Writers Theatre, under the leadership of Executive Director Kathryn M. Lipuma and Alexandra C. and John D. Nichols Artistic Director Braden Abraham, opens its 2025/26 Season with Hershey Felder returning to the stage following his record-breaking, Jeff Award-winning appearance as Monsieur Chopin, now as the famed pianist and composer Sergei Rachmaninoff. This World Premiere production, Rachmaninoff and the Tsar, features Rachmaninoff’s greatest music, a book by Felder, and has Felder appearing for the first time opposite another actor, Jonathan Silvestri, in the role of Tsar Nicholas II. Directed by Trevor Hay, this production is the Chicago/Midwest Premiere, part of the play’s World Premiere season. The production runs August 13 – September 21, 2025 in the Alexandra C. and John D. Nichols Theatre at 325 Tudor Court, Glencoe. The Press Opening is Friday, August 15, 2025 at 7:30pm.
Tickets are on sale at Writers Theatre at 325 Tudor Court, Glencoe; 847-242-6000; www.writerstheatre.org.
Having safely escaped Russia during the 1917 revolution, beloved composer and pianist Sergei Rachmaninoff performed all over the world before eventually making his home in sunny Beverly Hills. Privately longing for the Russia that he knew and loved as a young man, one memory continues to haunt him—Tsar Nicholas II. Hershey Felder's newest musical play will feature the virtuoso actor/pianist in the role of Rachmaninoff alongside British-Italian actor Jonathan Silvestri in the role of Nicholas II. Featuring the composer’s most beloved works, Hershey Felder’s Rachmaninoff and the Tsar promises to be another mystical musical journey in the inimitable Hershey Felder style that audiences have come to know and love.
Known throughout the world for his solo composer plays, for the first time, Felder appears opposite another actor, British-Italian Jonathan Silvestri, in the role of Tsar Nicholas II. Hershey Felder’s Rachmaninoff and the Tsar features the music of Sergei V. Rachmaninoff with a book by Hershey Felder. The production is directed by Trevor Hay. Dramaturgy is by Jerry Patch. Concept design is by Hershey Felder, lighting is by Erik S. Barry, sound and production management is by Erik Carstensen, sound operation is by Jeremy Kalke, projections are by Stefano Decarli, costumes are by Marysol Gabriel and wigs are by Judi Lewin.
“For more than two decades, Chicago audiences have been among the first in the world to experience Hershey's celebrated series of musical solo plays illuminating the lives and works of great composers,” said Alexandra C. and John D. Nichols Artistic Director Braden Abraham. “Now, Hershey returns to Writers Theatre with two exciting firsts—a new work exploring Russian composer Sergei Rachmaninov’s life and music, and his first time sharing the stage with another actor, Jonathan Silvestri. This collaboration delivers a moving dialogue between two complex historical figures in a highly theatrical setting, while maintaining the intimate musical storytelling that has made Hershey's work so beloved by our audiences.”
ABOUT THE ARTISTS
Sergei Rachmaninoff was born in 1873 in the Russian village of Semyonovo, more than one thousand miles to the east of Moscow. Beginning piano lessons at four, when he was ten he entered the St. Petersburg conservatory later moving to the Moscow Conservatory. He was known as a first-rate pianist, a world class conductor and heir to Tchaikovsky as composer. He spent most of his life performing as a pianist in Europe and the US. While he was world renowned as a pianist and conductor and beloved for his compositions, he was not critically well received by cognoscenti until the second half of the 20th century. He died just days before his 70th birthday in Beverly Hills, only weeks after finally receiving his American citizenship.
Hershey Felder (Sergei Rachmaninoff/Book) Recently named as Artistic Director of the historic Teatro della Signoria in Florence Italy, as well as Florence’s oldest and most historic theatre, Teatro Nicollini, (1648) both in Florence’s historic city centre, American Theatre Magazine has said, “Hershey Felder, actor, Steinway Concert Artist and theatrical creator is in a category all his own.” Following 28 years of continuous stage productions and over 6,000 live performances throughout the U.S. and abroad, Hershey Felder created Live from Florence, An Arts Broadcasting Company, based in Florence, Italy, which has produced more than eighteen theatrical films to date. They include the recently-released Noble Genius-Chopin & Liszt; The Assembly; Violetta, the story of Verdi’s Traviata; Dante and Beatrice; Mozart and Figaro in Vienna; the world premiere musicals Nicholas, Anna & Sergei; the story of Sergei Rachmaninoff; Puccini, the story of famed opera composer Giacomo Puccini; Before Fiddler, a musical story about writer Sholem Aleichem; Great American Songs and the Stories Behind Them, Leonard Bernstein and the Israel Philharmonic, a documentary, and the popular Musical Tales in the Venetian Jewish Ghetto. Two seasons of programming are currently available at www.hersheyfelder.net with season 3 being launched in fall of 2025. Hershey has given performances of his solo productions at some of the world’s most prestigious theatres and has consistently broken box office records. 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 and Monsieur Chopin. 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, and the opera IL QUARTO UOMO that premiered in Fiesole, Italy in the summer of 2023 with the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino. 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. 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 Rt. Hn. Kim Campbell.
Jonathan Silvestri (Tsar Nicholas II) Jonathan Silvestri began his career at BAC Youth Theatre in London’s Clapham district later studying with Simon Furness. He is known for his roles in the international television HBO hit series “Borgia” as Cardinal Fonsalida; his recent film with Tim Rozon as a US Marine in “DAKOTA,” the television series “The Young Pope,” “ Dangerous Lies,” “Devils,” “Fangs,” and more. He is a regular on Italian TV, in particular RAI’s ‘Impazienti’ in a starring role with Max Tortora and Enrico Bertolino. Jonathan recently appeared as Eugene Delacroix in Hershey Felder’s feature film “Noble Genius-Chopin & Liszt” and the feature film “Hey Joe,” with James Franco. A regular on Roman stages, Jonathan’s notable theatre credits include “Closer” by Patrick Marber, “Julius Caesar,” “Our Country’s Good,” and “Chinatown” at the Teatro Manhattan as well as many other productions. Jonathan is of British-Roman origin and is an actor specializing in international character accents and styles.
Fact Sheet / Hershey Felder’s Rachmaninoff and the Tsar
Chicago/Midwest Premiere, part of the play’s World Premiere season
Hershey Felder and Jonathan Silvestri in
Hershey Felder’s Rachmaninoff and the Tsar
The Music of Sergei V. Rachmaninoff
Book by: Hershey Felder
Directed by: Trevor Hay
Cast: Hershey Felder as Sergei Rachmaninoff and Jonathan Silvestri as Tsar Nicholas II
Creative Team:
Book: Hershey Felder
Dramaturgy: Jerry Patch
Director: Trevor Hay
Lighting: Erik. S. Barry
Scenic: Hershey Felder
Sound and Production: Erik Carstensen
Projections: Stefano Decarli
Costumes: Marysol Gabriel
Wigs and makeup: Judi Lewin
Dates: First performance: August 13, 2025
Press opening: Friday, August 15, at 7:30pm
Closing performance: September 21, 2025
Performance Schedule:
- Wednesdays: 3:00pm (July 2 & 16 only) and 7:30pm
- Thursdays: 7:30pm
- Fridays: 7:30pm
- Saturdays: 3:00pm (except June 21) and 7:30pm
- Sundays: 2:00pm and 6:00pm (June 29 & July 13 only)
Open Captioned Performance: Thursday, September 4, 2025 at 7:30pm
ASL-Interpreted Performance: Saturday, September 30, 2025 at 2:00om
Location: Alexandra C. and John D. Nichols Theatre, 325 Tudor Court, Glencoe
Prices: $35-$95
Discounts are available for students, educators, theater industry professionlas, active military personnel, veterans, police officers, firefighters, and their immediate families. Information is available at: https://www.writerstheatre.org/plan-your-visit/box-office-and-theatre-center/pricing--special-offers
Box Office: The Box Office is located at 325 Tudor Court, Glencoe; 847-242-6000; www.writerstheatre.org
NOTES OF INTERESTS
- Hershey Felder previously performed at Writers Theatre in spring of 2024 with his production of Monsieur Chopin – A Play with Music.
- Since the 1998 premiere of his internationally lauded play with music “George Gershwin Alone,” Hershey Felder has appeared on world renowned stages throughout the United States and abroad giving more than six thousand performances on stages in original works that include “George Gershwin Alone,” “Beethoven,” “Maestro Bernstein,” “Hershey Felder as Irving Berlin,” as well at the appearances of “Our Great Tchaikovsky,” “A Paris Love Story - Debussy,” and more.
- This exploration of Sergei Rachmaninoff’s itinerant but extraordinary life illuminates the master’s sense of home and family and how those elements influenced his art. Featuring his world famous C# minor Prelude to his second piano concerto, his symphonies and his Paganini Variations, Rachmaninoff did leave Russia but Russia stayed with him until the very end influencing every aspect of his life.
- Hershey Felder’s Rachmaninoff and the Tsar had its world premiere at the Eli and Edythe Broad Stage in Santa Monica followed by the Balboa Theatre in Santa Monica where the San Diego Union Tribune said that “Felder gives a heartbreaking performance in his masterful drama about Rachmaninoff in what is his best work.” The Writers Theatre engagement is part of the production’s World Premiere season.
WRITERS THEATRE 2025/26 SEASON
The 2025-26 Season launches with the new musical play Hershey Felder’s Rachmaninoff and the Tsar, followed by a musical adaptation of Shakespeare’s As You Like It by Tony Award winner Shaina Taub (Suffs), directed by Alexandra C. and John D. Artistic Director Braden Abraham with music direction by Michael Mahler. Celebrated Chicago director Lisa Portes joins Writers for the first time to direct Two Sisters and a Piano, by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Nilo Cruz, followed by the Midwest Premiere of the off-Broadway/Broadway hit Job by Max Wolf Friedlich, directed by David Esbjornson. The subscription season caps off with the Midwest and Chicago Premiere of Tom Stoppard’s epic, Tony Award-winning play Leopoldstadt, directed by Carey Perloff. The season also includes two productions available as add-ons to subscription packages: the one-night only special event of Hershey Felder’s Great American Songbook Sing-Along.
Writers Theatre is offering a variety of subscriptions with an option for every theatregoer. Each subscription includes a deeply discounted ticket price, ranging from $275-$375 for one ticket to the five-play series, Flex subscriptions, with options for either four tickets ($280) or five tickets ($350), are available.
Season package subscribers receive the new Writers Theatre concierge service for ticket exchanges and questions. Exclusive subscriber benefits include: complimentary ticket exchanges (upgrade fees may apply), special “subscriber-rate” prices on additional tickets, advance access to special events and programs, easy, free parking, exclusive discounts in bar items and merchandise, discounts on rental of Writers Theatre event spaces on Writers Theatre merchandise, event rentals, and more. For a complete list of benefits visit writerstheatre.org.
Season Packages are available online at www.writerstheatre.org, and at the Box Office by calling 847-242-6000.
Single tickets will go on sale for each show approximately two months prior to first preview.
AUDIENCE ENGAGEMENT OPPORTUNITIES:
Writers Theatre offers Open Captioning and ASL-interpretation on select dates for each production. Please visit writerstheatre.org/accessibility for more information.
Throughout the season, Writers Theatre offers a variety of audience enrichment and special programming. This includes regularly occurring offerings like the Family Matinee Series, The Green Room artist interview series and podcast, and The Final Word Audience Discussion Series. Please visit writerstheatre.org/events for a full listing of upcoming offerings.
ABOUT WRITERS THEATRE
Writers Theatre is proud to launch its 34th season. Having captivated audiences for years with its dedication to creating the most intimate theatrical experience possible, the theatre is now a major Chicagoland cultural destination with a national reputation for excellence, being called “America’s finest regional theater company” by The Wall Street Journal. Under the leadership of Alexandra C. and John D. Nichols Artistic Director Braden Abraham and Executive Director Kathryn M. Lipuma, the company is charting a path forward for the next 30 years.
Since its founding in 1992, Writers Theatre has stayed true to its core values: valuing the power of the written word and uplifting the artists who bring that word to life. The company has produced over 140 productions—everything from inventive interpretations of classics to groundbreaking new work. In 2016, Writers Theatre opened a new, state-of-the-art facility designed by the internationally renowned Studio Gang Architects.
Writers Theatre now welcomes more than 60,000 patrons each season and has helped establish the North Shore of Chicago as a premier cultural destination. Through its Literary Development Initiative, which has been responsible for the nurturing and premiering of over 30 world premieres, the theatre has established itself as a major originator of new theatrical works. Serving as an extension of the Writers Theatre mission, WT Education programs engage an average of 10,000 students each year with active learning opportunities centered around the written word.