Rabbis are multiplying in New York theater. Last summer, Rabbi Sol Solomon appeared in “Shalom Dammit!” at the Roy Arias Theater, while “My Name is Asher Lev,” which includes the title character’s visits to an Orthodox Rabbi, has proved an award-winning hit at off-Broadway’s Westside Theater.
Add one more Rebbe to the roster: starting July 17 on Broadway, “Soul Doctor: Journey of a Rockstar Rabbi” will fill the Circle in the Square Theater with song (more than two dozen of them, in fact). Developed on tour and then tried out at off-Broadway’s New York Theater Workshop last summer, “Soul Doctor” features a book and direction by Daniel S. Wise and the music of Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach, whose biography the story recounts.
Producers announced on June 18 that Eric Anderson, who was Drama Desk-nominated for playing Shlomo off-Broadway, will return for the Broadway staging, with Amber Iman making her mainstem debut as soul icon Nina Simone, who struck up an unlikely friendship with the Rebbe.
Escaping from Nazi Germany as a child with his family, Reb Shlomo wound up in New York and gained fame for setting Jewish prayers and biblical passages to his original music. In the early 1960s, he played at the Village Gate and other notable folk clubs and released two albums on Vanguard Records (and many others on different labels). A trip to Berkeley made him a fan of the hippie counterculture, which influenced his charismatic leadership of the synagogue he ran on NYC’s Upper West Side until his death in 1994.
Carlebach was somewhat controversial in life because more traditional Orthodox leaders didn’t appreciate his ecstatic, musical approach or his efforts to better integrate women into religious services. Alas, the singer is even more controversial in death because, following his passing, numerous women stepped forward to accuse him of underage molestation and inappropriate sexual behavior, such as late-night, masturbatory phone calls with naïve or unwilling participants.
At least in its earlier incarnations, “Soul Doctor” skirted around the darker side of the Rabbi, and while reviewers had issues with the show’s book, the music certainly proved a draw and the show’s lifeblood. Also praised was star Eric Anderson (who will return for the Broadway run) and the show’s recounting of the unlikely friendship struck up between Carlebach and troubled fellow singer, Nina Simone.
“Soul Doctor” opens Aug. 15. To hear my radio interview with Gary Morris, who starred in an earlier version of the show on tour, visit: https://www.totaltheater.com/?q=node/4420
More info: https://www.broadway.com/buzz/169780/soul-doctor-journey-of-a-rock-star-rabbi-headed-to-broadways-circle-in-the-square-theatre/
- by David Lefkowitz
