"Maestro" Hershey Felder as Leonard Bernstein. Berkeley Rep Theatre, Berkeley

Magic happens!  I met Leonard Bernstein, at Tanglewood, the summer music school for musicans, and the site of the Tanglewood summer concerts.  He held a talk with interested people before the concert in the tent.  I also heard him speak in a pre concert event at the symphony in New York City.  I used to own the beautiful photo book of his life, but sold it when I had a rare book business for a short period of time.

Leonard Bernstein legitimated American music, such as Gershwin, and "West Side Story"  Hershey Felder gave a charmning performance, based on Bernstein's full life, emphasizing his personal development and passion for music and the necessity to find the right teachers..the best story is where "God told the teacher to choose him".  There are issues played out of being Jewish and playing at Carnegie, but it all disappears, in light of Bernstein's magnetism and talent. 

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