Bringing “George Gershwin Alone” to Life

Whether it’s Franz Liszt, Frederic Chopin, or George Gershwin, Hershey Felder is the first to express it’s the music that tells the story of what made these composers legendary.

Felder is proud to lend a couple of hands to bring out their stories, as shown in the international success of Hershey Felder as George Gershwin Alone, which opens Thursday night and runs for a limited engagement through Jan. 28. He’s taken the iconic American composer from Los Angeles to South Korea to Broadway to London’s West End. His presentation at South Coast Repertory is part of the production’s farewell tour.

What prompted you to create George Gershwin Alone?

Hershey Felder: “The origins are a little dark, I’m afraid. I came to the attention of the Gershwin family members because a survivor of Auschwitz told me that he saved his life whistling the ‘Rhapsody in Blue’ for Nazi guards when he was a boy of 12 at Auschwitz. The Nazis found him entertaining. He knew the ‘Rhapsody’ from his parents playing the 1927 recording in their Berlin home over and over again. I was told this story when interviewing survivors for Steven Spielberg’s SHOAH Foundation. After a meeting with the Gershwin heirs, I proposed creating the character of Gershwin—acting and playing live. They allowed me to give it a go. That was over three thousand performances of this work ago.”

Why Gershwin? What is it about his music/persona that prompted you to create this work?

HF: “The same answer as above, but really what prompts the creation of all these kinds of works is the glory of the music and investigating the context in which this great music was created.”

Tell us about what went into putting this together logistically. Were there any creative difficulties you had to overcome?

HF: “There were many steps to making this a reality. It is now 28 years since I created the work. However, it began with convincing the Gershwin heirs to allow me to do a trial run. Then came the study and crafting of the work itself to tell a compelling story—while playing some of the master’s greatest works. Then came the first trial effort on stage to see if tickets would sell. That was a three-week tryout in Los Angeles that then turned into a full 11-month run, the first of many such sins. In terms of creative difficulties, besides the enormous load of crafting a viable character, there is the matter of making sure that every word and every note is presented for a reason and that one note and word leads to the next. Crafting these things is never easy but they are certainly gratifying when the heavy lifting is done and one can play the work for an appreciative public.”

Tell us about the experience of “channeling” Gershwin. What goes into it from your perspective? And how is it different than channeling Franz Liszt or Frederic Chopin?

HF: “I don’t channel anyone so to speak. That is an illusion. But if the illusion is complete, then the concept works. For an illusion to be complete, every stone must be overturned, every moment on stage must mean something, every word and note must be committed to and there must be an internal logic and communication with the audience. This is all a lifetime of commitment—just the basic rehearsal as one does, constant preparation, which never gets easier, and then being well-oiled to work at the appointed hour and bring a full-blown character and performance no matter what else might be going on. I view this less as a job than a responsibility to the ticket buying audience.”

What are you looking to do from an audience standpoint? Entertain, obviously. But what do you hope audiences take away from the evening that goes beyond listening to incredible music performed brilliantly?

HF: “Thank you for the generous pre-review! It’s an interesting question you ask. I don’t think of what the audience should take away as much as I feel responsible for telling a good story musically and lyrically. What the audience takes away is the result of that experience.”

You are on your farewell tour of this production. Why is now a good time to bid farewell to George Gershwin Alone and how hard will it be for you?

HF: “Old age (laughter). He died suddenly and shockingly at the height of his powers when he was 38 years old.”

Don’t miss this opportunity to see a uniquely talented musician, composer and storyteller. The best availability is for three performances added due to popular demand. They are Thursday, Jan. 25, Friday, Jan. 26 and Sunday, Jan. 28. All begin at 7:45 p.m.