\'Soul Doctor,\' Musical About Singing Rabbi, Eyes Next Stage

By PATRICK HEALY

The producers of the recent Off Broadway musical “Soul Doctor,” about the life and singing career of Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach, are in talks to move the show either to Broadway's Circle in the Square Theater or to Off Broadway's New World Stages, according to the lead producer of the show, Jeremy Chess. He said he is now seeking to expand his pool of investors to re-mount the show as he awaits word from Paul Libin of Circle in the Square while pursuing separate negotiations with executives at New World Stages.

Dr. Chess, a New York retina surgeon who has never produced a show before, conceived “Soul Doctor” about six years ago after noticing the popularity of Carlebach's songs â€" a mix of soul, gospel, and Jewish music â€" at weddings and other celebrations. During the show's recent three-week run at New York Theater Workshop, where it ended on Sunday, Dr. Chess became convinced that “Soul Doctor” could appeal to a wide audience of theater-goers of all faiths.

“I was struck that secular audiences were even more interested in the show than Jewish audiences,” Dr. Chess said in a telephone interview on Thursday. “And how do I know this? Well, we had performances on Saturday night, right after the Sabbath, so you don't have a big Jewish audience that night. The theater was full even so, and I looked around - there was no one with a yarmulke.”

Mr. Libin, the Broadway producer who handles bookings for Circle in the Square, said on Thursday that he was considering “Soul Doctor” as well as other possible shows for the theater, which has not had a tenant since “Godspell” closed there in June.

“I haven't resolved what the next booking will be yet,” Mr. Libin said. Asked if there would be a show this fall at Circle in the Square, one of 40 Broadway theaters and among a handful without a fall show, Mr. Libin said, “That's still up in the air.”

“ Soul Doctor” opened this month to mostly mixed reviews, although several critics enjoyed the numbers featuring Eric Anderson's buoyant performance as Carlebach. Dr. Chess said that further creative work would probably be done on the show, which was written and directed by Daniel S. Wise, before any future productions.

The show would cost several million dollars to mount on Broadway, but only one-third or one-half as much at the smaller New World Stages, given the lower rents and production costs of Off Broadway. Dr. Chess said he had a group of 10 investors so far and was looking for more if they need a larger capitalization budget for Broadway.

“My guess is the show will happen at New World Stages, to be candid, because I believe in the art of the possible, but Circle in the Square would be perfect for us because it's a theater in the round,” Dr. Chess said. “Carlebach was the sort of entertainer who really engaged and interacted with his audiences and a theater in the round would let us strengthen that aspect of the performance.”