Tuesday, March 31, 2009

A Prettier Little Congress


"Have you ever seen
A prettier little Congress
Than this Congress at Aix La Chapelle?"

"Have you ever seen
Faces more noble
Manners more courtly
Bearing more stately!"



Aix-La-Chapelle was considered the Byzantine capitol of Europe. The German name for the city is Aachen.

Charlemagne chose the capitol for the imperial court because of its nice warm springs and its central location bordering Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands. The remains of Charlemagne are said to be buried here.

Emperors of the Holy Roman Empire were often crowned here when they couldn't get to Rome.



Pippin, the Younger , of the musical PIPPIN, spent Christmas and Easter here in 765 and Charlemagne made it his home from 792-814.

It has been the sight of three major Treaties and three Congresses.

The Congress of Aix-La-Chapelle in The Rothschild's song above was held in the autumn of 1818. It was primarily a meeting of the four allied powers: Britain, Austria, Prussia and Russia attended by amongst others Prince Metternich of Austria, the Duke of Wellington, Alexander I of Russia and Frederic Wilhelm III, King of Prussia.

The Congress was held to discuss the withdrawal of the army of occupation from France.

Friday, March 27, 2009

Will the Real The Saxon Queen Please Stand


As the Rothschild boys vie for their father's favor and with each other for the plum assignment of being posted in England they try to outdo each other with their wealth of knowledge

Jacob: Poppa-please-ask me anything about England I know it all!
Mayer: Who was the Saxon Queen who led the uprising against the Romans
Kalman: Bodecia!

The real Saxon Queen is known by many names but as Will said, "a rose still a rose..." She was known by the Romans as Boudicca, medieval monks called her Boadicea, but most know her as Boudica.

A tall woman with red hair down to her hips, with a harsh voice and piercing glare she was from the aristocratic Brittannie Icenic tribe whose woman fought alongside the men.

Boudica had her thorny side. She married Prasutugus the King of present day Norfolk, England. Roman law only allowed inheritance through the male line. But upon his death Prasutugus tried to preserve his line through his daughters by leaving them his land. The Romans confiscated the land and treated the nobles like slaves.

Boudica complained and when she did she was publicly flogged and fthen forced to watch as her daughters were raped. Boudica became the leader of a violent uprising against the Romans that ultimately failed. "According to one report almost 80,000 Britons fell compared to 400 Romans" in the battle. According to Tacitus, the most important Roman historian of the time, Boudica poisoned herself rather than be taken prisoner.

It is interesting to note that Mayer Rothschild stipulated in his will that only the men, and only Rothschild men, could inherit .

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Rothschilds Cast

Congratulations to the Cast of The Rothschilds. I am very pleased to announce the following roles:

Mayer........................ Doak Bloss
Gutele........................Colleen Bethea
Young Amshel.......... Joel Reynolds
Young Solomon.........Dominic Redman
Young Nathan........... Nic Roberts
Young Jacob.............. Lexie Roberts
Amshel ...................... Scott Larson
Solomon.................... Simon Tower
Nathan...................... Joseph Baumann
Jacob......................... Logan Emlet
Kalman...................... Danny Bethea
Hannah ............... ..... Sarah Sonnenberg
Prince Wm/ ...............T. E. Klunsinger
Metternich
Fouche/...................... Jeff Massey
Herries
Buderus...................... Tony Zappa
Blum........................ .. Alan Bloomfield
Mrs. Kaufman...........Theresa Spisak
Mrs. Segal................... Mara Schaberg
Mrs. Feldman............. Laura Johnson
Mrs. Goodman...........Charlotte Ruppert
Mrs. Greenberg..........Lindsay Palinsky
Mrs. Rosen.................Donna Green
Urchin........................ Chris Bethea
Urchin........................Nick Boyd
Banker....................... Matt Szymanski
Banker ....................... Paul Gordon
Vendor................ Matt Lago
Vendor............... .Rich Helder
Vendor.................Patrick Monroe
Pauper................Lindsay Palinsky

Tuesday, March 3, 2009

If I Were a Rothschild



Sound familiar?

No?

What? It's "If I Were a Rich Man" you say?

Actually, the name of the Aleichem story on which Fiddler is based was entitled "If I Were a Rothschild!"

The Rothschild name is still associated today with extreme wealth around the world and particularly in Israel.

In the Hebrew language the title of this song is 'lu ha'yiti Rothschild meaning " If I Were a Rothschild." Ven ich bin a Rothschild is it's Yiddish title.

So really, the signature song and opening number known to many and sung (biddy biddy bim) by many, really is "If I Were A Rothschild"

Monday, March 2, 2009

Why Another Jewish Show?


"So...you're writing another show about a Jewish family, eh?" Sheldon Harnick and Jerry Bock were asked.

Their easy answer was, "Why not?" But that answer was not the real story.

That answer would not begin to do justice to the true, exciting and amazing story of the Rothschild family.

In fact, Bock and Harnick's interest in The Rothschild's story predates their interest in Sholem Aleichem's story that would be the basis for Fiddler on the Roof.

Not long after the huge success of Frederick Morton's bestselling book, The Rothschilds, the musical pair were contacted about writing the musical score to accompany an already written libretto. However, they declined the offer when they found this libretto uninspiring and unable to capture the excitement they had found in Morton's biography.

They began to look around for other projects and discovered Sholem Aleichem. They went on to write the musical Fiddler on the Roof based on the Aleichem story and followed with The Apple Tree.

They were once again approached about writing the musical score for The Rothschilds this time with a new book written by Sherman Yellen. They agreed that the new book was "exceptionally witty and imaginative" and jumped into the project..

They resolved to make the show as unlike Fiddler as possible and there they succeeded magnificently. Although both shows are about poor Jewish families the similarities stop there. The show spans decades from the Frankfort ghetto to the fairgrounds, a glittering palace of a German prince, to the London stock exchange, and finally to an elegant ballroom where the crowned heads of Europe have gathered.

The songs rather than very Russian and Slavic are in the "18th and 19th century style. by autocratic Germans, French soldiers, London brokers, Austrian royally, European nobility and the Rothschild family."

This rags to riches Cinderella story happens amidst the color and excitement of the Napoleonic era.

So the real answer to the question is, "Mayer Rothschild was subjected to the humiliation and deprivation of the ghetto. He managed, nonetheless, to give his five sons a better start in life than he had himself. What he did and why he did it are the story elements that make this tale so relevant and so worth telling today. And that is why we're writing another show about a Jewish family."