For Josh Nelson, playing Shlomo Carlebach in a production of ‘Soul Doctor’ has been a life-changing experience. He explains what it means to play a spiritual icon.
“Soul Doctor” can best be described as “Hair” meets post Holocaust trauma with Eric Anderson’s visceral channeling of Reb Shlomo Carlebach and Amber Imam’s portrayal of Nina Simone illuminating the production.
Almost 20 years after his death, ‘Singing Rabbi’ Shlomo Carlebach is both ubiquitous and controversial. Now a Broadway musical is trying to unravel his complex legacy.
“Soul Doctor,” the musical about the life of the rockin’ rabbi, Shlomo Carlebach, is a theatrical version of the carnival whack-a-mole game. It seems to pop up every now and then, but disappears back into its hole almost as quickly as it appeared.
‘Soul Doctor,’ a rollicking musical based on the life and times of counter-culture Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach is playing in Florida. Can it make it to the Great White Way, inside Jewish jokes and all?