Hershey Felder News

San Diego Repertory Theatre (San Diego REP), has announced a special addition to its 2017-18 season, Nathan Gunn, FLYING SOLO, written and directed by Hershey Felder.

59E59 Theaters (Val Day, Artistic Director; Brian Beirne, Managing Director) is thrilled to announce the lineup of shows for the 2018 Summer Season at 59E59 Theaters (59 East 59th Street, between Park and Madison Avenues).

World-renowned piano virtuoso Mona Golabek returns to Hartford Stage for a limited engagement of her inspirational show, The Pianist of Willesden Lane. Back by popular demand, The Pianist of Willesden Lane will run Thursday, July 12, through Sunday, July 22, for 13 performances only. Tickets will be available for sale on Saturday, May 19.

The spotlight will shine bright at the Laguna Playhouse' annual gala, May 12, with special performances by 'Phantom of the Opera Star' Davis Gaines, a tribute to the Moulton Theatre's 50th anniversary, and a host of highlights celebrated throughout the much-anticipated, elegant affair.

LAGUNA PLAYHOUSE is thrilled to present a very special event production in association with Hershey Felder Presents, HERSHEY FELDER, BEETHOVEN, book by Hershey Felder, the music of Ludwig van Beethoven and directed by Joel Zwick. Executive Director Ellen Richard comments, "We are thrilled to be bringing Hershey Felder as Beethoven to the Playhouse for this very special two week engagement. Our audiences are going to be enraptured by this wildly acclaimed production." Adds Artistic Director Ann E. Wareham, "We are fortunate to have such a wonderful working relationship with the genius that is Hershey Felder and are delighted to have him performing once again on our stage with the music of Beethoven!" HERSHEY FELDER, BEETHOVEN will open on Wednesday, May 16 and performs through Sunday, May 27, 2018 at the Laguna Playhouse, 606 Laguna Canyon Drive in Laguna Beach.

Hershey Felder Presents announces a special one-night-only musical event Hershey Felder's Great American Songbook Sing-Along. Felder, who is performing Our Great Tchaikovsky through May 13th at Chicago's Steppenwolf Theatre Upstairs will lead audiences through 100 years of American music from George and Ira Gershwin, Jerome Kern, Irving Berlin, Rodgers & Hammerstein, to Leonard Bernstein, Stephen Sondheim, and many more.

As the final show of Season 42, San Diego Repertory Theatre presents The Hershey Felder Production of Nathan Gunn - Flying Solo, written and directed by Hershey Felder.  The show runs May 23-June 10, 2018, with the press opening on Friday, May 25 at 8pm on the Lyceum Stage in Horton Plaza.

The spotlight will shine bright at the Laguna Playhouse' annual gala, May 12, with special performances by 'Phantom of the Opera Star' Davis Gaines, a tribute to the Moulton Theatre's 50th anniversary, and a host of highlights celebrated throughout the much-anticipated, elegant affair.

An exclusive single ticket presale to 59E59 Members for the shows THE ORIGINALIST and HERSHEY FELDER AS IRVING BERLIN, both part of 59E59's subscription season, begins today, Tuesday, April 24, at Noon. Single tickets go on sale to the general public on Wednesday, May 30.

One of America's most accomplished and in-demand Baritones today, Nathan Gunn has one of those deeply lush singing voices that can pierce your heart just as it can effortlessly command the room's attention. He does exactly both with his impressive world premiere one-man show FLYING SOLO which continues its remaining performances at the Laguna Playhouse in Laguna Beach, CA through April 22. Written and directed by frequent musical biographer Hershey Felder---and inspired by Gunn's own real life story thus far---this leisurely paced yet still quite riveting autobiographical musical is a stunner both with its touching, relatable narrative and Gunn's entertaining, charismatic performing style.

Hershey Felder PRESENTS the Midwest Premiere of Our Great Tchaikovsky, a new play-with-music featuring the compositions of Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Directed by Trevor Hay with a book and performance by Hershey Felder. Following critically acclaimed and record breaking productions at San Diego Rep, Hartford Stage, Los Angeles' Wallis Annenberg, Theatreworks Silicon Valley and London's West End, Felder's newest work takes on Russia's most celebrated and perhaps most mysterious composer, Tchaikovsky. A time-bending story of culture and politics that explores the mystery around some of the greatest music ever composed, Our Great Tchaikovsky will begin April 11 and close May 13.

HERSHEY FELDER PRESENTS the Midwest Premiere of Our Great Tchaikovsky, a new play-with-music featuring the compositions of Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Directed by Trevor Hay with a book and performance by Hershey Felder. Following critically acclaimed and record breaking productions at San Diego Rep, Hartford Stage, Los Angeles' Wallis Annenberg, Theatreworks Silicon Valley and London's West End, Felder's newest work takes on Russia's most celebrated and perhaps most mysterious composer, Tchaikovsky. A time-bending story of culture and politics that explores the mystery around some of the greatest music ever composed, Our Great Tchaikovsky will begin April 11 and close May 13.

Laguna Playhouse is thrilled to present the sixth show in its 97th season, the world premiere of NATHAN GUNN FLYING SOLO, written and directed by Hershey Felder, with musical direction by Michael Bagby.

Theater J, the nation's pre-eminent professional Jewish theater, announces its 2018-2019 season, which will be presented "around town" in top cultural venues throughout the city as the historic Edlavitch DCJCC building undergoes major renovation.  Artistic Director Adam Immerwahr has selected a diverse group of plays including an acclaimed one-woman show with music at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, a new contemporary drama by Anna Ziegler at Arena Stage, a period love story by Lanford Wilson at GALA Hispanic Theatre, and a new adaptation of a Yiddish theater classic at Georgetown University. 

San Diego Repertory Theatre will host The Lipinsky Family San Diego Jewish Arts Festival - 25th Anniversary Gala at the picturesque home of Barbara Fischbein in Rancho Santa Fe on Sunday, May 27, 2018. 

Westport Country Playhouse will host a 2018 Season Kick-off Party on Saturday, April 7, from 5 to 8 p.m., offering a fun atmosphere with food trucks, beer tastings, exhibits, and special ticket discounts. In addition, a "Sneak Peek" of the upcoming season will be hosted by Mark Lamos, Playhouse artistic director, at 6:30 p.m.  The "Sneak Peek" will feature guests representing all of the upcoming productions, including playwrights, directors, and designers. Admission is free and open to the public. 

San Diego Repertory Theatre announced today its Season 43, described as by Artistic Director Sam Woodhouse as "eloquent, personal and brave." Next season is one of the most critically acclaimed lineup of plays that the REP has produced in many years. The REP proudly celebrates the work of female theatre artists, and four of the productions are by award-winning female playwrights. Since this is the REP, the audience can expect the important questions and issues of our time to be on stage, upfront and deeply personal. There is also the cultural exploration of love and loss and the return of actor/musician Hershey Felder, the best-selling artist in San Diego REP history, in a spellbinding performance of Beethoven!

LAGUNA PLAYHOUSE is thrilled to present the sixth show in its 97th season, the world premiere of NATHAN GUNN FLYING SOLO, written and directed by Hershey Felder, with musical direction by Michael Bagby.

Dear Readers, if you're anything like me you grew up with a love for old standards. Those songs from a bygone era that used to dominate the radio waves, many of which came from musicals of the day. And if you love those old standards then you know and love the name Irving Berlin as a hefty number of those gems came from the prolific genius of Berlin. So, you can imagine spending an evening with the man and those songs would be heaven and the Rep has brought that heaven to us with 'Hershey Felder as Irving Berlin'.

Theatre enthusiasts packed the Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts tonight to hear Founding Artistic Director Robert Kelley and Executive Director Phil Santora of TheatreWorks Silicon Valley reveal the lineup for the company's 49th season, which launches this summer. Among the exhilarating works announced were: the World Premiere of a new piece by Hershey Felder on Claude Debussy, an acclaimed Tony-winning musical, a thrilling political prizefight, and an array of Regional Premieres that include a hit comedy that sends up suburban values, a gospel/rhythm & blues musical developed at TheatreWorks, a heart-stirring musical for the holidays, a comic drama about one of the key historical events in the last century, a searing look at an unsung American hero, plus the return of the grown-up holiday hit The Santaland Diaries. For more information or to purchase subscriptions ($143 - $583) the public can call 650-463-1960 or visit theatreworks.org. Subscriptions are on sale now; single tickets will go on sale in spring 2018. Special pricing is available for seniors (65+), educators, and patrons 35 and under.