The (Soul) Doctor is In
The rabbi is dancing and singing, his congregation swooning, his synagogue…absent. We are watching an actor only pretend to be a rabbi and are sitting in the (not-so) holy confines of a Broadway theatre, watching a preview of the new musical Soul Doctor. The musical chronicles the life of Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach (Eric Anderson), focusing on his active years as a “troubadour.” The show also gives insight into the relationship between Carlebach and the famous jazz singer Nina Simone (Amber Iman), as friends who inspire one another. (The show doesn’t delve into real-life rumors of a romantic relationship).
Born in Germany in 1925, Carlebach moved to America in the late 1930s to escape the Nazis. In the U.S., Carlebach excelled as a Torah scholar and was a member of the Lubavitch movement. Carlebach gave up the...