Tchaikovsky, out of Russia’s closet

Midway through Hershey Felder’s one-man show, “Our Great Tchaikovsky,” the Russian composer says, “Music doesn’t have a nationality. It is simply human.”

If only the Russian government thought so. The tragedy of homophobia, still pervasive in Russia, runs through Felder’s play, now at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts.

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, by all accounts gay and forced to remain closeted on penalty of being sent to Siberia, led a tortured life in 19th century Russia. Now as then, the country celebrated him for his music, all too willing to discard the actual person who created them.

“Our Great Tchaikovsky,” written by Felder and directed by Trevor Hay, is a somber play. At 105 minutes without intermission, it feels long. Nevertheless, people are flocking to see it. The premiere production was the San Diego Repertory Theatre’s highest grossing show in 41 seasons. The Wallis has already extended its run.

Felder specializes in portraits of musical masters: Gershwin, Berlin, Chopin, Beethoven and Bernstein.

“Our Great Tchaikovsky” opens with Felder, as himself, showing us a 2013 letter inviting him to perform in Russia as the country’s national hero — just after the minister of culture officially declared the composer not gay.

Felder, an assured showman, then takes on the persona of Tchaikovsky. Oddly, he breaks the mood of the play at several points. Still, Felder’s focused work on the piano buoys the play, preventing it from grinding into a live-action Wikipedia entry.

So does he perform as Tchaikovsky in Russia? For some, there may be a sense of Felder patting himself on the back in the answer. Even so, they’ll likely be humming a few of Tchaikovsky’s immortal tunes.