Bock & Harnick's Rothchild & Sons - Park Theatre

Saw this at the weekend and really enjoyed it. It's a good old fashioned musical done well and obviously with a lot of love and commitment. The theatre feels slightly small for it to me but I always find musicals in small places a bit uncomfortable so could just be me. Definitely worth seeing.

However - two hours straight through without an interval, for those who struggle with that kind of thing. Luckily the beer was off or I'd have had a pint swilling around my bladder and bursting to get out! It didn't drag at all, though, and I think an interval would probably have disrupted the flow - there didn't seem to be an obvious place for one. I don't know anything about this musical and hadn't heard of it before the Park put it on so no idea if that's normal or not.

Yes, I saw it at the Saturday matinee, and loved it. A terrific ensemble, led by a stunning Robert Cuccioli, as Mayer Rothschild, are particularly impactful in this intimate setting.

Some spoilers follow. . .

I'll concede Bock's music is not as enjoyable as in "Fiddler" or "She Loves Me." Partly I think it's because the focus here is so explicitly on the gravely serious purpose of showing how events in Europe, in the 1700s and 1800s, foreshadow the holocaust. By contrast, in Fiddler, Bock and Harnick focused primarily on the glory and wonder of family, family, family, and allowed the holocaust to sneak up and destroy the audience all the more thoroughly for coming at you sideways.

Where the focus is on family, in this show, as in my favourite number, "Sons," a song with a beautiful frere-Jacques style roundelay of voices of a man and his sons, the effect is stunning. Other than this song, only "Everything" and "In My Own Lifetime" really stood out for me.

Where the music sometimes falters, the book and lyrics are on point, and Robert Cuccioli, a terrific actor, who combines the aquiline intelligence of a Lee Van Cleef with the softness and sensitivity of a Topol, nails every step of this story, of how the Rothschilds acquired wealth despite rampant antisemitism, with the explicit goal of using that wealth to combat said antisemitism. There is no way in this world that my £18.50 preview ticket could pay for such an actor as this to cross the pond and play on this small stage, so attending this show is something of a privilege, in that respect, and my gratitude goes to the producer.

The entire ensemble are wonderful, in fact, with Gary Trainor, as London based son, Nathan Rothschild, especially wonderful, in his dynamism and his humour.

Sheldon Harnick showed up after the show, and I was very touched to see him, though a little too cowed to approach him to tell him how much I loved his hilarious lyrics in "Where's my shoe" in "She's Loves Me." Such trivial matters, in the weight of what this show is about, seemed entirely inappropriate. Indeed, Harnick affirmed that the part of Sherman Yellen's book for this show, that resonated with him the most, was the part that makes it clear that despite Meyer Rothschild's achievements in this story, the future would still be "horrible."

4 stars.

Haven't seen the reviews but surprised they would be so bad - I don't see what's not to like. It's not going to change your life but it's a perfectly good and engaging way to spend an evening.

Also the bar is nice and the seats are surprisingly comfortable!

I was tempted by this as I like to sometimes see the less well-known musicals in the hope of finding an unexpected gem. And the lack of interval doesn't bother me (I never need a wee anyway and I just sit bored on my phone for 20 minutes). But listening to the album on Spotify it didn't really grab me, and now there are some disappointing reviews, so I'm still in two minds 😕🤔

Why is two hours no interval anything worth commenting on - or worrying about? That's the same with countless shows (FOLLIES, Hytner's JULIUS CAESAR, almost anything by Complicite) and about 90% of contemporary films. The negative reviews are another matter altogether, alas.

Come back and ask that question when you're pregnant, old or have cystitis...

Enjoyed this at a good new venue to us. Some strong performances and a well told interesting story. 


However the music is pleasant but far from memorable and so it really does come under the category of curio or for completists.




There are bits of the Programme that describe this as a world premier but its sketchy as to why. Any one know what's been done in the 5 years the productin has been worked up?  (Actually it doesn't matter. Can't see this having much of a future beyond this outing.)