Hershey Felder Returns to Hartford Stage in Our Great Tchaikovsky

Limited Engagement!
Only 11 Performances –August 19-27

Performer/Creator of George Gershwin Alone;
Director and Adaptor of The Pianist of Willesden Lane 

Hartford, CT – May 12, 2017 – Hartford Stage will present Our Great Tchaikovsky, a celebration of the famed Russian composer, written and performed by internationally-acclaimed pianist, actor and playwright Hershey Felder, for a limited one-week engagement – August 19 through 27.

The Chicago Sun Times raved, “The quadruple threat performer Hershey Felder is an actor, singer, pianist and writer, and all of the first order.” After its record-breaking world premiere at the San Diego Repertory Theatre, the San Diego Union-Tribune called it, “A powerful, emotional experience well worth seeing.”

Our Great Tchaikovsky marks Felder’s return to Hartford Stage. His previous productions include George Gershwin Alone in 2004 and Monsieur Chopin in 2006. Most recently, he adapted and directed The Pianist of Willesden Lane in 2015.

With direction by longtime collaborator Trevor Hay (Hershey Felder as Irving Berlin), Our Great Tchaikovsky celebrates Russia’s most beloved and mysterious composer in a time-bending story of culture and politics.

Among Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s masterworks included in the show are the ballets Sleeping Beauty, Swan Lake, and The Nutcracker; concerto pieces Violin Concerto, Piano Concerto no. 1 and Rococo Variations for Cello; the opera Eugene Onegin; orchestral pieces Romeo and Juliet, the 1812 Overture and Marche Slav; and Symphony No. 6, Pathétique. Just nine days after Tchaikovsky conducted the premiere of Pathétique in St. Petersburg, he died suddenly at the age of 53. Our Great Tchaikovsky explores the mystery surrounding his death while paying homage to the composer and his music.

Felder has played over 4,500 performances of his self-created solo productions at some of the world’s most prestigious theatres and has consistently broken box office records. Maestro, Felder’s tribute to the life and work of composer-conductor Leonard Bernstein, was recognized as a Top 10 Play and Musical by TIME magazine last year. His other shows include: George Gershwin Alone (Broadway’s Helen Hayes Theatre, West End’s Duchess Theatre); Monsieur Chopin; Beethoven; Franz Liszt in Musik; and Lincoln: An American Story. Future productions include the new musical, Chosen by G-d, for which he is writing music, book and lyrics. Felder’s compositions and recordings include Aliyah; Concerto for Piano and Orchestra; Fairytale, a musical; Les Anges de Paris; Suite for Violin and Piano; Song Settings; Saltimbanques for Piano and Orchestra; Etudes Thematiques for Piano; and An American Story for Actor and Orchestra. Felder is the adaptor, director and designer for The Pianist of Willesden Lane; producer and designer for the new musical Louis and Keely: ‘Live’ at the Sahara, directed by Taylor Hackford; and writer and director for the upcoming Flying Solo, featuring opera legend Nathan Gunn.

In addition to direction by Hay and scenic design by Felder, the creative team includes Costume Designer Abigail Caywood; Lighting and Projections Designer Christopher Ash; Sound Designer Erik Carstensen; and Research and Dramaturgy by Meghan Maiya. Our Great Tchaikovsky is produced by Samantha F. Voxakis, Karen Racanelli and Erik Carstensen.

Both photos, Hershey Felder. Photos courtesy of Hershey Felder Presents.

Tickets & Performances

Tue, Wed, Thu at 7:30 p.m.—Fri, Sat at 8 p.m.—Sat, Sun at 2 p.m.
Wed matinee at 2 p.m. on August 23.

For details, visit www.hartfordstage.org. 

Tickets for all shows start at $25. Student tickets: $20. For group discounts (10 or more), contact Group Sales at 860-520-7114.

For all other tickets, please call the Hartford Stage box office at 860-527-5151 or visit www.hartfordstage.org.

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HARTFORD STAGE

Now in our 53rd year, Hartford Stage is under the leadership of Artistic Director Darko Tresnjak and Managing Director Michael Stotts. One of the nation’s leading resident theatres, Hartford Stage is known for producing innovative revivals of classics and provocative new plays and musicals, including 73 world and American premieres, as well as offering a distinguished education program, which reaches close to 20,000 students annually.

Since Tresnjak’s appointment in 2011 the theatre has presented the world premieres of A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder on Broadway, winner of four 2014 Tony Awards, including Best Musical and Best Direction of a Musical by Tresnjak; Rear Window with Kevin Bacon; the new musical Anastasia by Terrence McNally, Stephen Flaherty and Lynn Ahrens; Quiara Alegría Hudes’ Water by the Spoonful, winner of the 2012 Pulitzer Prize for Drama; Breath & Imagination by Daniel Beaty; Big Dance Theatre’s Man in a Case with Mikhail Baryshnikov; and Reverberation by Matthew Lopez.

Hartford Stage has earned many of the nation’s most prestigious awards, including the 1989 Tony Award for Outstanding Regional Theatre. Other national honors include Outer Critics Circle, Drama Desk, OBIE, and New York Critics Circle awards. Hartford Stage has produced nationally renowned titles, including the New York transfers of Enchanted April; The Orphans' Home Cycle; Resurrection (later retitled Through the Night); The Carpetbagger's Children; and Tea at Five.

The leading provider of theatre education programs in Connecticut, Hartford Stage’s offerings include student matinees, in-school theatre residencies, teen performance opportunities, theatre classes for students (ages 3-18) and adults, afterschool programs and professional development courses.    

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