By Michelle Zubiate
Daily Bruin Senior Staff
The current resurrection of composer George Gershwin
surprisingly began within the darkness of Freud Playhouse.
Now onstage at the Tiffany Theatre, “George Gershwin
Alone” reflects the almost spiritual journey that connects
actor and pianist Hershey Felder with the musical icon.
In 1995, the 50th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz
took Felder to Poland to interview survivors of the Holocaust.
During an interview with Helmuth Spryczer, Mengele’s
“Jewish gopher boy,” Felder found a story of a person
who managed to stay alive by whistling “Rhapsody in
Blue.”
“(Helmuth Spryczer) was called the “˜Kunstgeiger fun
Berlin’ “”mdash; “˜the magical whistler from
Berlin’ ““ because he would whistle for the
Germans,” wrote Felder in his production diary on his current
Web site. “The Rhapsody was always to me a “˜fresh and
contemporary piece of metropolitan New York.’ But this man
hears screaming …”
When Felder returned to Los Angeles, he cast Spryzcer’s
life into a performance titled, “SING! A Musical
Journey.” But the Gershwin family did not want to associate
George Gershwin with the Holocaust. After a tenuous period between
Felder and the Gershwins, however, it was agreed that a new musical
would take form ““ this time telling the life of George
Gershwin himself.
“I’m now very thrilled,” Felder said in a
phone interview. “It’s a great piece of work but it
portrays this man as a real person. Like all of us, he suffered,
and it’s nice to know that what you suffer for lives many
years after you yourself die.”
In order to prepare for the role, the Gershwin heirs gave Felder
access to the Gershwin Collection at the Library of Congress.
“You have to leave no stone unturned,” said Felder.
“I read all his letters and every piece of information in
order to make this a full character and full human being. I was
very specific about not making up any stories for dramatic
purposes. We would deal with the reality of his life.”
Felder chose Los Angeles to begin what will hopefully be a
journey to Broadway. Los Angeles was Gershwin’s final
residence before he died of an undiagnosed brain tumor at the age
of 38 while working on film scores.
Though originally from the East Coast, Felder also believed that
Los Angeles was the perfect creative environment.
“I like working here better than New York because you can
sit and focus for a longer period of time,” Felder said.
Felder, 31, started playing the piano at nine and was performing
professionally by 11. He has performed “Rhapsody in
Blue” more than 400 times in his career. The overlap between
the actor and the role often blurred the line between performance
and reality for audience members.
“People would talk about the play ““ but not about
the performance,” Felder said. “From the beginning, the
audience felt compelled to talk honestly about this man and his
life. It means that somebody up there is living and being George
Gershwin. I very rarely get comments about my
performance.”
For him the hardest technical part of the production is not
losing character for a second, especially when playing the
piano.
“If there is a real reason for him to play piano, then one
can’t lose character. With the first note of the piano,
I’m in it. It’s not Hershey Felder anymore. I let go of
myself.”
Felder believes that audiences will come and experience a
historical icon.
“You will meet the music and the man from whom the music
came.”
THEATER: “George Gershwin Alone” plays at the
Tiffany Theatre through June 21. Tickets are $35-39.50. For more
information, call (310) 289-2999.