HERSHEY FELDER: CHOPIN IN PARIS Bay Area Premiere to be Presented at TheatreWorks Silicon Valley in August

TheatreWorks Silicon Valley will stage the Bay Area Premiere of internationally-acclaimed pianist and performer Hershey Felder's musical play Hershey Felder: Chopin in Paris. In this new production, Felder returns to the TheatreWorks stage as brilliant Polish composer Fryderyk Chopin, illuminating an exclusive piano lesson with this musical master. Set in Paris days after the 1848 revolution, the "Poet of the Piano" tells his romantic story, revealing untold secrets while sharing dazzling performances of his compositions. Directed by Joel Zwick, Hershey Felder: Chopin in Paris will be presented August 19 - September 11, 2022 (press opening: August 20) at the Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts, 500 Castro St., Mountain View. For tickets (starting at $30) more information the public may visit TheatreWorks.org or call (877)-662-8978.

Felder revisits the life and music of Chopin after delighting sold-out audiences with an earlier version this work, the critically-acclaimed Hershey Felder as Monsieur Chopin, which was lauded by The Mercury News as "Enchanting... Genius seemed an apt description." The Chicago Sun-Times called the show "Emotionally charged and glorious," while The San Diego Union-Tribune declared it "Inviting and absorbing. Full of vibrant life." Bay Area audiences will get a first look at Felder's fresh take on the brilliant composer as he gives a piano lesson that reveals secrets about music, and even more so, about himself.

Hershey Felder

Hershey Felder (Fryderyk Chopin/Playwright/Scenic Design): American Theatre Magazine has said, "Hershey Felder is in a category all his own." Following 28 years of continuous stage work and over six thousand live performances throughout the U.S. and abroad, Hershey Felder created Live from Florence, an arts broadcasting company, which has produced more than a dozen theatrical films to date. They include the world premiere musicals Nicholas, Anna & Sergei, the story of Sergei Rachmaninoff; Puccini, the story of famed opera composer Giacomo Puccini; Before Fiddler, a musical story about writer Sholem Aleichem; and others, all benefiting theatres and arts organizations across the U.S.. Two seasons of programming are currently available at www.hersheyfelder.net. Felder has given performances of his self-created solo productions at some of the world's most prestigious theatres and has consistently broken box office records. His shows include George Gershwin Alone (Broadway's Helen Hayes Theatre, West End's Duchess Theatre); Monsieur Chopin; Beethoven; Maestro (Leonard Bernstein); Franz Liszt in Musik, Lincoln: An American Story, Hershey Felder as Irving Berlin, Our Great Tchaikovsky, and A Paris Love Story. 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. Felder is the adaptor, director, and designer for the internationally performed play-with-music The Pianist of Willesden Lane with Steinway artist Mona Golabek; producer and designer for the musical Louis and Keely: 'Live' at the Sahara, directed by Taylor Hackford; and writer and director for Flying Solo, featuring opera legend Nathan Gunn. Felder has operated a full-service production company since 2001. He 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.

Felder has become an enormous favorite among South Bay Area audiences through his appearances at TheatreWorks Silicon Valley, where his stage productions have smashed box office records, including the regional premieres of Our Great Tchaikovsky and Hershey Felder as Irving Berlin, and the World Premieres of Hershey Felder as Claude Debussy in A PARIS LOVE STORY and Hershey Felder: Beethoven.

Joel Zwick

Joel Zwick (Director) directed My Big Fat Greek Wedding, one of the highest-grossing romantic comedies of all time. Recent films include Fat Albert and Elvis Has Left the Building. Mr. Zwick directed the Broadway production of Hershey Felder's George Gershwin Alone at the Helen Hayes Theatre. He began his theatrical career at La Mama E.T.C., as director of the La Mama Plexus and has directed on Broadway, Off-Broadway and Broadway touring companies. He and Hershey Felder have collaborated on Hershey Felder as Monsieur Chopin, Beethoven As I Knew Him, and Maestro. Currently, Mr. Zwick is recognized as one of Hollywood's most prolific directors of episodic television, having the direction of over 650 episodes to his credit. New York productions have included Dance with Me (Tony nomination), Shenandoah (Broadway national tour), Oklahoma (national tour) and Cold Storage (American Place Theater). He acted in the original New York production of MacBird. He directed Esther (Promenade Theater, NY), Merry-Go-Round (Chicago and Las Vegas), Last Chance Saloon and Woycek (West End). Mr. Zwick has taught drama at Yale University, Brooklyn College, Queens College, Wheaton College, and the University of Southern California. He is a graduate (B.A., M.A.) of Brooklyn College.

TheatreWorks Silicon Valley

TheatreWorks Silicon Valley was founded in 1970 by Robert Kelley and has grown from a truly original Silicon Valley start-up to become the Peninsula's leading professional nonprofit theatre company. TheatreWorks was recently honored as the recipient of the 2019 Regional Theatre Tony Award. Now in its 51st season and led by Artistic Director Tim Bond and Executive Director Phil Santora, TheatreWorks presents a wide variety of contemporary plays and musicals, revitalizes great works of the past, and serves more than 100,000 patrons per year. TheatreWorks also champions new work, offering artists support and a creative home as they develop new stories for the American theatre. Offstage, TheatreWorks' arts education programs in local schools and arts engagement programs in Silicon Valley neighborhoods uplift its audiences and strengthen community bonds. Whether onstage or off, TheatreWorks seeks to celebrate the human spirit and the diversity of the Silicon Valley community.

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