HERSHEY FELDER AS IRVING BERLIN to Play TheatreWorks, 1/13

TheatreWorks Silicon Valley kicks off the New Year with the regional premiere of Hershey Felder as Irving Berlin, a brand new work by acclaimed performer/playwright/director Hershey Felder. The inspiring story of "America's Composer" Irving Berlin takes center stage in this tour-de-force performance by virtuoso Hershey Felder, internationally acclaimed for bringing to life such composers as Gershwin, Beethoven, Chopin, and Bernstein. Fleeing the anti-Semitism of Czarist Russia, capturing the rhythms of the Lower East Side, and eventually enchanting the entire world, Berlin epitomized the American dream. Hershey Felder as Irving Berlin will be directed by Trevor Hay with performances January 13 - February 14, 2016 (press opening: January 16) at the Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts, 500 Castro Street, Mountain View. For tickets ($35 -$100) and information the public may visit www.TheatreWorks.org or call (650) 463-1960.

Featuring some of Berlin's most popular and enduring songs from "God Bless America," "There's No Business Like Show Business," "Blue Skies," to "White Christmas" and beyond, Felder's signature creation of character and musical performance 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. The Los Angeles Times said, "Richly entertaining and ultimately touching," Broadway World wrote, "You do not want to miss a delicious moment of it," and the Huffington Post said Hershey Felder "dazzles as Irving Berlin."

Hershey Felder as Irving Berlin premiered in October 2014 at the Geffen Playhouse, where it broke all box office records, added extension performances, and made a two week return engagement in August 2015. The show has also been performed at The Pasadena Playhouse, the Royal George Theatre in Chicago, and most recently at La Jolla Playhouse.

Hershey Felder has performed George Gershwin Alone on Broadway at the Helen Hayes Theatre and on the West End at the Duchess Theatre. His Composers Sonata (1999-2014)-George Gershwin Alone; Monsieur Chopin; Beethoven, As I Knew Him; Hershey Felder as Leonard Bernstein in Maestro; and Hershey Felder as Franz Liszt in Musik-has been presented at dozens of theatres across the U.S. and around the world, including a command performance of Monsieur Chopin for the Polish Ambassador to the United States. He received Los Angeles Ovation Awards for Best Musical and Best Actor for George Gershwin Alone in 2007, and live broadcasts of the production have been aired worldwide. 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, Felder premiered Mona Golabek in The Pianist of Willesden Lane at the Geffen Playhouse in April 2012 and premiered Chris Lemmon in Jack Lemmon Returns. Felder has been a scholar in residence at Harvard University's department of music and is married to Kim Campbell, former Prime Minister of Canada.

Trevor Hay has worked with Felder on several productions including An American Story For Actor and Orchestra, Abe Lincoln's Piano, Hershey Felder as Franz Liszt In Musik and The Pianist of Willesden Lane. Hay began working with the historic Old Globe Theatre in San Diego at the age of nine, where he held his first position of selling Old Globe memorabilia. Over the next 32 years, he went on to various aspects of production on more than 80 presentations, including the Broadway productions of Damn Yankees, Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas, and Twyla Tharp's The Times They Are A-Changin'. Included in his 23 seasons at The Old Globe were eleven seasons of the Summer Shakespeare Festival Repertory, as well as work on Tracy Letts' August: Osage County, directed by Sam Gold.

With some 100,000 patrons per year, TheatreWorks Silicon Valley has captured a national reputation for artistic innovation and integrity, often presenting Bay Area theatregoers with their first look at acclaimed musicals, comedies, and dramas, directed by award-winning local and guest directors, and performed by professional actors cast locally and from across the country. A home for artists developing new works, it was at TheatreWorks that Memphis, the 2010 Tony Award-winning musical was first workshopped and received its world premiere. Memphis played on Broadway for three years before embarking on a 19 month national tour and enjoyed an extended run on London's West End, where it captured two 2015 Olivier Awards.

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