arts & entertainment

Heart And Soul

A musical about Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach's
life and music is set to open on Broadway.

I

Suzanne Chessler

Contributing Writer

H

eart may well be at the center of
Joel Kahn's career, but soul defi-
nitely has taken on an important

presence.
Kahn, a Detroit Medical Center cardi-
ologist and lifetime fan of Rabbi Shlomo
Carlebach's music, has invested in Soul
Doctor, a show about the late Jewish cul-
tural icon soon to have a Broadway run.
The musical, which stars Eric Anderson
(Kinky Boots, Ragtime) as the charismatic
religious leader, begins previews July 17
and officially opens Aug. 15 at Circle in the
Square Theatre in New York City.
"Rabbi Carlebach's kindness and com-
passion really become the message of the
show" says Kahn, involved with the project
and its development for eight years and
now listed among six producers.
"The rabbi lightened up what had been
dark Jewish music with clapping, dancing
and joy. Hundreds and hundreds of differ-

1111J

- THE TIMES PICAYUNE

-THEN

THE JOURNEY OF A

ROCKSTAR-RABBI
— =~-

"A CERTIFIABLE HIT!'

-THE EXAMINER

'Itt ,$ I-Star

1

Broadway Cast; Over 30 timeless Carlebac
Scored by the composerlarranger of
. ' FAME!, The Who's TOMMY and Elton John's All/

Producer Joel Kahn, M.D., poses in
front of a poster for last summer's
pre-Broadway run of Soul Doctor.

ent musicians picked up on his pioneering
roots"
The rabbi, often referred to as a mod-
ern-day troubadour, escaped from Nazi
Germany as a child and built his religious
career in the very observant traditions of
his family. As musical projects enlarged,
Carlebach moderated to go along with stage
performances and recordings that put him
in the company of rock stars such as Bob
Dylan.
Through his cultural connections,
Carlebach met and formed a friendship
with legendary jazz singer Nina Simone
(portrayed by Amber Iman), who intro-
duced him to soul and gospel music.
With that inspiration, the rabbi fused his
roots with the popular sounds of the 1960s
and wrote songs that became standards.
Thirty will be performed throughout the
production.
"Shlomo Carlebach was a pioneer" says
Daniel Wise, who wrote the script and
directed the theater piece. "He felt that
the Jewish experience was bankrupt and
needed to be reinvigorated, and he had the
talent to do so.
"When the rabbi met Nina Simone, she
was going through her own identity crisis
as a Southern girl who wanted to pursue
music and couldn't. The two had a close
friendship, and she introduced him into
what has become Jewish gospel."
Both Kahn and Wise became involved
with Soul Doctor through the urging of
Jeremy Chess, a New York ophthalmologist
and initiating producer.
"Jeremy saw me on the street after he had
apparently seen me in the synagogue a cou-
ple of weeks earlier, and he said he wanted
to talk to me about Shlomo Carlebach,"
recalls Wise, a playwright and a producer-
director of international tours of Rent and
42nd Street.
"He said he saw Shlomo perform at the
Metropolitan Opera and thought he had
never seen anything so theatrical or electri-

fying. He said he'd
like to do a movie
or show about him" Eric Anderson stars as Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach in Soul Doctor.
On the spot,
Wise explained
As Kahn became more involved as a
that money would be needed to support
producer, he would provide input as to the
the effort, and Chess wrote a check. That
storyline, music and score, staying in touch
led to research through interviews with
with the director and musical director.
Carlebach's daughter Neshama, also a per-
The production opened in a small experi-
former, and others who knew the rabbi.
mental theater in New York in 2012, run-
Kahn met Chess in New York while
ning for three weeks, before arrangements
attending a Jewish Community Center per-
were made for the Broadway show. It was
formance of an early version of the produc-
nominated for two Drama Desk Awards.
tion. They just happened to sit in adjoining
Wise has one-on-one memories from just
seats and started talking about their medi-
before Carlebach's death in 1994.
cal interests and a mutual colleague.
"My former wife's family was close to him,
"Within a week or two, we called each
and I got to know him the last few years of
other about what we had seen and the way
his life," Wise explains. "I was not close, but I
the crowd erupted in dancing at the end:'
had great respect and appreciation.
recalls Kahn, a board member of Adat
"I liked him and happened to meet him
Shalom Synagogue in Farmington Hills.
the day before he passed away. I got a ride
"I started to join him in the funding, and
with him into the city, and we had a beauti-
the company recruited stellar orchestrators,
ful conversation.
musicians and writers. It got quite profes-
"I had thought the show's most dif-
sional:'
ficult audience would be the people who
While Wise met Carlebach as a young
knew Shlomo because they remember him
child whose family had invited the rabbi-
according to personal friendship. Because of
musician into their home, Kahn got to
that, I feel the most satisfied when they tell
know Neshama by inviting her to perform
me they never knew him until this moment
some 10 years ago at the Frankel Jewish
of Soul Doctor7 ❑
Academy, where his children were students.
"My late father would play one album by
Soul Doctor begins previews July 17
Shlomo Carlebach, and I learned to enjoy
at Circle in the Square Theatre,1633
the music" Kahn recalls. "I still have that
Broadway, in New York. Opening
album framed in my study.
night
is Aug.15, with an open-ended
"Then I went to Camp Ramah near
run.
Performance
times are 8 p.m.
Toronto for five years. Most of the Friday
Mondays-Saturdays
and 2 p.m.
night services were filled with great danc-
Wednesdays
and
Saturdays,
July
ing and singing, and I learned that most
17-Aug.17.
Beginning
Aug.
20,
the
of the tunes had been written by Shlomo
curtain
goes
up
at
7
p.m.
Tuesdays
Carlebach. I went on to purchase his
and Thursdays; 8 p.m. Wednesdays,
albums.
Fridays and Saturdays; 2 p.m.
"I was Conservative but found his music
Wednesdays
and Saturdays; and 3
inspiring. It was based in the Bible and
p.m.
Sundays.
$135. (212) 239-6200;
somewhat educational. I found out that he
www.souldoctorbroadway.com
.
had recorded Torah and life teachings. He
was quite an educator"

Jews

Nate Bloom

Special to the Jewish News

Film Notes

The film comedy Grown-Ups (2010),
about five guys on a junior high team
who, some 30 years later, reconnect,
was killed by critics, but it made big
bucks. So get ready for the sequel,
Grown-Ups 2, opening Friday, July 12.
It once again stars Adam Sandler,
48, as Hollywood agent Lenny Feder,

46

returning to his hometown with his
wife and kids. There are 19(!) Jews
in the huge cast,
including almost-
newcomers Cameron
Boyce, 14, the son of
an African-American
father and Jewish
mother, who plays
Sandler's younger
son; Victoria's
Boyce
Secret model Erin

Heatherton, 24, who plays Ginger, a
cheerleader; and Halston Sage, 20,
star of Nickelodeon's How to Rock,
who plays Nancy, a perky teen.

Newfound Faith
Ginnifer Goodwin (Big Love, Once
Upon a Time), 35, next November

will co-star as Jackie Kennedy in a
National Geographic original film
about the last years of JFK and
Jackie. Born and raised in Memphis,

Tenn., Goodwin was active in BBYO
and took her bat mitzvah seriously
enough that she
delayed it until
her 15th birthday,
when she felt she
had really studied
Ags•
enough.
On May 17, she
stood before the
congregation of
Goodwin
her hometown

Continued on page 49

July 11 • 2013