Actor Hershey Felder will be streaming his one-man play with music, George Gershwin Alone, live from Florence, Italy on Sunday, September 13 at 5 pm PDT, 7 pm CDT and 8 pm EDT. Felder will be performing from the historic and beautiful Teatro Della Pergola, a theater constructed in 1657 and running continually except for a few imposed breaks, such as the current COVID-19 pandemic. This live-stream event will be the first time the theatre is operating again since the beginning of the Italian lockdown six months ago—but still without an audience.
George Gershwin died suddenly at the age of 38 in 1937, thinking that his masterful operatic achievement, Porgy and Bess, written with his brother, lyricist Ira Gershwin, was a failure. Porgy and Bess premiered in 1935 to tepid critical reaction, yet went on to become a classic work. Felder’s story is about an American great who left us before knowing just how beloved his entire oeuvre would become.
George Gershwin was also the first composer to bring jazz to the concert stage with “A Rhapsody in Blue” and “An American in Paris.” He also composed Great American Songbook standards with Ira Gershwin, including the evergreen “‘S Wonderful,” “The Man I Love,” “Embraceable You,” “Someone To Watch Over Me,” “I Got Rhythm,” “Fascinating Rhythm” and many, many more.
George Gershwin Alone has music and lyrics by George and Ira Gershwin, and was written by Felder, based on the stage play directed by Joel Zwick. This performance is directed by Stefano de Carli and Hershey Felder.
Tickets are $55 Per household.
To purchase tickets and for more information, go to https://www.hersheyfelder.net
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