"Felder plays no version of Berlin the world might recognize or wish to...Felder’s acting is as broad as a silent-movie villain’s, except that he’s talking. And talking. Or, too often, singing...Felder delivers them all in a weird, unpleasant vocal style that manages the difficult trick of making the songs seem both unvaried and unmelodic...So much is wrong with ‘Hershey Felder as Irving Berlin’ that I eventually started to wonder whether it was actively passive-aggressive.”
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“This lovely one-man show, written and performed by Felder and directed by Trevor Hay, is set on Christmas Eve, 1988, as the centenarian invites carollers into his Beekman Place house, tells the story of his life, and reveals the sources of his songs. Felder is a good monologuist, but, more important, he’s an exquisite singer and a virtuosic pianist, and his love for Berlin’s music fills the theatre.”
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"Felder portrays Berlin with a restless intensity, suggesting Berlin’s determination to succeed, fervent patriotism, love for his family and anger at becoming a casualty of the rock and roll revolution. Even though the show is constructed in a by-the-number fashion, and the writing can be heavy-handed and overloaded with exposition, it is truly engrossing and heartfelt. Oddly enough, it also represents the modern jukebox musical at its most simple, persuasive and dramatically effective levels."
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“An occasionally hokey but ultimately loving biographical tribute...While the show has about as much depth as a Wikipedia entry, Felder takes great care in his presentation, his affection for his subject shining in every single moment...The show has no right to work this well, but because of Felder's warm and sensitive portrayal, it does...There are a few points when Felder is a little too much of a showman...Felder proves Berlin is more than just a legend. Thanks to his music, he's immortal."
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“Felder not only creates the character of Berlin but also those of his musical assistants, his...wives...and a number of others...Felder is so adept at this stagecraft that the audience feels as though these other people are actually onstage. Through his riveting acting and superb musicianship, Felder's portrayal of Berlin makes this American musical icon come alive again...Hay delightfully serves Felder's book as Director of this magnificently conceived production.”
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"It's a canny strategy, presenting a double vision of the man in his heyday, while nevertheless warning us where his story is headed: Berlin led a life that, for all its triumphs, was marked by bizarre and often random ill fortune...Felder has the big picture and it is a lively, crowded canvas, filled with laughter and real feeling...Of the performances by Felder that I've seen, this is surely the strongest; he seems to have bonded more fully with Berlin than his other subjects."
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“Felder is at his best when he moves away from his baby grand piano and his virtuoso arrangements of the Berlin repertoire, and stands quietly to sing an unaccompanied medley. It is then that you can best appreciate the blend of music and lyrics...Unfortunately, we don't get to know nearly as much about Berlin the man...Beyond the songs and the stories of their creation...snippets of biography and the anecdotes, we are largely left to our own devices to discern what drove him.”
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"Although Felder is scarcely an actor, he’s okay as a genial storyteller, and even better as a rather flashy pianist...The production is modest yet capable. Trevor Hay, the director, neatly paces the easygoing flow of the show...Not a high-concept entertainment that aims to garner new admirers of the songwriter’s works or to provide fresh insights...It is instead a sincere and agreeably performed musical celebration of a great American artist and the enduring songs that he wrote."
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