Amas Musical Theatre and The Amas Musical Theatre Lab in association withThe National Jewish Theater Foundation ( will present staged readings for the New York premiere of Rothschild & Sons, a new musical based on The Rothschilds, with music by Jerry Bock, lyrics by Sheldon Harnick and book by Sherman Yellen. Directed byJeffrey B. Moss with musical direction by Cherie Rosen and a cast headed by three-time Tony Award nominee Marc Kudisch, the staged readings will be held on Monday, November 17th at 6pm and Tuesday, November 18th at 1pm & 5pm at Shetler Studios - Penthouse (244 West 54th Street - between Broadway & 8th Avenue). For reservations, please email at boxoffice@amasmusical.org or call 212-563-2565.
Many years ago, in yet another ghetto where Jews were locked in and locked out and forbidden from being anything but peddlers and money changers, a young man named Mayer Rothschild (played by Mr. Kudisch) used his remarkable combination of smarts, guts, and chutzpah to outwit the prejudices and the resentment surrounding his people to become an agent of finance for the crowned heads if Europe. He then risked a fortune to bring about a Declaration of Rights that changed the status of Jews forever. HOW did her do it? And WHY did he do it? These are the secrets and mysteries and the thrilling story of Rothschild & Sons.
This universal story of defeating adversity and affirming human dignity springs from the hearts and minds of Broadway songwriters Sheldon Harnick and Jerry Bock (creators of Fiddler on the Roof) and Tony-nominated writer Sherman Yellen. Based on their original The Rothschilds, this re-imagined musical now introduces several unheard Bock and Harnick songs, revised lyrics by Harnick, and an 11-member cast who empower Yellen's new story in a 96-minute one-act version.
Joining Mr. Kudisch in the cast are: Peter Cormican, Glory Crampton, Jonathan Hadley, David Bryant Johnson, Jamie Laverdiere, Mark Pinter, Jacob Samuels, Curtis Wiley, and Chris Williams.
"It's a thrill to be working with these legendary musical theatre writers of Rothschild & Sons" says Donna Trinkoff, Amas Artistic Producer. "The subject matter is so trenchant. Mayer Rothschild's sense of duty and justice extended well beyond his family and embraced his entire community. This is the kind of social responsibility that would serve us well today."
The presentations are part of the ongoing Amas Musical Theatre Lab, a development series for writers, lyricists and composers to mount public readings of their new musicals. The Amas Musical Theatre Lab is supported by the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature, and by the Actors' Equity Association Foundation, the BMI Foundation, the Barbara Bell Cummings Foundation, the Dramatists Guild, the Lucille Lortel Foundation, the Frederick S. Loewe Foundation, the Shubert Foundation, and through the generous support of many individuals.
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