The UK premiere of ROTHSCHILD AND SONS opens next year at the Park Theatre and if the cast are anything to go by, it's going to be one hell of a show! Stars of the original New York production Robert Cuccioli and Glory Crampton are heading across the pond and will be joined by our favourite West End rocker Gary Trainor this coming January...
ROTHSCHILD AND SONS, a musical by Broadway songwriting legends Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnick (Fiddler on the Roof, She Loves Me) and Tony-nominated writer Sherman Yellen, directed by Jeffrey B Moss, is the story of Mayer Rothschild, his wife and sons, who despite being trapped behind ghetto walls, dream of a day when they are no longer locked in or anyone like them locked out.
This re-imagined musical was inspired by the book The Rothschilds by Frederic Morton and includes several never-before-heard songs in its UK premiere. It runs at London’s Park Theatre from 24 January to 17 February 2018, with a press night on 29 January.
The stellar cast of Broadway and West End actors is led by Tony nominee Robert Cuccioli as Mayer and Glory Crampton as Gutele, roles they created to great acclaim in the 2015 New York premiere of ROTHSCHILD AND SONS, and School of Rock’s Gary Trainor as Nathan Rothschild.
This uplifting and universal tale follows the rise of the Rothschild family from their humble home in the Jewish ghetto in Frankfurt, Germany, to the heights of European prominence. Mayer Rothschild is an ambitious young merchant anxious to make something of himself in a world that openly despises Jews. He marries, has five sons, and ultimately, by use of his quick wit and perseverance, transforms his family into an international banking empire serving the royal courts of Europe. But Mayer’s main objective is to see the ghetto walls torn down before he dies, and for this, he, his wife and his sons, are prepared to risk everything.
Others in the cast are David Delve, Richard Dempsey, Tom Giles, Tom Lloyd, Kris-Marc Joseph, Joanna Strand, Tony Timberlake and Stephen Webb.
Rothschild & Sons is directed by Jeffrey B Moss, with musical direction by Ben van Tienan, choreography by Denis Jones, costumes by Pam Tait, lighting by Jack Weir, video and projection by Louise Rhoades-Brown. It’s produced by Arnold Mittelman.
Bios
Robert Cuccioli, making his London debut, is best known for his critically acclaimed performance in the Broadway hit Jekyll & Hyde, for which he received a Tony nomination, Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle Award and Chicago’s Joseph Jefferson Award. Robert made his Broadway debut as Inspector Javert in Les Miserables, and was most recently seen on Broadway as Dr. Norman Osborn/The Green Goblin in Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark.
Glory Crampton is a veteran of over forty Broadway productions. She performed the role of “Christine” in Phantom of the Opera as well as starring in The Fantasticks, My Fair Lady, Hello Dolly, Carousel and Guys and Dolls amongst many others.
Gary Trainor, whose past work includes the West End productions of Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, I Can’t Sing and The Shawshank Redemption, comes to Rothschild & Sons fresh from playing the role of Dewey in School of Rock.
American musical theatre composer Jerry Bock, who died in 2010, received the Tony Award for Best Musical and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama with Sheldon Harnick for their 1959 musical Fiorello! and the Tony Award for Best Composer and Lyricist for the 1964 musical Fiddler on the Roof, again with Sheldon Harnick
Sheldon Harnick began his career in the 1950’s with songs in revues both on and off-Broadway. As well as creating Fiorello and Fiddler on the Roof with Jerry Bock, they also wrote She Loves Me (Grammy), The Apple Tree and The Rothschilds. Other musicals include Rex (Richard Rodgers), A Wonderful Life (Joe Raposo) and A Christmas Carol (Michel Legrand). Harnick also contributed songs to the films ‘The Heartbreak Kid’ and ‘Blame It on Rio’ (music by Cy Coleman) and Aaron’s ‘Magic Village’ (music by Michel Legrand). The 1970’s saw Sheldon Harnick’s entry into the field of opera. His collaboration with Jack Beeson produced Captain Jinks of the Horse Marines, Cyrano, and Dr Heidegger’s Fountain of Youth. Among his other opera collaborations are Coyote Tales (Henry Mollicone) and Love in Two Countries (Thomas Shepard). In 2016 he was awarded a Tony Lifetime Achievement Award.
Director Jeffrey B Moss is an award-winning director whose work includes the development of new plays and musicals such as Golden Boy and Rags as well as Before The Dream, Passin’ It On, The Jazz Club, Mermaids, based on the MGM film, and Charles Strouse’s Real Men. He has staged over 35 national and international tours. Recent productions include the debut of Legally Blonde in China. New York shows include Mayor, Some Enchanted Evening and Rothschild & Sons.
Arnold Mittelman has had a distinguished career of artistic and educational achievement creating almost 300 diverse productions of plays, musicals and special events. He has helped found and/or lead four major not-for-profit theatres as well as producing numerous commercial theatrical productions for Broadway, off-Broadway and the West End. In 2007 he was named President and Producing Artistic Director of the not-for-profit National Jewish Theater Foundation
