HERSHEY FELDER AS A PLAY WITH MUSIC

MUSIC AND LYRICS BY George Gershwin & Ira Gershwin

LIGHTING DESIGN

Michael T. Gilliam

BOOK BY Hershey Felder

PRODUCTION MANAGER/SOUND DESIGN

Erik Carstensen

ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR Trevor Hay

DIRECTED BY Joel Zwick

APRIL 13 - 16, 2023

Bram Goldsmith Theater

Running Time: Approximately two hours, no intermission.

Originally developed at the Tiffany Theatre, Los Angeles

Produced on Broadway at the Helen Hayes Theatre

Produced in London’s West End at the Duchess Theatre

The worldwide copyright to the works of George and Ira Gershwin for this presentation are licensed by the Gershwin Family. The rights for the name, likeness, and life story of George Gershwin used in this presentation are licensed by the George Gershwin Family Trust. GERSHWIN ® and GEORGE GERSHWIN ® are the registered trademarks of Gershwin Enterprises.

WITH THANKS...

The Gershwin, Godowsky and Strunsky families; Roberta Korus, Elliot Brown, Ray White at the Library of Congress; Al and Kathy Checchi, Ken and Katrina Carlson, Skip and Jon Victor, Peg and Rick Golden, Jerry and Judy Weisfogel, the Cotsen families; Marty and Susan Jannol, Brian Novack, Matthew Walley; Susan Myerberg, Karen Racanelli and MJ Bogatin Esq.

Moses and Susan Libitzky, Josef and Margot Lakonishok, Stephen and Jacqueline Swire, Daniel and Phyllis Epstein, Tom Wirtshafter; Jeffrey Kallberg, Amy Carstensen, Maria and Byron Janis; Dr. Benjamin Salisbury, Natalie Niles, and Steinway & Sons; Kenneth and Maria Cole.

With thanks to the team at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts - Kurt Swanson, Joel Hile, Coy Middlebrook, Michelle Wiesel, Chandra Jackson, Vanessa Mejia, Samantha Else, Lauren Wemischner, the box office and house staff.

Baci e tanti abbracci a la nostra famiglia in Italia –Tomasso, Eva, Elena, Alice, Sergio et al.

An important thank you to Lee and Claire Kaufman for their continued support and friendship.

A heartfelt thank you to my team of devoted artists without whom none of our work would be possible, especially Erik Carstensen, Michael Gilliam, Tammy Globerman, Trevor Hay, Annette Nixon, Samantha Voxakis and the entire Greek Family.

A special thank you to Candice and Joel Zwick, and Joel Zwick “Alone”

Tammy, Avery and Kiley

And of course, Kim and doggie Leo (xo)

The production thanks Steinway & Sons for their courtesy in providing the concert grand piano.

HERSHEY FELDER (George Gershwin/Playwright) American Theatre Magazine has said, “Hershey Felder is in a category all his own.” Following 28 years of continuous stage work and over 6,000 live performances throughout the U.S. and abroad, Hershey Felder created Live from Florence: An Arts Broadcasting Company, which has produced eighteen theatrical films to date. They include the recently-released The Assembly and Musical Tales in the Venetian Jewish Ghetto; A Musical Conversation about Stephen Sondheim; Chopin and Liszt in Paris; 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, and Leonard Bernstein and the Israel Philharmonic, a documentary. Two seasons of programming are currently available at www.hersheyfelder.net. Hershey has given performances of his solo productions at some of the world’s most prestigious theaters 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 Chopin in Paris. 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. Hershey has operated a full-service production company since 2001. He has been a scholar-inresidence at Harvard University’s Department of Music and is married to the Rt. Hon. Kim Campbell.

JOEL ZWICK (Director) directed My Big Fat Greek Wedding, the highest-grossing romantic comedy of all time. Mr. Zwick directed the Broadway production of George Gershwin Alone; he and Hershey Felder have also collaborated on on Monsieur Chopin, Beethoven and Maestro. Mr. Zwick has directed Broadway, OffBroadway and Broadway touring companies and began his theatrical career at La Mama E.T.C., as director of the La Mama Plexus. New York productions have included Dance with Me (Tony nomination), Shenandoah (Broadway national tour), Oklahoma (national tour) and Cold Storage (American Place Theater). He acted in the original New York production of MacBird and directed Esther (Promenade Theater, NY), Merry-Go-Round (Chicago and Las Vegas), Last Chance Saloon and Woycek (West End). Mr. Zwick is recognized as one of Hollywood’s most prolific directors of episodic television, having the direction of over 650 episodes to his credit. He has taught drama at Yale University, Brooklyn College, Queens College, Wheaton College, and the University of Southern California and is a graduate (B.A., M.A.) of Brooklyn College.

TREVOR HAY (Associate Director) Directed the world premieres of An American Story for Actor and Orchestra, Abe Lincoln’s Piano, Hershey Felder as Franz Liszt in Musik, Hershey Felder as Irving Berlin, Our Great Tchaikovsky, and A Paris Love Story. He is Associate Director for Mona Golabek’s The Pianist of Willesden Lane, George Gershwin Alone, and Hershey Felder in Maestro. Former member of the historic Old Globe Theatre in San Diego where, at the age of nine, his first position was selling Old Globe memorabilia. Over the next 32 years, Mr. Hay went on to various aspects of production on more than 80 presentations, including the Broadway productions of Jack O’Brien’s Damn Yankees, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, and Twyla Tharpe’s The Times They Are A-Changin’. Included in his 23 seasons at the Old Globe were eleven seasons of the Summer Shakespeare Festival Repertory, as well as work on Tracy Letts’ August: Osage County, directed by Sam Gold, and Hershey Felder’s George Gershwin Alone, Monsieur Chopin and Maestro.

MICHAEL GILLIAM (Lighting Design) Broadway: Bonnie And Clyde, Brooklyn, Big River, Stand-Up Tragedy. The West End: George Gershwin Alone. Off-Broadway: Cagney The Musical, Mr. Joy, The Best Is Yet to Come, Striking 12, Blue, End of The World Party, Zooman and The Sign, Menopause The Musical. National Tours: Spamilton, Looped, Peter Pan, Brooklyn, Guys and Dolls, Big River. Extensive work in many regional theaters across the United States. Awards: Los Angeles Ovation Awards, Dramalogue Awards, Garland Awards, San Diego Critics’ Circle Awards and the 1999 Career Achievement Award from the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle.

ERIK CARSTENSEN (Sound Designer/Production Manager) has worked for Eighty-Eight Entertainment since 2008. He has served as sound designer on Hershey Felder as Irving Berlin, Our Great Tchaikovsky, A Paris Love Story, Maestro, Louis and Keely ‘Live’ at the Sahara, An American Story, Beethoven As I Knew Him (Ovation Award Winner), The Pianist of Willesden Lane (Ovation Award Nomination), and numerous other productions. Formerly, he was the master sound technician at the Old Globe Theatre in San Diego and was production engineer on over sixty productions, including Allegiance, Robin and the Seven Hoods, A Catered Affair, Hershey Felder as George Gershwin Alone, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Chita Rivera-A Dancer’s Life, Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas!, The Full Monty, Dirty Blonde, and Floyd Collins.

TAMMY GLOBERMAN (Associate Producer) Based in Los Angeles, Tammy joined the Hershey Felder Presents team in the summer of 2020. She worked with Hershey on his earlier projects in the late 1990’s and 2000’s before working with talent agencies specializing in below-the-line talent for film and television. After taking some time off to be with her two children, she is excited to be working again with Hershey and his team.

LEE KAUFMAN (Associate Producer) is a business entrepreneur and musicologist with an interest in classical music that extends from Gregorian Chants in the Middle Ages through to the modern composers. George Gershwin has always been of special interest to him for the part the composer has played in bringing America into the classical culture. In addition to this association, Lee has been an active participant in many organizations promoting the performing arts.

SAMANTHA F. VOXAKIS (Director of Operations) Since shortly after joining the company in early 2004, Sam has been responsible for the day-to-day operations of Eighty-Eight LLC and Hershey Felder Presents. Prior to that, she spent twelve memorable years in the front office of the Baltimore Orioles. With special thanks to her family and Mr. Felder.