Review: Hershey Felder’s "Rachmaninoff and the Tsar"

Sometimes, a melody is worth 1,000 words — or, in the case of a theater review, about 800. To really get a feel for the tone of “Rachmaninoff and the Tsar,” the latest addition to Hershey Felder’s series of biographical plays about famous composers, I’d suggest listening to the slow middle movement (“Adagio sostenuto”) of Rachmaninoff’s Second Piano Concerto. Quietly elegiac and lushly romantic, this beloved piece captures the play’s contemplative pace and the sense of grief and yearning that runs throughout. No wonder Felder makes it a centerpiece of his new show, which weaves together one man’s loss of his family with another’s loss of his home and musical voice. As part of its world premiere season, “Rachmaninoff and the Tsar” is now in its Midwest premiere at Writers Theatre.

A regula