The Sweet, Moving Story of Hershey

Hershey Felder has spent a good part of the last 30 years portraying musical geniuses from Tchaikovsky, Debussy, and Rachmaninoff to George Gershwin, Irving Berlin, and Leonard Bernstein in his ongoing solo composer series. Now with his latest musical play, Felder is revealing the life and musical experiences of someone he knows much more intimately: himself. With The Piano & Me, the pianist-composer shares his story of growing up in Montreal as the child of Polish and Hungarian immigrants, discovering the piano that has remained a lifelong passion, dealing with adversity and triumph, and the inspiration behind his chosen career path. The play features performances of beloved compositions by Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Chopin, Liszt, Rachmaninoff, and Bartók – but that’s where the similarities with his previous portrayals end. 

“I had been asked for some 30 years to tell this story – people have been interested in how these characters came to life on the stage and want to know what I put into it to make that happen,” Felder said in an email interview. “I refused because I didn’t think it would be interesting. But I was pestered so much that I finally caved. Once I did, the story started to unravel, and I realized that my story is relevant to more than just the few who might be interested in how I got to where I got.”

Indeed, audiences in the initial performances in Northern California greeted the piece with standing ovations and critics have raved about The Piano & Me, which is headed to off-Broadway soon after its Santa Barbara run at the New Vic from April 30-May 10. Despite his familiarity with the story, it’s been a process bringing the story to stage, Felder said. 

“I put it together by putting all the stories in, and then stepping back with clarity to understand which ones advanced the narrative and which ones didn’t,” he said. 

Then there’s the vulnerability factor of sharing one’s own story vs. constructing a set piece around a world-famous composer, even given the painstaking research that is the core of Felder’s character plays. 

“It’s the one piece that I can’t ‘act out,’” The others are character constructs. With this one, I have to remove all of that and allow the story to tell itself. In fact, the gravest danger is to try and “act” something like this. It would turn into a false nightmare. So the hard work is the constant presentation of honesty.”

The piano in the title is a primary character in the play just as the instrument has been in Felder’s life. 

“The piano is able to express things I cannot say in words,” Felder said. 

Visit https://etcsb.org for more information and tickets