Rabbi needs ‘Doctor’
High-spirited and tuneful, but long and cumbersome, “Soul Doctor” is a bio musical in fair condition. Recalling the life of the late Shlomo Carlebach, it hits all the major mile markers, beginning with his Orthodox boyhood in Nazi Germany. It proceeds to trace his family’s escape to America, his controversial friendship with soulful Nina Simone and the double edge of stardom when he becomes “The Singing Rabbi” who rocks pop culture in the 1960s and beyond.
It’s an intriguing idea and Carlebach’s acoustic- and faithdriven songs, which are woven throughout the show, are easy on the ears and pleasantly rousing, if repetitive.
Book writer/director Daniel S. Wise and lyricist David Schechter focus on the various tensions created by Carlebach’s rejection of his traditional heritage in order to reach out to Jewish youth of flagging faith in his own way.
Despite ham-fisted scenes, including one when he’s declared a “soul doctor” and another with a trippy Timothy Leary, Eric Anderson grounds the show with his sweet and charismatic performance as Carlebach. To their credit, the creators’ detailed portrait captures the rabbi’s great enthusiasm and deep insecurities.
Otherwise, characters and plot developments are sketchy, even with fine work by Steven Hauck as Carlebach’s exacting father and Merideth Kaye Clark as a diehard devotee. A reunion with the woman Carlebach later weds may be factual, but it feels fake.
The finest scene comes as Carlebach meets the fiery Simone (Erica Ash, exquisite) in a club where she’s singing. According to strict religious rules, he shouldn’t even be talking to her. But they discover that, despite huge differences, they share common ground and views that firmly Erica Ash as Nina Simone and Eric Anderson as Shlomo Carlebach, “The Singing Rabbi” bond them. The exchange sticks out because it’s realized with so much nuance and depth. More of that, please.
The show, which runs through Sunday, reportedly has its eye on Broadway’s Circle in the Square Theatre. Before it gets there, some proverbial wisdom: “Doctor,” heal thyself.