• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • About
  • Donate

The Arts Fuse

Boston's Online Arts Magazine: Dance, Film, Literature, Music, Theater, and more

  • Podcasts
  • Coming Attractions
  • Reviews
  • Short Fuses
  • Interviews
  • Commentary
  • The Arts
    • Performing Arts
      • Dance
      • Music
      • Theater
    • Other
      • Books
      • Film
      • Food
      • Television
      • Visual Arts
You are here: Home / Featured / Theater Review: Hershey Felder in “George Gershwin Alone”

Theater Review: Hershey Felder in “George Gershwin Alone”

June 1, 2012 Leave a Comment

What George Gershwin Alone provides is a light, pleasant evening of familiar music, with playwright, pianist, and actor Hershey Felder performing excerpts from a dozen or so of Gershwin’s best-known works.

George Gershwin Alone.Music and Lyrics by George Gershwin and Ira Gershwin. Book by Hershey Felder. Directed by Joel Zwick. Presented by ArtsEmerson at the Paramount Center Main Stage, Boston, MA, through June 10.

By Helen Epstein.

Hershey Felder in GEORGE GERSHWIN ALONE. A lot of music, not much drama

Ten years separate the premieres of Hershey Felder’s one-man shows about George Gershwin (2000) and Leonard Bernstein (2010). I saw the two back to back and found the ArtsEmerson presentation of George Gershwin Alone disappointing.

Although the design and direction of the two shows are excellent and consistent, the script for George Gershwin Alone is the work of a beginner. It plays more like a cabaret act than a theater piece, a series of musical numbers joined together by shtick. There are no dramatic situations or developed characters, and there is no narrative arc.

Although interesting pieces of information are scattered throughout the piece, they don’t add up or hang together. George worked closely with his brother Ira for most of his short life, but we gain no insight into their relationship. George was involved with several women, but we learn nothing about them either. And though Felder tells us that Gershwin moved his entire family—two parents and three siblings—into a nice place on 103rd street, we have little idea of how he related to his family.

What George Gershwin Alone provides is a light, pleasant evening of familiar music, with playwright, pianist, and actor Felder performing excerpts from a dozen or so of Gershwin’s best-known works, including Porgy and Bess, Rhapsody in Blue, and a few of the 1000 or so songs Gershwin wrote in his amazingly productive and short life.

Felder is a good story-teller and a fine pianist but only a so-so singer. Given the availability of many wonderful interpretations of this music—”Summertime,” “Swanee,” “Fascinating Rhythm,” “But Not for Me,” “S’Wonderful”—I found myself tuning out of Felder’s performance and remembering other voices and personalities.

Gershwin’s story ends with his death from a brain tumor at the age of 38. George Gershwin Alone ends with Felder’s reprise of Rhapsody in Blue and a sing-along. It didn’t work for me.


Helen Epstein is the author of Joe Papp and Music Talks, both available as ebooks.

Share
Tweet
Pin
Share

By: Helen Epstein Filed Under: Featured, Music, Popular Music, Theater Tagged: Culture Vulture, George Gershwin, Gershwin Alone, Hershey Felder

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Search

Popular Posts

  • Jazz Commentary: Billy Cobham, Then and Now — An Awesome Jazz Drummer Billy Cobham plays right on top of the beat, and his gr... posted on January 4, 2023
  • The 17th Annual Francis Davis Jazz Poll: A Profusion of Geniuses This is the 17th annual edition of the Francis Davis Ja... posted on January 6, 2023
  • Film Feature: Best Music Documentaries of 2022 2022 in music documentaries: Ten worth streaming, plus... posted on December 31, 2022
  • Theater Review: The Proudly Woke “Some Like It Hot” Musical Is a Genuine Blast Some Like It Hot is a terrifically entertaining – and t... posted on January 3, 2023
  • The 17th Annual Francis Davis Jazz Poll — My Poll Without Me This most recent poll also proves the worth of the poll... posted on January 6, 2023

Social

Follow us:

Footer

  • About Us
  • Advertising/Underwriting
  • Syndication
  • Media Resources
  • Editors and Contributors

We Are

Boston’s online arts magazine since 2007. Powered by 70+ experts and writers.

Follow Us

Monthly Archives

Categories

"Use the point of your pen, not the feather." -- Jonathan Swift

Copyright © 2023 · The Arts Fuse - All Rights Reserved · Website by Stephanie Franz