In the liminal space of a Beverly Hills garden, the spirit of composer Sergei Rachmaninoff examines his life as his corporeal body dies upstairs. This is the world of Rachmaninoff and the Tsar, the newest musical play written and acted by Hershey Felder, now playing at the New Vic. Directed by Trevor Hay and presented by Ensemble Theatre Company, Rachmaninoff and the Tsar is a poignant story about cultural displacement and the layers of loyalty and animosity that wrap and tangle to form the complicated relationship the composer had with his childhood home, the cruel and nurturing mother Russia.
In a departure from Felder’s typical (solo) pieces, Rachmaninoff also features Jonathan Silvestri as Tsar Nicholas II. As Rachmaninoff transitions into death, he seeks to settle his most festering grievance — the trauma of fleeing Russian during the Bolshevik revolution, which he ultimately blames on the Tsar’s poor leadership. The conversation between the composer and his manifestation of the Tsar — two men who are damaged, proud, and have lost so much — shows a depth of love and pain that can’t be healed. Both actors are charismatic in their roles, and their discussion tells a multifaceted story about home, making mistakes, and living in exile. A piano center stage serves as a principal point of focus, and Felder (as the composer) illustrates emotional mood with beautiful and intense musical performance.
Most interestingly, this play is a natural historic representation of the current American experience, reminding us that others before us have loved their country but also harbored deep rage and disgust for it based on its ruinous effects on people’s lives.
Rachmaninoff and the Tsar is an exploration of the ache of clinging to “old patriotism” for an unsustainable way of life — and the challenge and discovery of “new patriotism” for the life one needs to adopt to move forward. See Rachmaninoff and the Tsar through April 20. See etcsb.org.
Hershey Felder stars in the Ensemble Theatre Company production of “RACHMANINOFF AND THE TSAR,” directed by Trevor Hay and now playing at the New Vic Theatre in Santa Barbara. | Photo: Hershey Felder Presents 
Hershey Felder and Jonathan Silvestri star in the Ensemble Theatre Company production of “RACHMANINOFF AND THE TSAR,” directed by Trevor Hay and now playing at the New Vic Theatre in Santa Barbara. | Photo: Hershey Felder Presents
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