Hershey Felder's Rachmaninoff and the Tsar Will Have Santa Monica World Premiere

HFP LIVE will present the world premiere of Rachmaninoff And The Tsar, a new musical play by Hershey Felder, at the Eli and Edythe Broad Stage in Santa Monica, CA from August 7-25.

Rachmaninoff and the Tsar features the music of Sergei V. Rachmaninoff, including the Second Piano Concerto, the Paganini Variations, Preludes, and Symphonic Selections, with a book by  Hershey Felder and direction by Trevor Hay.

Having safely left Russia during the 1917 revolution, pianist-composer Sergei Rachmaninoff made his home in the United States. In 1942, at the age of 68, he received American citizenship and bought a home in Beverly Hills, but his soul never left Russia and a terminal illness brought back the memory of an encounter with Russia’s last Tsar, Nicholas II, and the Tsar’s daughter, the Grand Duchess Anastasia.

Felder will play Sergei Rachmaninoff, and for the first time, the artist known for his solo shows will play opposite another artist, Jonathan Silvestri in the role of Tsar Nicholas II.

The production features dramaturgy by Jerry Patch, concept design by Felder, lighting design by Erik S. Barry, sound design by Erik Carstensen, projections by Stefano Decarli, costume design by Marysol Gabriel, and hair design by Tom Watson.