2's Got Your Ticket for "Hershey Felder as Monsieur Chopin - A Play with Music" at Writers Theatre
CHICAGO (CBS) — At Writers Theatre, a one-man show takes the audience into the heart of one of the piano's most prolific composers.
With 2's Got Your Ticket, CBS 2 Entertainment Reporter Vince Gerasole sat down with an actor, a Chicago favorite, who is bringing Chopin to life in "Hershey Felder as Monsieur Chopin - A Play with Music."
Hershey Felder is back, this time examining the life of Polish composer Fryderyk Chopin.
The year is 1848, and Felder, who wrote the book for the play with music, welcomes the audience to a revealing evening inside Chopin's Paris salon.
Fortunately for Chicago audiences, this is familiar territory for Felder, who has similarly brought to life complex musicians, from Gershwin to Bernstein.
Felder is a multitalented artist. In Italy, where he lives, he recently produced several films spotlighting musical greats.
"I think Chopin is called the "poet of the piano" because of his ability to create and evoke a certain sensibility with the music and the harmony. His approach to color of sound is also very delicate and very beautiful," Felder said.
He added that Chopin wasn't a showoff with the instrument.
"There was a sensitivity that basically illuminated for the audience a very deep sense of poetry," Felder said.
How does Felder feel when playing Chopin's music?
"Sometimes the feeling is panic. Because you need to make sure that you are doing what needs to be done," Felder said. "So if you talk about the feeling that I feel specifically, it's a responsibility to get across to the audience the poetry that is Chopin's music."
How does Chopin's music affect Felder emotionally?
"After I play, I am amazed at the advancement that Chopin made in music. I always, as many people said before me, view him as the 20th-century composer, now 21st-century composer, watering in the 19th century. He was so advanced, and he created music that was so far ahead of his time, inventions and harmonies, that he really brought music as it was into the next century," Felder said.
Spend an evening with "Hershey Felder as Monsieur Chopin - A Play with Music" playing through May 12. Writers Theatre has details on tickets.