Hershey Felder, whose one-man show, George Gershwin Alone, did so well at American Repertory Theatre's Loeb Drama Center in Cambridge, he will return to the Boston area with his other work Back From Broadway...A Musical Experience with co-star James Barbour. The limited engagement is scheduled for a Nov. 1-Dec. 15 run at the Stuart Street Playhouse .
The show directed by Gershwin Alone helmer Joel Zwick — whose "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" has become sleeper hit of the season — is written by Hershey Felder and James Barbour and features selections from classic musicals like Carousel, Fiddler on the Roof, Man of La Mancha and Camelot interspersed with dialogue about being in 'the biz.'
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 insistence that such a career was not a good job for a nice Jewish boy. Unable to dissuade 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 performed on Broadway as the Beast in Beauty and the Beast (a role he also played in Los Angeles) and as beau to the title character in Jane Eyre. 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.
Felder and Barbour performed a one-night only performance of Back From Broadway at A.R.T. in Aug. The show has also enjoyed successful engagements at Lincoln Center, in Los Angeles and Florida.
Tickets to Back From Broadway at The Stuart Street Playhouse, located at the Radisson Hotel Boston in the Theatre District, are on sale through Telecharge at (800) 447-7400, online at www.telecharge.com and at Stuart StreetBox Office, 200 Stuart St., Boston, 02116.
For more information on Back From Broadway at www.backfrombroadway.com.
