Hershey Felder News

Award-winning actor and piano virtuoso Hershey Felder broke box office records this month at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts during his engagement of HERSHEY FELDER: BEETHOVEN. The show broke the theater's record as the highest grossing ticket sales for a multiple-week event with over 11,000 audience members attending BEETHOVEN during its four-week run. HERSHEY FELDER: BEETHOVEN had previously broken box office records during its World Premiere of this new adaptation at TheatreWorks Silicon Valley in June of 2017.

Westport Country Playhouse will stage the recent Off-Broadway hit, 'The Understudy,' a backstage comedy about a Hollywood action star rehearsing for a role on Broadway amid tensions with his understudy.  The cast includes Eric Bryant, Connecticut Critics Circle Award winner; Brett Dalton of ABC's 'Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.'; and Andrea Syglowski, award-winning actress. Running August 14 through September 1, the comedy is written by Theresa Rebeck, creator of NBC's show business drama, 'Smash,' and directed by David Kennedy, Westport Country Playhouse associate artistic director.

General on sale begins Wednesday, May 30 at Noon for award-winning actor and piano virtuoso Hershey Felder in his wildly acclaimed one-man show, HERSHEY FELDER AS IRVING BERLIN at 59E59 Theaters (Val Day, Artistic Director; Brian Beirne, Managing Director).

Theater J presents the Washington, DC debut of the  Hershey Felder production of  The Pianist of Willesden Lane, starring internationally-acclaimed storyteller and concert pianist Mona Golabek in a limited engagement at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in the Family Theater. The production is adapted and directed by Hershey Felder and based on the book The Children of Willesden Lane: Beyond the Kindertransport: A Memoir of Music, Love, and Survival by Golabek and Lee Cohen.  Performances are September 12 - 30.

Westport Country Playhouse will stage the recent Off-Broadway hit, "The Understudy," a backstage comedy about a Hollywood action star rehearsing for a role on Broadway amid tensions with his understudy.

The story and songs of America's Composer come to life onstage in Hershey Felder as Irving Berlin, a play with music written and performed by acclaimed actor/pianist Hershey Felder. Tickets will go on sale Wednesday August 1, 2018 for this Pittsburgh premiere.

Westport Country Playhouse stages the lavish, large-cast comedy, "A Flea in Her Ear," newly adapted by David Ives from the original by Georges Feydeau, and directed by Mark Lamos, Westport Country Playhouse artistic director.  Fresh from a sold-out run by Delaware's Resident Ensemble Players (REP), a professional theater located at the University of Delaware, the co-production with the REP runs in Westport July 10 - 28.  

THE PIANIST OF WILLESDEN LANE - piano virtuoso Mona Golabek's beautiful retelling of the story of her mother's escape from Vienna as a young woman on the Kindertransport - has returned for a limited engagement through July 22 at Hartford Stage and the performance is once again enthralling, beautifully told (and played) and something not to be missed.

Westport Country Playhouse will stage the lavish, large-cast comedy, "A Flea in Her Ear," newly adapted by David Ives from the original by Georges Feydeau, and directed by Mark Lamos, Westport Country Playhouse artistic director.  Fresh from a sold-out run by Delaware's Resident Ensemble Players (REP), a professional theater located at the University of Delaware, the co-production with the REP will run in Westport July 10 - 28.  

The Rally Cat, a new, energized performing arts company based in New York City, launches its inaugural season on July 21st with a concert of new music by award-winning composer Aferdian Stephens at the National Opera Center at 1:30 PM.

Hershey Felder returns to the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Artswith Beethoven, directed by Joel Zwick, from July 27 to August 12, 2018. This new production is based on the original Aus dem Schwarzspanierhausby Dr. Gerhard von Breuning with text by Felder and features some of Beethoven's greatest compositions from his keyboard works such as the "Emperor Concerto" to the 5thand 9thSymphonies, his keyboard sonatas, and chamber music. The Samantha F. Voxakis, Karen Racanelli and Erik Carstensen production is an extraordinary one-man musical play that brings the composer to life as it dramatizes the true story of a Viennese doctor who spent his boyhood by the Maestro's side as the son of Beethoven's best friend.

The Laguna Playhouse raised $1.7 Million at their annual gala held on May 12, 2018 at Island Hotel in Newport Beach, California. Attended by 400 playhouse patrons, the sold-out event featured a VIP Sponsors Reception, an elegant dinner, live and silent auction, entertainment and a special performance by 'Phantom of the Opera' star Davis Gaines. Honored at the event were the Moulton Family and South Coast Plaza.

The Auditorium Theatre hosts Hearts to Art, a summer camp for young people who have experienced the death of a parent, for two sessions in 2018 (July 9-20 for campers ages 7-10 and July 23-August 3 for campers ages 11-14). At this award-winning summer camp, young people come together to heal, cope, and unite through the power of the performing arts. Hearts to Art has an annual theme each year, and for 2018, the theme is 'home.' Campers will explore how the concept of home can mean something different to everyone and how the idea of home may be affected by change and loss. 

The Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts announced today the 2018/2019 season, delivering ten months of groundbreaking produced and presented works in dance, music and theater from locally, nationally and internationally renowned artists and companies. The season begins September 21, 2018, marking the third year of programming under the leadership of Artistic Director Paul Crewes and Managing Director Rachel Fine and the sixth for the institution. Michael Nemeroff, Chairman of the Board of The Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts, begins the second year of his term.

BroadwayWorld has a first look at San Diego Repertory Theatre's production of Nathan Gunn - Flying Solo, written and directed by Hershey Felder. through June 10, 2018.

For a man who has made his career in casts of operas over the years, FLYING SOLO is carried entirely on Gunn's shoulders and voice and it a highly enjoyable journey with vocals that soar. For ticket information and show times go to www.sdrep.org

General on sale begins Wednesday, May 30 at Noon for award-winning actor and piano virtuoso Hershey Felder in his wildly acclaimed one-man show, HERSHEY FELDER AS IRVING BERLIN at 59E59 Theaters (Val Day, Artistic Director; Brian Beirne, Managing Director). The production, featuring music and lyrics by the great American songwriter Irving Berlin, book by Hershey Felder and directed by longtime Felder collaborator Trevor Hay, will play from August 24 through October 28, 2018, with opening night scheduled for Wednesday, September 5. Felder returns to 59E59 Theaters, where he recently played a sold out engagement of MAESTRO (Leonard Bernstein) and adapted, directed and designed the sold out THE PIANIST OF WILLESDEN LANE.

Westport Country Playhouse announces its 2018 season, featuring five productions that are big for the soul, according to Artistic Director Mark Lamos. The Connecticut professional theater's lineup includes two comedies, one modern and one classic; a drama; a musical; and a world premiere, running from May 29 through November 17.

The Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts announced today the 2018/2019 season, delivering ten months of groundbreaking produced and presented works in dance, music and theater from locally, nationally and internationally renowned artists and companies. The season begins September 21, 2018, marking the third year of programming under the leadership of Artistic Director Paul Crewes and Managing Director Rachel Fine and the sixth for the institution. Michael Nemeroff, Chairman of the Board of The Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts, begins the second year of his term.