GLENCOE, Ill.—If you didn’t know that it’s Hershey Felder at the piano in “Monsieur Chopin: A Play With Music,” now at the Writer’s Theatre in Glencoe, Illinois, you'd swear that you were watching the real Frederic Chopin (1810–1849) playing his music and talking about his life, his compositions, and his loves.
It’s not just that Mr. Felder resembles the Polish composer physically, but that his dramatic and masterful way with the keyboard gives the impression that we’re actually experiencing the genius.
While music aficionados will love this one-man show, you don’t have to be a classical music buff to enjoy it. Indeed, the presentation combines the drama of Chopin’s life, in which his confessions reveal the contradictions between his public and private life, with a delicious two-hour musical concert.
A virtuoso pianist and composer, Mr. Felder has created many compelling productions that have featured musical greats such as Tchaikovsky, Beethoven, Irving Berlin, George Gershwin, and Leonard Bernstein. Mr. Felder’s play about Chopin premiered in 2005 at the Royal George Theatre in Chicago. It was terrific then, but its reincarnation is even better than before.
Directed by Joel Zwick (who also helmed the film “My Big Fat Greek Wedding”), the play is set in Paris days after the 1848 Revolution. It takes place in Chopin’s study where we in the audience are the students with whom he is sharing the intricacies of music and lessons of life. There is a grand piano on stage that’s beautifully illuminated by lighting designer Erik S. Barry, and Erik Carstensen’s video projections offer images of the historical period.
During the course of the show, Mr. Felder explains the range of Chopin’s works—which include waltzes, polonaises, nocturnes, études, préludes, sonatas, and mazurkas—and how he infused some of the folk melodies from his native Poland into new works. Throughout Mr. Felder plays Chopin’s well-known compositions, which include the Polonaise “Militaire,” Op. 40; Grande Valse Brilliant, Op. 18; Polonaise “Héroïque,” Op. 53; the Nocturne, Op. 27; the Nocturne, Op. 9; and the Polonaise in A-flat major, Op. 53 (perhaps remembered as the 1945 song “Till the End of Time,” based on Chopin’s tune.)
While Chopin’s music is captivating, so, too, are Mr. Felder’s insights. We learn that Chopin’s haunting “Piano Sonata No. 2,” which is also known as the “Funeral March,” was written to commemorate the death of his sister, Emilia. We also learn that Chopin began composing at 7 years old, and that critics accused him of playing so lightly as to be difficult to enjoy. Felder-as-Chopin tells us that it wasn’t that he was playing too delicately, but that people were drowning him out by talking loudly during his performance.
As we marvel at Mr. Felder’s virtuosity on the piano, he intersperses his playing with an autobiographical background of Chopin’s life. He recounts how the romantic composer left Poland at the age of 21 and moved to Paris to escape the oppression in Russia. In Paris, he made a living by giving piano lessons and selling his compositions. He also became friends with famed talents such as composer Franz Liszt, with whom he had a love-hate relationship, and with artist Eugène Delacroix, who painted a famous portrait of him.
While “Impromptu,” (1991) with Hugh Grant as Chopin, features the composer’s love affair with French novelist George Sand, Mr. Felder goes into greater detail about their relationship. Sand, whose real name was Aurore Dupin, was not only Chopin’s biggest fan, but also his most devoted companion.
We also learn that Chopin grew tired of playing for the public, and after only 30 performances, decided to pursue teaching and performing at private gatherings.
Towards the end of the play, Mr. Felder delves into the tragedy of Chopin’s life. The composer battled his entire life with illness and died at 39 years old. His health was compromised by the poor quality of the health care he received but also due to a lifelong financial struggle in which he never received sufficient funds for his compositions and lectures.
By the show’s end, we have a new appreciation for the greatness of Chopin and for the masterful Mr. Felder. In bringing Chopin’s genius to exhilarating life, Mr. Felder has crafted an elegant and compelling work that demonstrates the Polish composer’s style and innovations in a way that anyone can understand and that everyone will find entertaining.
