Mona Golabek News

TheatreWorks Silicon Valley continues its 2018/19 season with the World Premiere of Hershey Felder: A Paris Love Story, written and performed by piano virtuoso Hershey Felder, who shattered box office records at TheatreWorks with his acclaimed portrayals of Irving Berlin, Beethoven, and Tchaikovsky. Now, Felder captures the life and music of Impressionist composer Claude Debussy, a visionary who proclaimed nature his religion, creating music of ravishing beauty, color, and compassion, from the sweeping "La mer" to the evocative "L'apres-midi d'un faune" and the mystical "Clair de lune." Intertwined with Debussy's story, Felder for the first time shares his own deeply personal connection to the City of Light.

San Diego Repertory Theatre (San Diego REP) has announced the return of San Diego's beloved artist, Hershey Felder with his latest smash hit celebrating the world's greatest composer, Beethoven. Following his triumphs as Piotr Tchaikovsky and Irving Berlin in 2017-2018, the brilliant Hershey Felder will bring Ludwig van Beethoven to life through the eyes of a Viennese doctor who spent his boyhood by the Maestro's side in Beethoven. Directed by Joel Zwick, performances of Hershey Felder, Beethoven run February 21 - March 24, 2019, at the Lyceum Stage Theatre. Tickets start at $25 and are currently on sale to the general public. Beethoven previews on February 21, with press opening on Friday, February 22 at 8:00 p.m.

Award-winning actor, author and piano virtuoso Hershey Felder will present the world premiere of his newest work, Hershey Felder, A Paris Love Story, featuring the music of the great Impressionist composer Claude Debussy, in April 2019. The production is the final work in Felder's critically acclaimed "Great Composer Series" of one-man shows, which have included George Gershwin, Leonard Bernstein, Irving Berlin, Ludwig van Beethoven, Frederic Chopin, Franz Liszt, and Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky.

If you think doing a one-person show is hard enough, try doing it as both a thespian and a musician.

A decidedly different tale of surviving the Holocaust.

Westport Country Playhouse presents the acclaimed musical memoir, "The Pianist of Willesden Lane," from December 6 through December 22.  The production returns to the Playhouse by popular demand after a sold-out run in April 2017. 

Westport Country Playhouse will offer a free-of-charge performance to "The Pianist of Willesden Lane" for students at Connecticut schools adopting the "Willesden Reads" program into their curriculum to study the Holocaust. 

In conjunction with Westport Country Playhouse's presentation of the musical memoir, "The Pianist of Willesden Lane," a documentary film, "Finding Leah Tickotsky: A Discovery of Heritage in Poland," will be screened, free-of-charge, on Monday, December 10, at 7 p.m., in the Lucille Lortel White Barn Center, on the Playhouse campus. The event is presented in partnership with The Westport Library. 

Westport Country Playhouse will present the acclaimed musical memoir, "The Pianist of Willesden Lane," from December 5 through December 22.  The production returns to the Playhouse by popular demand after a sold-out run in April 2017. 

At an SRO ceremony held at Zion Lutheran Church in Pittsfield, the Board of the Berkshire Theatre Critics Association presented the Berkshire Theatre Awards on the evening of Monday, November 12, 2018. This was the third year the awards have been presented to honor and celebrate the excellence and diversity of theatre in the greater Berkshire region.

This week the Berkshire Theatre Critics Association is voting on the final award list in preparation for the Third Annual Berkshire Theatre Awards. Winners will be announced at the awards ceremony to be held on Monday, November 12 at 7 pm at the Zion Lutheran Church, 74 First Street (Route 7) in Pittsfield, MA.

Westport Country Playhouse stages "Man of La Mancha," the Tony Award-winning musical about Don Quixote's quest for "The Impossible Dream," now playing through October 14. Directed by Mark Lamos, Westport Country Playhouse artistic director, the story of Quixote's battle for good and the love of his fair maiden is written by Dale Wasserman, with music by Mitch Leigh, and lyrics by Joe Darion.

Westport Country Playhouse will present an open-caption performance in Spanish of the Tony Award-winning musical "Man of La Mancha," on Saturday, October 13, at 3 p.m.  This is the first time in the Playhouse's history that an open-caption performance in a language other than English will be offered.  An open-caption screen with the Spanish translation in real time will be located at the side of the stage and visible by all members of the audience.

Westport Country Playhouse announces that due to high ticket demand for its current production of the Tony Award-winning musical "Man of La Mancha," an extra performance has been added on Sunday, October 14, at 3 p.m.  The story of Don Quixote's quest for "The Impossible Dream" begins two and one-half weeks of performances on Tuesday, September 25. Director is Mark Lamos, Playhouse artistic director.

Theater J's production of The Pianist of Willesden Lane, adapted and directed by Hershey Felder, is a timeless piece of storytelling.

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 "Man of La Mancha," the Tony Award-winning musical about Don Quixote's quest for "The Impossible Dream," from September 25 through October 13.  Directed by Mark Lamos, Westport Country Playhouse artistic director, the story of Quixote's battle for good and the love of his fair maiden is written by Dale Wasserman, with music by Mitch Leigh, and lyrics by Joe Darion.

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.

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.

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.