Hershey Felder celebrates the music of Sergei Rachmaninoff. HFP LIVE presents the world premiere of pianist/actor/playwright/producer Hershey Felder and Jonathan Silvestri in Rachmaninoff And The Tsar at The Eli and Edythe Broad Stage in Santa Monica. The new musical play has a limited run from August 7-25, 2024. Read the Hershey Felder and Rachmaninoff And The Tsar review by one of our staff writers.
Hershey Felder Celebrates Sergei Rachmaninoff
The legendary pianist-composer Sergei Rachmaninoff left Russia during the 1917 revolution and established a home in the US. Then at 68 years of age he received American citizenship in 1942, and purchased a home in Beverly Hills. Six months later, a terminal illness revived a memory. His encounter with Russia’s last Tsar, Nicholas II, and the Tsar’s daughter, the Grand Duchess Anastasia would haunt him until the end.
Rachmaninoff And The Tsar features the composer’s most beautiful music including the Second Piano Concerto, the Paganini Variations, Preludes, and Symphonic Selections. For this show, Felder steps into the role of Sergei Rachmaninoff, and for the first time, it includes another actor. Roman-Italian Jonathan Silvestri (HBO hit series “Borgia”) will play the role of Tsar Nicholas II.
Hershey Felder
Hershey Felder, Jonathan Silvestri: courtesy of HFP Live
Since the 1998 premiere of his internationally lauded play with music George Gershwin Alone, Hershey Felder has appeared on over one thousand performances on Los Angeles area stages that include The Wallis in Beverly Hills, Geffen Playhouse in Westwood, Pasadena Playhouse and The Tiffany Theatre on Sunset, where his music-composer series was born. World premieres in Los Angeles include George Gershwin Alone, Beethoven, Maestro Bernstein, Hershey Felder as Irving Berlin, as well as of Our Great Tchaikovsky, A Paris Love Story – Debussy, and more. Film world premieres at the Saban Theatre in Beverly Hills include several of his award-winning films: Musical Tales in the Venetian Jewish Ghetto, The Assembly, Noble Genius Chopin & Liszt, and more.
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 by Jerry Patch. Concept design is by Hershey Felder. Lighting is by Erik S. Barry, sound and production management is by Erik Carstensen, Projections are by Stefano Decarli, Costumes are by Marysol Gabriel and hair is by Tom Watson.
Admission and Info
Ticket prices start at $41. Box office is open daily from 12-5pm; Call (213) 544-0477 or visit the website to purchase tickets. The performance runs one hour and 40 minutes with no intermission. Free parking.
What: Rachmaninoff and the Tsar
Where: The Eli and Edythe Broad Stage, 1310 11th Street, Santa Monica, CA 90401
When: Wednesday August 7 – Sunday August 25, 2024; Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday Evenings at 7:30pm; Saturday and Sundays at 2:00pm and 7:30pm
Website: https://rachandthetsar.com/; https://broadstage.org/
