GERSHWIN AT THE OLD GLOBE

Our daughter Courtney works for The Old Globe Theatre in San Diego. She set us up with some great tickets to see a one-man show entitled Gershwin.

Pictured at left are his hands, Well, at least back then. What a great show! The actor captured the audience's attention and held it for the 1 hour 45 minute play without intermission or halftime as I call it.

He painted a good picture of a time gone by. He played a great piano and sang some of the great Gershwin songs. But the coolest part was at the end. When one hour and fifteen minutes was up, I thought the play over. The actor told us that Gershwin died at age 38 and then he took a bow and deservedly received a standing O or curtain call.

But then he told us that after a show, Gershwin would have been the first to leave to begin his after hours playing the piano and singing until the wee. He, of course, was joined by others and songs filled the night as people sipped daiqaries and martinis. So our performer, Hershey Felder, would cue the audience who sang along with him. Embraceable You and Summertime have been in my head ever since.

He had two singers who stood out. He recognized them (no they weren't plants) and allowed them to solo. One was tremendous. He also divided the auditorium and orchestrated another sing along with harmony.

What an enjoyable evening! It made me appreciate the artist more and be glad that I could partake in some of the fun he must have had.