Gary Morris, Liz Larsen Lead Broadway Bound SOUL DOCTOR

En route to Broadway, Soul Doctor: Journey of a Rock-Star Rabbi opens December 25th in Miami Beach at the Colony Theatre, followed by a run in Fort Lauderdale's Parker Playhouse. This exhilarating, riveting and hilarious musical tells the true story of the beloved and controversial father of popular Jewish music, Shlomo Carlebach, and has already garnered critical acclaim!

In addition to an award-winning production and musical team – the forces behind such Broadway mega-hits as The Producers, Hairspray, The WHO's Tommy and Smokey Joe's Café – the South Florida cast includes a roster of nationally recognized award-winners and/or nominees

Gary Morris - Shlomo Carlebach
Best known as the Grammy Award winning Nashville country music star, a winner, the recipient of the Country Music Association's Single of the Year (Wing Beneath My Wings) and Billboard's New Male Artist of the Year. Gary is also a Broadway phenomenon, being the first American to play Jean Valjean in the original Broadway cast of Les Misérables, setting the standard for the challenging role and receiving a Drama Desk Best Actor nod for his historic performance. Morris' rendition of Bring Him Home anchors the platinum-selling Grammy Award-winning International cast album.

After refusing star roles in dozens of Broadway musicals, Gary has chosen "Soul Doctor" for his return to the Broadway musical stage, embracing the spirit of the legendary Shlomo Carlebach, bringing an almost mystical, yet exuberant vibe to the role. 

At the height of his Nashville recording career, Gary boldly played opposite Linda Ronstadt in the New York Shakespeare Festival production of Puccini's La Boheme. He has graced the historic stage of the Grand Ole Opry, given a command performance for the Queen of England and performed at the White House for every living U.S. President – one of the few artists to do so.

Keeping it in the family, Gary's 14 year-old son Garon Morris is also in the production, playing the role of young Shlomo Carlebach.

Liz Larsen – Shlomo Carlebach's Mother
Tony Award (Best Featured Actress in a Musical) and a Drama Desk Award nominated Broadway luminary, the dazzling and hilarious Liz is widely known for her role as crime scene technician Jessica Reed on Law and Order and is no stranger to the Broadway stage.

Liz Larsen made her Broadway debut as Chava in the revival of Fiddler on the Roof and later played the roles of Eleanor and Bizarbara in Barry Keating's musical, Starmites and the Broadway production of Frank Loesser's The Most Happy Fella, Damn Yankees, The Rocky Horror Picture Show, as well as originating the role of Velma von Tussle in the Broadway' mega-hit, Hairspray.

A bit of theater trivia – Liz is the granddaughter of Vaudevillian Georgie Price, who originally released and made famous the song "Bye Bye Blackbird".

Erica Ash - Nina Simone
Fresh from her Broadway run in "Baby It's You!" in the role of Dionne Warwick, Erica Ash seamlessly slips into the role of the legendary Nina Simone, the unlikely friend and Muse to Shlomo Carlebach. Erica brings an amazing star quality to the role, a seductive and hypnotic quality reminiscent of "The High Priestess of Soul" she portrays.

Born in Florida, Erica originally aspired to train as a physician, but during a trip to Japan she landed a job as a backup singer and decided to follow her heart and pursue a career in acting and performing. She has graced the Broadway stage in The Color Purple as well as The Lion King and has made guest appearances and/or starred in several television shows, including "Cold Case," "MadTV" and "The Big Gay Sketch Show."

Eric Anderson – Shlomo Carlebach
Eric recently made his Broadway debut as Stewpot in the Tony award-winning revival of South Pacific at Lincoln Center.

He moved to New York nearly four years ago from his native California, where he garnered many acting accolades and awards from LA and San Diego critic circles.

Highlights of Eric's West Coast career include: Burrs in both versions of The Wild Party, Tateh in Ragtime and River in the world premiere of Roger Bean's Summer of Love. As a member of the Troubadour Theater Company, his roles have ranged from the title role in Othello, to Ophelia in Hamlet: The Artist Formerly Known as Prince of Denmark.

His television credits include "The Good Wife," "Law & Order: Criminal Intent" and "Alias." Earlier this year, Eric was featured in the movies "New Year's Eve" and "Gods Behaving Badly," and he is the singing voice of Shaggy in the animated feature "Scooby Doo & the Song of the Vampire."

Ryan Strand – Eli Chaim Carlebach
Ryan feels blessed to be "rockin' with the Rabbi!" Cast in the role of Shlomo's twin brother Rabbi Eli Chaim, Ryan portrayed Frankie Valli in the Broadway's first national tour of Jersey Boys and as Abraham in Altar Boyz. He received his training at Cincinnati Conservatory of Music and the BFA Music Theatre.

Other young hot Broadway performers bringing star power to Soul Doctor include Jeffrey Kuhn, who was the talk of Broadway when he recently played more than 40 different roles in The 39 Steps; Jonathan Brody, who brought the roof off of theaters across America portraying Groucho Marx and originating several different roles in Broadway's Tony Award winning musical Titanic; and Sara Andreas, who recently took Broadway by Storm Playing numerous roles in the musical Catch Me If You Can.

SOUL DOCTOR takes us on a musical odyssey through the challenges and triumphs of this cultural phenomenon: his childhood escape from Nazi Germany, becoming a rabbinical prodigy in America; discovering Gospel and Soul music during his unlikely friendship with Nina Simone; his meteoric rise as a "Rock Star-Rabbi" in the 1960s, performing with Bob Dylan, Jefferson Airplane and The Grateful Dead; his struggle to reconcile his deep traditional roots with his desire to reach people of all backgrounds in the "free-love generation;" and his personal conflicts trying to keep his family together while traversing the globe as a "Soul Doctor," bringing joy and song to the lonely, the searching and the brokenhearted.

Soul Doctor (www.shlomomusical.com) runs December 25 - January 8 at the Colony Theater, 1040 Lincoln Road, Miami Beach. It continues January 10 - 29 at Fort Lauderdale's Parker Playhouse, 707 NE 8th Street. Individual tickets for the show can be purchased at the Colony Theatre (305.674.1040), Parker Playhouse (954.462.0222) or through Ticketmaster, www.ticketmaster.com.

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