Hershey Felder as Fryderyk Chopin in Monsieur Chopin at 59E59 Theaters.
Hershey Felder, the pianist and actor who has embodied musicians such as George Gershwin and Ludwig van Beethoven in previous shows, is Fryderyk Chopin in his latest stage biography, Monsieur Chopin, directed by Joel Zwick. In the script he has written, Felder climbs into the skin of Chopin, and reveals both the highs and lows of the 19th-century Polish pianist-composer’s life and career.
Set in Chopin’s elegant Parisian salon (set design by Felder), the play takes the form of an actual piano lesson in March 1848. It would be one of the last lessons he would teach, since he would die of tuberculosis in 1849 at the age of 39.
Felder, as Chopin, in his new solo show, Monsieur Chopin, directed by Joel Zwick. Photographs by Hershey Felder Presents.
Felder as Chopin tells the story in the first person. It’s a narrative strategy that ends up serving the play well, as the performer is an extraordinary communicator, a superb concert pianist, and an inexhaustible researcher. Felder strides on stage as the lights go up, apologizes for being a bit late, and greets the audience as if they were his students awaiting their lesson.
Mischievously, he invites someone to perform at the grand piano. When no volunteers come forward, Felder seats himself on the bench. The fourth wall vanishes as Felder chats and jokes with audience members. Chopin, he says, disliked giving concerts, performing in only 30 in his lifetime. He much preferred playing in intimate salon settings for a few selected guests.
In fact, Felder encourages audience members to ask the most probing questions that they can imagine about the iconic musician. The result is that one time-travels back to the mid-19th century, and experiences being up close and personal with the iconic musician who was affectionately dubbed “the poet of the piano.” No matter what question was posed by an audience member, Felder was able to respond to it, not only with an arsenal of facts at his command but with the ability to place it in the context of Chopin’s whole life.
Consider one audience member’s question on who is the better musician: Chopin or the Hungarian composer Franz Liszt? Felder immediately retorted that Liszt held sovereignty as a pianist in the 19th-century music world, even though Chopin deplored his flashiness and pursuit of publicity. Another audience member asked Felder what musicians Chopin admired. “Bach and Mozart,” Felder replies after a thoughtful pause, adding that Chopin listened to Mozart’s Requiem when he was 19, and it left a lasting impression upon the aspiring musician. And when it came to the Baroque German composer Bach, Chopin’s idolatry was complete.
Unlike his solo bio-drama George Gershwin Alone, which was upbeat and chock-full of songs, Monsieur Chopin requires Felder to tap into deeper emotional terrain and portray a man who suffered from what was then labeled “melancholy” but is now known as bipolar disorder. But Felder meets the dramatic moment in this hybrid show that is part lecture, part concert, and altogether a window into the complicated heart and soul of Chopin.
Felder succinctly provides an overview of Chopin’s life, noting that he was born in a small village near Warsaw, began composing and performing at the tender age of 7, and had a tempestuous romance with the French writer George Sand for nine years. At the same time, he impressively performs Chopin’s music during the two-hour show, adopts a smorgasbord approach, playing snippets from his preludes, mazurkas, scherzos and more. Even though Chopin’s detractors in his lifetime would refer to the composer as a “simple miniaturist who could not control large-scale structure,” Felder proves them wrong early on by playing from Chopin’s famous funeral march in his Piano Sonata no. 2, which, Felder notes, was inspired by the untimely death of Chopin’s beloved sister Emilia.
Monsieur Chopin, written and performed by Felder, is at 59E59 Theaters.
There are, to be sure, many moments of levity in Monsieur Chopin. Felder fills in the audience on amusing stories behind the composer’s renowned works, along with anecdotes about his life. Chopin, for example, never forgot to remind his students to leave their 20 francs on the mantelpiece before leaving their piano lesson.
This show whets one’s appetite to learn more about the great Romantic composer-musician. While Monsieur Chopin will be catnip for Chopin aficionados, this solo show can be enjoyed by anybody who has a curiosity about the great pianist-composer and an interest in Romantic music.
The 19th-century music critic Léon Escudier said of Chopin that he is a “pianist apart, who cannot be compared with anyone.” That quip easily could be reworked to apply to Felder as an artist: he is in a category of his own.
Hershey Felder’s Monsieur Chopin plays through Dec. 24 at 59E59 Theaters (59 East 59 St.). Evening performances are at 7 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday (except Dec. 24); matinees are at 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. There will be an added performance on Nov. 29 at 2 p.m. For tickets and more information, visit 59e59.org.
Playwright: Hershey Felder
Director: Joel Zwick
Set: Hershey Felder
Lighting: Erik S. Barry
Sound: Jeremy Arturkalke
Video: Erik Carstensen
