The Rodgers & Hammerstein Organization to Celebrate the Summer of Irving Berlin

Music events and talks will take place at Eldridge Street Jewish Museum and Synagogue, Museum of the City of New York, and Museum of Jewish Heritage.

Bethany Rickwald

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June 20, 2016

Ted Chapin will participate in conversations about Irving Berlin's life and career as part of The Summer of Irving Berlin. — Ted Chapin will participate in conversations about Irving Berlin's life and career as part of the Summer of Irving Berlin.
(© David Gordon)

The Rodgers & Hammerstein Orangization will celebrate a Summer of Irving Berlin with special events exploring the iconic American songwriter. Berlin’s legacy will be examined with events featuring music and talks at Eldridge Street Jewish Museum and Synagogue (June 26), Museum of the City of New York (July 6), and Museum of Jewish Heritage (August 2).

The Early Life of Irving Berlin, which will take place at Eldridge Street Jewish Museum and Synagogue on June 26, will welcome Ted Chapin, president of Rodgers and Hammerstein, and Red Star Line historian Bram Breelaert as they explore Berlin’s early life and work. In addition, cast members from Broadway's upcoming Holiday Inn will present Berlin’s vaudeville and Yiddish compositions influenced by his experience growing up on the Lower East Side.

At The Genius of Irving Berlin: A New York Story, set for July 6 at Museum of the City of New York, Chapin, Robert Kimball (editor of The Complete Lyrics of Irving Berlin), and Elizabeth Matson (Berlin’s granddaughter) will talk about the songwriters career, and members of the cast of Holiday Inn will perform select Berlin hits.

Jewish Heritage and Holocaust Museum will present The Making of Holiday Inn, The New Irving Berlin Musical on August 2. The event will explore Holiday Inn's transition from film to stage. Cast members from Holiday Inn will present a sneak preview of several songs from the show.

The roster is inspired by the Red Star Line exhibit Via Antwerp: The Road to Ellis Island, which honors Berlin as one of our great immigrants, at New York’s Ellis Island Immigration Museum through September 4 as well as the Broadway debut of the new musical adaptation of Holiday Inn at Studio 54, beginning previews on September 1.

Among the Hollywood movie musical classics with scores by Irving Berlin are Top Hat, Holiday Inn, Easter Parade, White Christmas, and There’s No Business Like Show Business. Berlin also wrote 17 complete scores for Broadway musicals and revues, and contributed material to six more.