Back From Broadway...A Musical Experience, written by Hershey Felder and James Barbour and featuring selections from classic musicals like Carousel, Fiddler on the Roof, Man of La Mancha and Camelot, arrives back near Broadway June 17 for a one night only Actors Fund benefit performance at Lincoln Center. TV director Joel Zwick, who also helmed Felder's Gershwin Alone, directs Back to Broadway, which enjoyed successful runs in Los Angeles and Florida in December and January.
Felder describes Back From Broadway as "a theatrical piece in concert, celebrating the music and the tradition of Broadway." While Felder and Barbour come from different backgrounds, they each have unique stories connected to classic musical material.
Felder, for example, was drawn to the theatre, despite his parents insistance that such a career was not a good job for a nice Jewish boy. Unable to dissaude him from his path, they allowed Felder to work only with the Yiddish theatre. There he got his big break when the Tevye got sick on some bad fish and Felder had to go on as the lead in Fiddler on the Roof.
He also does moments from two upcoming shows, companion pieces to Gershwin Alone, one based on the life of Beethoven and one based on the relationship between Chopin and George Sand.
Barbour revisits Carousel's Billy Bigelow, his first Broadway role, and his first stage role in My Fair Lady and tells the story of "Molasses to Rum" from 1776. Both men assist in each other's tales, playing characters from dictatorial piano teacher to dictatorial dance captain. Barbour and Felder had their troubles and triumphs on Broadway in 2001. Barbour played the dark and brooding Rochester in Jane Eyre, while pianist Felder portrayed the great George Gershwin in Gershwin Alone; both shows closed prematurely. In their new show, however, they want to tell the world about what it takes to create, nourish and perform on the Great White Way.
Barbour performed on Broadway as the Beast in Beauty and the Beast (a role he also played in Los Angeles). Other credits include The Gift at the Tiffany, Dennis DeYoung's Hunchback of Notre Dame and Enter the Guardsman. Felder is a composer, actor, producer and pianist.
Tickets are $250 for prime orchestra, $75 for orchestra and front loge and $30 for the rear loge. For reservations, call (212) 221-7300 ext. 133.
