Review: RACHMANINOFF AND THE TSAR at TheatreWorks Silicon Valley

Rachmaninoff and the Tsar

Book by Hershey Felder

Directed by Trevor Hay

Music by Sergei Rachmaninoff

Theatreworks Silicon Valley

Hershey Felder’s critically acclaimed series of composer plays has been a goldmine for Theatreworks Silicon Valley since their inception back in 1998 with George Gershwin Alone. Since then, he’s channeled Beethoven, Bernstein, Irving Berlin, Tchaikovsky, Debussy, Liszt, and Chopin, each show a unique perspective on the composer’s life, works and influences. For the last of these shows, he brings Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873 – 1943) to life, and for the first time, shares the stage with actor Jonathan Silvestri as Tsar Nicholas II. Felder once more taps into his winning model of beautifully played masterpieces, historical knowledge, and a compelling theme.

First let’s address the shift in dynamic. All previous solo shows allowed Felder to speak directly to the audience, breaking the fourth wall and directly engaging us in the narrative. Here, he smartly introduces the ghost of the late Tsar and creates a two-hander with a lot more acting than any previous show. Why he conjures the Tsar is asked and answered by the finale, which is critically intertwined with the show’s theme of searching for home and one’s roots. Silvestri is an accomplished actor who specializes in international character accents and styles, and his Nicholas is believable.

Besides providing a chronological history of Rachmaninoff, from his early childhood genius, his involvement with the Russian nobility, to his emigration from revolutionary Russia to America, Felder dives into the composer’s sources of inspiration, the loss of creativity created by his diaspora and his health struggles in later life (Rachmaninoff dies days short of his 70th birthday from melanoma). The play can be seen as a fever dream, fueled by injections of morphine wherein Rachmaninoff summons the Tsar to blame him for destroying the Russia of his youth.

The show of course is peppered with Felder’s piano prowess on snippets of Rachmaninoff’s music: C# minor Prelude, the second piano Concerto, his symphonies, and his Paganini Variations. The play is set in the backyard of Rachmaninoff’s Beverly Hills home, beautifully appointed by Felder himself. There are historical video montages of revolutionary Russia and recreated footage of the Tsar’s family including Silvestri’s own family.

There is a secondary, and in my opinion unnecessary, plotline surrounding the Tsar’s daughter Anastasia who some propose lived past the family’s murder in 1918. It ties Rachmaninoff’s generosity to the late Tsar and his still palpable love for old Russia. It’s a love-hate relationship that has already been established. That minor point notwithstanding, Rachmaninoff and the Tsar is a poignant finale to a lovingly created series.

Rachmaninoff and the Tsar continues through February 9th. Tickets available at Theatreworks.org or by call 877-662-8978.

Photo credits: Stefano DeCarli