HERSHEY FELDER AS IRVING BERLIN to Return to Geffen Playhouse This August

Having broken Geffen Playhouse season production box office records, Hershey Felder as Irving Berlin returns to the Gil Cates Theater at the Geffen Playhouse for two weeks only, August 4-16, 2015. The director is Trevor Hay, who collaborated with the performer and creator on An American Story, Abe Lincoln's Piano, Hershey Felder as Franz Liszt and The Pianist of Willesden Lane.

In the show, Felder brings to life the remarkable story of Irving Berlin, long thought of as America's composer, who enjoyed 232 top-10 hits and 25 number-one songs. From the depths of anti-Semitism in Czarist Russia, to New York's Lower East Side, and ultimately all of the country and the world, Irving Berlin's story epitomizes capturing the American Dream.

Featuring the composer's most popular and enduring songs from "Alexander's Ragtime Band," "Always," "Blue Skies," "God Bless America," "Puttin' on the Ritz," "There's No Business Like Show Business," to "White Christmas," and the score of "Annie Get Your Gun," Felder's signature creation of character and musical performance will make this evening with Irving Berlin an unforgettable journey.

Jerome Kern famously said, "Irving Berlin has no place in American music - he is American music."

The creation of this latest work is inextricably linked to Felder's strong relationship with Geffen Playhouse. The not-for-profit's late founder, Gil Cates, met Felder in 1997 and suggested the development of a piece about Irving Berlin. Felder developed, and Geffen Playhouse presented, several other projects over the years but Cates persisted with his request. While Felder had focused on classical composers during much of that time, he found Irving Berlin increasingly compelling. The work weaves a narrative around Berlin's 101 year lifespan including his long and heartening relationship with his wife, battles against anti-Semitism and, of course, his storied music.

Separately, Broadway producer Eva Price approached Felder with the idea of creating a piece about Irving Berlin. Price organized an introduction with Ted Chapin, who oversees publishing of the Berlin catalog and the Rodgers and Hammerstein Organization. Chapin arranged a meeting with Irving Berlin's daughters who encouraged the production, and have advised on the factual details of their father's life.

Having had a record-breaking world premiere at the Geffen Playhouse, Hershey Felder as Irving Berlin will now be presented at theaters across the U.S. beginning with Boston's Majestic Theatre (July), Arizona Theatre Company (Tucson in September, Phoenix in October), La Jolla Playhouse (December-January), TheatreWorks in Palo Alto (January-February), McCallum Theatre (March), followed by Chicago and New York (April 2016).

Geffen Playhouse presents the Eighty Eight Entertainment, Eva Price, Samantha F. Voxakis, and Karen Racanelli production of Hershey Felder as Irving Berlin, Lyrics & Music by Irving Berlin, Book by Hershey Felder. Directed by Trevor Hay, featuring Hershey Felder. Running August 4-16, 2015 in the Gil Cates Theater at the Geffen Playhouse.

On the design team are: Scenic Design: Hershey Felder & Trevor Hay; Lighting Design: Richard Norwood; Projection Design: Andrew Wilder; Sound Design & Production Manager: Erik Carstensen.

Tickets for the return engagement are now on sale at www.geffenplayhouse.com at the box office or by phone at 310.208.5454.

Hershey Felder created and performed George Gershwin Alone, which played on Broadway at the Helen Hayes Theatre, in the West End at the Duchess Theatre, and in theatres around the country. His Composers Sonata - George Gershwin Alone; Monsieur Chopin; Beethoven, As I Knew Him; Maestro Bernstein; Hershey Felder as Franz Liszt in Musik, Hershey Felder as Irving Berlin - has been presented at dozens of theatres across the U.S. and around the world. His 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. As director, he premiered Mona Golabek in The Pianist of Willesden Lane at the Geffen Playhouse in 2012 and, earlier this year, produced and created scenic design for Taylor Hackford's Louis and Keely 'Live' at the Sahara. Mr. Felder has been a scholar-in-residence at Harvard University's Department of Music and is married to Kim Campbell, the first female Prime Minister of Canada.

Geffen Playhouse has been a hub of the Los Angeles theater scene since opening its doors in 1995. Noted for its intimacy and celebrated for its world-renowned mix of classic and contemporary plays, provocative new works and second productions, the not-for-profit organization continues to present a body of work that has garnered national recognition. Named in honor of entertainment mogul and philanthropist David Geffen, who made the initial donation to the theater, the company was founded by Gilbert Cates, and is currently helmed by Artistic Director Randall Arney, Executive Director Gil Cates Jr., and Co-Chairs of the Board Martha Henderson and Pamela Robinson Hollander. Proudly associated with UCLA, the Geffen welcomes an audience of more than 130,000 each year, and maintains an extensive education and outreach program, designed to engage young people and the community at large in the arts. For more information, please visit www.geffenplayhouse.com.

Pictured: Hershey Felder as Irving Berlin. Photo by Eighty Eight Entertainment.

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