Shomo Carlebach Musical "Soul Doctor" Coming to New York Next Week

Soul Doctor, a new musical portraying the musical odyssey of famed rock star-rabbi Shlomo Carlebach, is coming to New York this week for a three week run at the New York Theatre Workshop on West 4th Street as it prepares for its Broadway debut. Carlebach was a modern day troubador and the beloved and controversial father of popular Jewish music.

Carlebach is considered by many to be the foremost Jewish religious songwriter of the 20th century. In a career that spanned 40 years, he composed thousands of melodies and recorded more than 25 albums that continue to have widespread popularity and appeal. His influence also continues to this day in "Carlebach Minyanim" and Jewish religious gatherings in many cities and remote areas around the globe.

As The Wall Street Journal reported last December as the show was on tour in Florida:

SOUL DOCTOR takes us on a musical odyssey through the challenges and triumphs of this cultural phenomenon: his childhood escape from Nazi Germany, becoming a rabbinical prodigy in America; discovering Gospel and Soul music during his unlikely friendship with Nina Simone; his meteoric rise as a "Rock Star-Rabbi" in the 1960s, performing with Bob Dylan, Jefferson Airplane and The Grateful Dead; his struggle to reconcile his deep traditional roots with his desire to reach people of all backgrounds in the "free-love generation;" and his personal conflicts trying to keep his family together while traversing the globe as a "Soul Doctor," bringing joy and song to the lonely, the searching and the brokenhearted.

Here's a preview of the show hosted by Larry King. Enjoy!

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