditional Jewish world and his astonishing rise as a music star in the 1960's later shocked the music scene, as he shared the stage with legends like Bob Dylan, Nina Simone, Pete Seeger and the Grateful Dead. He reinvented the Jewish experience at his "The House of Love & Prayer", a hippie commune he founded in San Francisco. His music flowed beyond the Jewish world - even Pope John Paul II used Shlomo's music for his mass. Beloved and controversial, Shlomo traveled the world, mending broken hearts through his boundless love and joyous music. Today, his music is celebrated throughout the world more than ever, in both Jewish and secular circles.

TICKETS

SOUL DOCTOR will run from Saturday, November 6th to Thursday, November 11th at Le Petit Theatre du Vieux Carre, located at 616 St. Peter Street, New Orleans, LA 70116.

Special tickets and group packages are available by contacting Rachel Kelstein at 646.626.7228 or sales@souldoctorbroadway.com.

For more information about SOUL DOCTOR, please visit www.souldoctorbroadway.com 

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