This was a concert reading of the one-act musical, presented as a commemoration of Holocaust Remembrance Day (Yom HaShoa). The show was written by Jerry Bock (composer), Sheldon Harnick (lyrics), and Sherman Yellen (book). In addition to the performance, Mr. Bock was presented with the 2019 National Jewish Theater Foundation/Holocaust Theater International Initiative Lifetime Achievement Award.
The musical has a bit of a backstory; The Rothschilds, was on Broadway in 1970 and had an Off-Broadway revival in 1990. The piece I heard was a reworking of the original, compressing it into a one-act show.
The show is essentially the story of the Rothschild banking family, and its trials and tribulations of being Jews in the traditionally non-Jewish world of high finance. The head of the family sires five sons and he educates all of them to become wheelers and dealers in the banking world. Of course, he is headstrong and some of the boys are headstrong as well, which leads to familial fireworks.
I enjoyed all of the performances in this well-presented concert version. A fully staged production of this one-act version had a recent run at the York Theatre (my old stomping grounds) and a recent run in London. This performance was directed by the director of those productions, and some of the cast were repeating their roles, too. Interestingly, the actor playing Mayer Rothschild here played the most headstrong of the five sons, Nathan, in the Off-Broadway revival. What goes around comes around sometimes. The music and lyrics were good but inevitably have to be compared to Bock and Harnick’s Fiddler on the Roof—Jewish themes, headstrong father, sort of long-suffering wife, and five children (sons here, instead of daughters). But the vocal writing in this score is also a bit more intricate. All in all, it was an enjoyable evening.
Mr. Yellen was in attendance and spoke very movingly in a tribute to Mr. Bock. And another speaker that evening had very nice things to say about Mr. Yellen. Jessica Hillman-McCord, author of Echoes of the Holocaust on the American Musical Stage, spoke briefly about the show, and had read the revised libretto. She said, “The Rothschilds intensifies its portrayal of anti-Semitism by entering into the endlessly complicated arena of insidious stereotypes regarding Jews and money. In the face of the stereotypes’ strength, the creators of The Rothschilds fought valiantly to clarify how money functions in this musical: not for greed, but for a purpose, as a weapon against oppression and hatred and a means to fight for equality. Our revered guest tonight Sherman Yellen’s updated and tightened version of his libretto makes this point strongly and movingly. I’m thrilled to have read this new version and to witness this show taking on new life. The Rothschilds’ (now Rothschild & Sons) examination of hatred and oppression is sadly all too significant today—we may only passionately hope there will come a time when Anti-Semitism and hatred of the Other will not be so immediately relevant. Until that day we promise to never forget.”
A moving evening of discussion and theater. I’m very glad to say that I am a friend of Mr. Yellen, all because of reading a book one day while I was on my way to the Library for the Performing Arts (where this concert reading took place). What goes around comes around, indeed.
ConcertMeister
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