Photo: Getty ImagesIt’s been over five decades sinceDr. Henry Friedmanreceived the news that his father had suddenly died of a heart attack — and he says thinking back on the life-altering moment has not gotten any easier over time.Friedman, a lead adult and pediatric neuro-oncologist and a deputy director atThe Preston Robert Tisch Brain Tumor Centerat the Duke Cancer Institute, was 11 years old when his life took a dramatic turn.“It was a tragedy that shaped my life, some ways good, many ways not-so good,” Friedman, now 69, tells PEOPLE about his father’s death. “It was only my mom and I; I had no [siblings]. And I got really profoundly into what we would call today a black depression, and I was just hopeless. I didn’t know what to do, how to move forward.“Neither did his mother, Miriam. In her desperation, he says, she tried to figure out what she and her son could do together to seek comfort.“She wanted me to see something that was uplifting and beautiful, andBroadway musicalsare uplifting and beautiful,” Friedman explains, adding that they took in performances ofFiddler on the Roof, starring Zero Mostel;Cabaret, withJoel Grey; andMan of La Mancha, with Richard Kiley; among others.Paul Rovere/Getty ImagesFriedman was hooked. “They show the beauty of life,” he says of live theater. “Broadway is just an extraordinary vista of so many different ways to feel emotions. I couldn’t help but go to it and feel positive.“He adds, “The more I saw, the more I felt that there was a beauty to life that I wasn’t really paying attention to, and a wonderful modality. Nothing moves me like Broadway; the theater is just everything.“Friedman and his wife,Dr. Joanne Kurtzberg, and their family continued to see Broadway shows until the pandemic forced theaters toclose their doors in March 2020.Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.Feeling indebted to the Great White Way, Friedman — who wanted to become a doctor since he was 9 years old — longed to repay a community he says gave him a life-saving gift.Aside from his work as a doctor and providing medical help to those in the theater, Friedman is also a mentor. He hoped for a theatrical mentee and, after seeing then-11-year-oldSydney Lucas' performance of “Ring of Keys” fromFun Homeon the 2015 Tony Awards, he knew he had to meet her.Friedman has since mentored Sydney, 18, and her 19-year-old brother,Jake Lucas, who has also performed in Broadway’sNewsiesandThe King and I, bonding over their shared love of theatre. He’s even watched Sydney and Jake go on to study at New York University.Mentoring others, he says, gives him an “incredible rush of positive energy,” given that he wasn’t able to reap the same benefits in his younger years living with a hard-working single mother. “I’m gonna keep doing it as long as I’m doing medicine,” the doctor adds. “But it’s more than that. I viscerally need to mentor. I have to mentor. [Like] you have to breathe, I have to mentor.“Looking back at that pivotal time when Friedman was introduced to Broadway 58 years ago, he says he is thankful for the theater. “I could look out at the world and see sun again,” he says, “where all I could see before was darkness.”
Photo: Getty Images
It’s been over five decades sinceDr. Henry Friedmanreceived the news that his father had suddenly died of a heart attack — and he says thinking back on the life-altering moment has not gotten any easier over time.Friedman, a lead adult and pediatric neuro-oncologist and a deputy director atThe Preston Robert Tisch Brain Tumor Centerat the Duke Cancer Institute, was 11 years old when his life took a dramatic turn.“It was a tragedy that shaped my life, some ways good, many ways not-so good,” Friedman, now 69, tells PEOPLE about his father’s death. “It was only my mom and I; I had no [siblings]. And I got really profoundly into what we would call today a black depression, and I was just hopeless. I didn’t know what to do, how to move forward.“Neither did his mother, Miriam. In her desperation, he says, she tried to figure out what she and her son could do together to seek comfort.“She wanted me to see something that was uplifting and beautiful, andBroadway musicalsare uplifting and beautiful,” Friedman explains, adding that they took in performances ofFiddler on the Roof, starring Zero Mostel;Cabaret, withJoel Grey; andMan of La Mancha, with Richard Kiley; among others.Paul Rovere/Getty ImagesFriedman was hooked. “They show the beauty of life,” he says of live theater. “Broadway is just an extraordinary vista of so many different ways to feel emotions. I couldn’t help but go to it and feel positive.“He adds, “The more I saw, the more I felt that there was a beauty to life that I wasn’t really paying attention to, and a wonderful modality. Nothing moves me like Broadway; the theater is just everything.“Friedman and his wife,Dr. Joanne Kurtzberg, and their family continued to see Broadway shows until the pandemic forced theaters toclose their doors in March 2020.Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.Feeling indebted to the Great White Way, Friedman — who wanted to become a doctor since he was 9 years old — longed to repay a community he says gave him a life-saving gift.Aside from his work as a doctor and providing medical help to those in the theater, Friedman is also a mentor. He hoped for a theatrical mentee and, after seeing then-11-year-oldSydney Lucas' performance of “Ring of Keys” fromFun Homeon the 2015 Tony Awards, he knew he had to meet her.Friedman has since mentored Sydney, 18, and her 19-year-old brother,Jake Lucas, who has also performed in Broadway’sNewsiesandThe King and I, bonding over their shared love of theatre. He’s even watched Sydney and Jake go on to study at New York University.Mentoring others, he says, gives him an “incredible rush of positive energy,” given that he wasn’t able to reap the same benefits in his younger years living with a hard-working single mother. “I’m gonna keep doing it as long as I’m doing medicine,” the doctor adds. “But it’s more than that. I viscerally need to mentor. I have to mentor. [Like] you have to breathe, I have to mentor.“Looking back at that pivotal time when Friedman was introduced to Broadway 58 years ago, he says he is thankful for the theater. “I could look out at the world and see sun again,” he says, “where all I could see before was darkness.”
It’s been over five decades sinceDr. Henry Friedmanreceived the news that his father had suddenly died of a heart attack — and he says thinking back on the life-altering moment has not gotten any easier over time.
Friedman, a lead adult and pediatric neuro-oncologist and a deputy director atThe Preston Robert Tisch Brain Tumor Centerat the Duke Cancer Institute, was 11 years old when his life took a dramatic turn.
“It was a tragedy that shaped my life, some ways good, many ways not-so good,” Friedman, now 69, tells PEOPLE about his father’s death. “It was only my mom and I; I had no [siblings]. And I got really profoundly into what we would call today a black depression, and I was just hopeless. I didn’t know what to do, how to move forward.”
Neither did his mother, Miriam. In her desperation, he says, she tried to figure out what she and her son could do together to seek comfort.
“She wanted me to see something that was uplifting and beautiful, andBroadway musicalsare uplifting and beautiful,” Friedman explains, adding that they took in performances ofFiddler on the Roof, starring Zero Mostel;Cabaret, withJoel Grey; andMan of La Mancha, with Richard Kiley; among others.
Paul Rovere/Getty Images
Friedman was hooked. “They show the beauty of life,” he says of live theater. “Broadway is just an extraordinary vista of so many different ways to feel emotions. I couldn’t help but go to it and feel positive.”
He adds, “The more I saw, the more I felt that there was a beauty to life that I wasn’t really paying attention to, and a wonderful modality. Nothing moves me like Broadway; the theater is just everything.”
Friedman and his wife,Dr. Joanne Kurtzberg, and their family continued to see Broadway shows until the pandemic forced theaters toclose their doors in March 2020.
Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
Feeling indebted to the Great White Way, Friedman — who wanted to become a doctor since he was 9 years old — longed to repay a community he says gave him a life-saving gift.
Aside from his work as a doctor and providing medical help to those in the theater, Friedman is also a mentor. He hoped for a theatrical mentee and, after seeing then-11-year-oldSydney Lucas' performance of “Ring of Keys” fromFun Homeon the 2015 Tony Awards, he knew he had to meet her.
Friedman has since mentored Sydney, 18, and her 19-year-old brother,Jake Lucas, who has also performed in Broadway’sNewsiesandThe King and I, bonding over their shared love of theatre. He’s even watched Sydney and Jake go on to study at New York University.
Mentoring others, he says, gives him an “incredible rush of positive energy,” given that he wasn’t able to reap the same benefits in his younger years living with a hard-working single mother. “I’m gonna keep doing it as long as I’m doing medicine,” the doctor adds. “But it’s more than that. I viscerally need to mentor. I have to mentor. [Like] you have to breathe, I have to mentor.”
Looking back at that pivotal time when Friedman was introduced to Broadway 58 years ago, he says he is thankful for the theater. “I could look out at the world and see sun again,” he says, “where all I could see before was darkness.”
source: people.com
