Hershey Felder as Irving Berlin

A note from Hershey Felder

Dear friends,

Over the past 25 years, the stages of many theatres across the United States, including Berkeley Rep and TheatreWorks, have been my home for eleven out of twelve months each year. Yet, for the first time in all these years, I find myself at that elusive “home,” here in Florence, Italy; the place where the many things I have collected over the years live, and where the dog is king and allows me to visit from time to time. It was here in this city that the Piano and Opera were invented and the city was the centre of the Renaissance, where even today every molecule is still infused with art. It is a place that I had hoped, when all was said and done some years from now, would be the place where I could make music, write, and create, and then simply fade away with the most beautiful sunset that ever was. I could never have imagined that it would be because of such world tragedy and sadness, that I would find myself at “home.” As otherworldly as it is here, I am still drawn to the many theatres that have given me homes over the years, and so together we have created a nationwide event paying tribute to America’s greatest songwriter, Irving Berlin. Proceeds from this event will benefit each of the many participating theatres throughout the nation.

To present this event, we have recreated here in Florence, the set of Irving Berlin’s home on Beekman Place in Manhattan, and we have a film crew that has been safe and in quarantine here in Florence. If you’ve seen the production some time ago, there is some new additional material that speaks to our times, as well as a few surprises. Because audiences always request the now infamous “audience encore,” we have even made it possible for you to ask your questions by cellphone text directly to me during the encore section, and I will answer live, just as I do in the theatre. And yes, we will be coming to you live from our stage at 1am in Italy, 5pm on the West Coast, 7pm in the Midwest, and 8pm on the East Coast, in honor of the beautiful theatres across the nation, and in honor of all the Mothers on this unusual and special Mother’s Day.

I look forward to seeing you then.

Hershey