Ensemble Theatre Company of Santa Barbara (ETC) and HFP LIVE will present pianist/actor/playwright/producer in the Southern California premiere of Hershey Felder starring in a new play “The Piano & Me,” running now through Sunday, May 10 at the New Vic Theatre, 33 Victoria St., Santa Barbara.
With book by Felder and dramaturgy by Jerry Patch, this newest work is scheduled to open off-Broadway in New York following the ETC premiere.
Critics have lauded “The Piano & Me” as his finest work to date following its world premiere at TheatreWorks Silicon Valley, according to ETC.
“The Piano & Me” replaces the previously scheduled “Hershey Felder as Monsieur Chopin.”
All performances will take place on the same dates and times as originally scheduled. Current ticket holders for “Hershey Felder as Monsieur Chopin” will be automatically transferred to the corresponding performance of “The Piano & Me” at no additional charge, ETC said.
Known worldwide for his portrayals of musical geniuses in his composer series, Felder for the first time unravels the story of how it all happened in “The Piano & Me.”
Felder now renders a different musical artist: himself.
“In this deeply moving new play, Felder pulls back the curtain on his own story,” according to ETC. “Growing up in Montreal as the child of Polish and Hungarian immigrants, a young Felder discovers the piano, its captivating music connecting him to his unsuspected heritage, while opening up a remarkable new world full of adventure, possibility, heartbreak, and connection.”
Featuring performances of compositions by Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Chopin, Liszt, Rachmaninoff, and Bartók, “Felder: The Piano & Me” recounts the inspiration behind Felder’s illustrious career of more than 6,000 performances across the globe, and offers a touching portrait of the power of music.
“The Piano & Me” was lauded by all professional critics in its world premiere in January with David John Chavez, former chair of the American Theatre Critics Association and two-time jurist for the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, calling it “Magnificent, enthralling, brilliant and engaging.”
“We are making a change to our scheduled season programming: in place of ‘Hershey Felder as Monsieur Chopin,’ ETC will now present ‘The Piano & Me’ on the exact same performance dates and times,” said Scott DeVine, ETC’s executive artistic director.
“We love ‘Monsieur Chopin,’ and hope to bring it to Santa Barbara in a future season, but when I attended the world premiere of ‘The Piano & Me,’ I knew immediately that this was something we could not wait to share with Santa Barbara,” DeVine said.
“This is Hershey at his most profound and most personal — a once-in-a-generation theatrical experience that we are honored to bring is newest piece to The New Vic,” he said.
Since the 1998 premiere of his acclaimed play with music “George Gershwin Alone,” Felder has appeared on world renowned stages throughout the U.S. and abroad, giving more than 6,000 performances in original works that include “George Gershwin Alone,” “Beethoven,” “Maestro Bernstein,” and “Hershey Felder as Irving Berlin.”
Film world premieres at the Saban Theatre in Beverly Hills, California, include several of his award-winning films: “Musical Tales in the Venetian Jewish Ghetto,” “The Assembly,” and “Noble Genius Chopin & Liszt.”
Felder is currently the artistic director of Florence, Italy’s most historic theater, Teatro Niccolni (1648) where he presents celebrated American and international artists from Jeff Goldblum to Helen Mirren, Malcom McDowell, and Mikhail Baryshnikov.
Two seasons of programming are currently available at www.hersheyfelder.net.
Performances of “The Piano and Me” are 7:30 p.m. Tuesdays; Wednesdays at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.; Thursdays at 7:30 p.m.; Fridays at 8 p.m.; Saturdays at 3 p.m. and 8 p.m.; and Sundays at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. There will be no 7 p.m. performance on Sunday, May 10.
Ticket prices range from $40-$119. All patrons 35 and under are always $35. Student tickets are $25.
Single tickets available through the ETC ticket office, 805-965-5400, or online at etcsb.org. Prices subject to change.
CALENDAR LISTING:
HERSHEY FELDER in THE PIANO & ME a new musical play
Music of Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Chopin, Bartok,
Rachmaninoff, Gershwin, Williams & Felder
Book by Hershey Felder
Dramaturgy by Jerry Patch
Previews on Thursday, April 30 at 7:30pm and Friday, May 1 at 8:00pm
Opens on Saturday, May 2 at 8:00pm (Press Opening)
Runs: Thursday, April 30 – Sunday, May 10, 2026
Performances are Tuesdays at 7:30pm;
Wednesdays at 2:00pm & 7;30pm;
Thursdays at 7:30pm;
Fridays at 8:00pm;
Saturdays at 3:00pm & 8:00pm;
Sundays at 2:00pm & 7:00pm
(There will be no performance on Sunday, May 10 at 7:00pm)
The New Vic, 33 W. Victoria Street in Santa Barbara.
Running time is 110 minutes with no intermission
Ticket Prices range from $40 – $119
All Patrons 35 and under are always $35. Student tickets are $25. Prices subject to change.
Ensemble Theatre Company at The New Vic 33 W. Victoria Street in Santa Barbara
For tickets — visit www.etcsb.org or call (805) 965-5400
PLEASE NOTE:
PRODUCTION CHANGE NOTICE: ETC’s previously announced production of Hershey Felder as Monsieur Chopin has been replaced by Hershey Felder: The Piano & Me. The performance schedule remains unchanged. All current ticket holders will be automatically transferred to the corresponding performance of the new production at no additional charge.
Due to current health and safety variables, performances are subject to change, postponement, or cancellation.