Following the enormous success of its previous two livestreaming musical events, internationally acclaimed artist Hershey Felder’s new arts broadcasting company, Hershey Felder Presents – Live from Florence, today announced its next production, Hershey Felder as George Gershwin Alone, will stream live Sunday, September 13th from Teatro della Pergola at 5 p.m. PDT, 7 p.m. CDT and 8 p.m. EDT.
Hershey Felder as George Gershwin Alone played over 3,000 performances seen by over two million people from Los Angeles to Broadway to the U.K., celebrated by both the public and critics, and for quite a few years was the highest grossing Gershwin entity. Similarly to Felder’s previous livestreamed events, proceeds will benefit theatres and arts organizations throughout North America and Europe.
Directed by Stefano de Carli and Felder, Hershey Felder as George Gershwin Alone tells the story of America’s great composer, who with the groundbreaking “A Rhapsody in Blue, made a “Lady out of Jazz.” For the first time, Hershey Felder will bring George Gershwin to life on the stage of one of Europe’s oldest and most famous theatres, Teatro della Pergola, which was built in 1656 shortly after the invention of opera in Florence.
Hershey Felder as George Gershwin Alone incorporates the composer’s best-known songs from The Man I Love and Someone to Watch Over Me, through the hits of An American In Paris and Porgy and Bess, to a complete performance of Rhapsody in Blue. Audiences will also hear standards such as “Embraceable You,” “Fascinating Rhythm,” “I Got Rhythm,” and “’S Wonderful.” Felder is the only actor-musician to create the on-stage role of George Gershwin, who was born in 1898 to Russian-Jewish immigrant parents in Brooklyn, New York and with his brother, Ira, wrote more than 1,000 songs for the stage, screen, opera house and symphony orchestra. Gershwin died in 1937 of an undiagnosed brain tumor at the age of 38, never knowing how famous and beloved he and his work would become.
Hershey Felder as George Gershwin Alone features the music and lyrics of George Gershwin and Ira Gershwin, with a book by Hershey Felder. The production is directed by Stefano de Carli and Felder, adapted from the stage play directed by Joel Zwick. The Associate Director is Trevor Hay. Scenic design is by Hershey Felder. Film production and live editing is by the DeCarli Live film company. Live broadcast and Sound design production are by Erik Carstensen. Meghan Maiya is Director of Broadcasting & Special Projects.
Tickets are $55 per household and are available for purchase online. Patrons will receive a link and password on Friday, September 11, which will enable them to view the livestream and an on-demand version of the performance for one week following the event.
For more information, visit www.hersheyfelder.net.
About Hershey Felder
Named to Time Magazine’s 2016 Top 10 Plays and Musicals, Hershey Felder has played over 6,000 performances of his self-created solo productions at some of the world’s most prestigious theatres and has broken box office records consistently. American Theatre Magazine has said, “Hershey Felder is in a category all his own.” His shows include: George Gershwin Alone (Broadway’s Helen Hayes Theatre, West End’s Duchess Theatre); Monsieur Chopin; Beethoven; Maestro (Leonard Bernstein); Franz Liszt in Musik, Lincoln: An American Story, Hershey Felder as Irving Berlin, Our Great Tchaikovsky, and A Paris Love Story. His compositions and recordings include Aliyah, Concerto for Piano and Orchestra; Fairytale, a musical; Les Anges de Paris, Suite for Violin and Piano; Song Settings; Saltimbanques for Piano and Orchestra; Etudes Thematiques for Piano; and An American Story for Actor and Orchestra. Hershey is the adaptor, director and designer for the internationally performed play-with-music The Pianist of Willesden Lane with Steinway artist Mona Golabek; producer and designer for the musical Louis and Keely: ‘Live’ at the Sahara, directed by Taylor Hackford; and writer and director for Flying Solo, featuring opera legend Nathan Gunn. Upcoming projects include Anna and Sergei, a new play featuring the music of Sergei Rachmaninoff, as well as a new musical based on the award-winning book Out on a Ledge by Eva Libitzky. Hershey has operated a full-service production company since 2001. He has been a scholar-in-residence at Harvard University’s Department of Music and is married to Kim Campbell, the first female Prime Minister of Canada.