George Gershwin Alone Set to Play at Chicago's Royal George, Sept. 27-Oct. 24 | Playbill

Related Articles
News George Gershwin Alone Set to Play at Chicago's Royal George, Sept. 27-Oct. 24 Hershey Felder's one-man show, George Gershwin Alone, about the legendary composer will play at Chicago's Royal George Theatre, Sept. 27-Oct. 24.

Eighty-Eight Entertainment and Lee Kaufman present the work directed by Joel Zwick at the Illinois venue. Tickets are currently on sale.

The play with music features the playwright-performer Felder as Gershwin sitting at a piano playing several compositions, including parts of "Rhapsody in Blue," "An American in Paris" and "Porgy and Bess." Between numbers, he speaks about his childhood, parents and siblings Ira, Arthur and Frances. He also discusses where and when songs were composed and offers a peek into how a composer and lyricist work together.

After doing five years of research on Gershwin, Felder got the rights from the late composer's estate to develop a solo show. A workshop was held at which the Gershwin heirs were present and gave the actor the go-ahead to perform. Felder is the first person since George Gershwin's death in 1937 to be allowed to play the composer in a major stage production.

Gershwin debuted in June 2, 2000, in Los Angeles and extended several times before finishing a six-month run. The show then traveled to Florida before landing at Broadway's Helen Hayes Theatre April 30, 2001 for a run through July 22 the same year.

The design team for George Gershwin Alone includes Yael Pardess (scenic), Michael Gilliam (lighting), Jon Gottlieb (sound) and Kenneth Cole (wardrobe). Felder appeared on Broadway in George Gershwin Alone, which he has performed more than 1,200 times in several major venues across the country as well as Back on Broadway with James Barbour (Assassins). Other credits include Stempenyu in Stempenyu, Do Not Go Gentle into that Good Night, Waiting for Godot, Gigi, Fiddler on the Roof and Ellis Island.

Zwick directed of the film "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" as well as the Broadway production of Dance With Me. He also staged the national tours of Shenandoah and Oklahoma!

Felder is also work on stageshows involving two other composers in Monseiur Chopin (workshopped in Boston as Romantique) and ultimately Beethoven.

Tickets to George Gershwin Alone at the Royal George Theatre, 1641 North Halsted Street in Chicago, IL are available by calling (312) 902-1500.

 
RELATED:
Today’s Most Popular News:
 X

Blocking belongs
on the stage,
not on websites.

Our website is made possible by
displaying online advertisements to our visitors.

Please consider supporting us by
whitelisting playbill.com with your ad blocker.
Thank you!