Theatre Review: ‘Soul Doctor,’ a Musical About Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach

THE NEW YORK TIMES
By Charles Isherwood

Soul Doctor Eric Anderson in this musical about the life of Shlomo Carlebach

BROADWAY---“Soul Doctor” is a bizarre and at times bewildering musical. How Shlomo [Carlebach] moved from the stern rectitude demanded by his rabbinical training to embrace a more liberal philosophy is the story the musical laboriously unfolds. In short order Shlomo has been exiled from his synagogue after his new music outrages his elders and he is discovered singing during a service at Nina’s [Simone] storefront church. He finds a new path when he meets a panhandler in Washington Square Park who dubs him a “soul doctor” and hands over his guitar. I wasn’t feeling so much wonder, having a low tolerance for all-together-now spiritual uplift. I found it disappointing that this intriguing figure came across as a bland, bromide-spouting relic of the hippie era, albeit one tie-dyed in classic Jewish guilt. [link]
Circle in the Square Theater: "Soul Doctor", 1633 Broadway, at 50th Street, (800) 432-7780, telecharge.com. Running time: 2 hours 30 minutes.