From: "Jeffrey E." <[email protected]> To: "A. de Rothschild-2" Subject: todays new york times Date: Fri, 23 Oct 2015 04:42:39 +0000 "Fiddler on the Roof' and "Rothschild & Sons" have a few things in common. Both feature lyrics by Sheldon Hamick and music by Jerry Bock. Both are about a Jewish couple with a lot of children of the same sex. When "Rothschild & Sons" opened on Broadway in 1970 as "The Rothschilds," the original Broadway production of "Fiddler was still playing nearby. Both lead actors (Zero Mostel and Hal Linden) won Tony Awards. You cannot fault the York Theater Company's rich new production of "Rothschild & Sons," a one-act reimagining that looks absolutely royal in the intimate Theater at St. Peter's at Citicorp Center: Splendid 18th- century men's costumes by Carrie Robbins, low-key yet opulent scenic design (palaces versus the Frankfurt ghetto) by James Morgan, assertively nuanced lighting by Kirk Bookman. Continue reading the main story Related Coverage . Rothschild & Sons And it has the dapper Robert Cuccioli as Mayer Rothschild, the German-born founder of his family's banking dynasty. Broadway audiences have seen Mr. Cuccioli as Javert in "Les Mist rables" and as the title characters in "Jekyll & Hyde." I once saw him in regional theater as an Iago so fascinating that Othello seemed like a supporting character in his own play. Mr. Cuccioli doesn't disappoint here; if only the robust, ambitious young Mayer, who won a crown prince's patronage as an imaginative young rare-coins dealer, didn't grow old so early in the script. Sherman Yellen's book looks hard for heart and warmth, but this is still the story of a man who decides that the only way to escape oppression is to make lots of money. And the way to get even with powerful people who betray you is by sabotaging their bond offering. Bankers are not particularly fashionable as heroes right now. Jeffrey B. Moss's direction does find the humor wherever it lurks. Take a