Baroness Rothschild - Hebrew Theater
A historical drama about Baroness Rothschild and New York’s jazz world in the 1950s. The performance is accompanied by a live orchestra and lasts an hour and a half without an intermission.
“Baroness Rothschild” – Hebrew Theatre
A powerful historical-human drama set between post-World War II Europe and New York’s jazz world of the 1950s.
At the center of the play is the true story of Pannonica (Nica) Rothschild, a baroness from the legendary Rothschild family. A wealthy, educated woman and mother of five, trapped within a rigid social role: being the “pretty face” of a family, its money, and its status.
Behind the glamorous appearance is a woman deprived of freedom, emotionally oppressed, and controlled by her diplomat husband and her brother, Baron Rothschild, who leads the family.
The turning point comes when she is accidentally exposed to the music of Thelonious Monk, a brilliant yet ostracized and impoverished jazz pianist. His music shakes her and opens a deep crack in her identity.
Nica leaves her life in Europe and travels to New York, where she is drawn into the world of jazz: a world of genius, addictions, racism, poverty, freedom, and chaos.
She becomes a patron of Black musicians, foremost among them the pianist Monk and legendary jazz saxophonist Charlie Parker. She gives them money, shelter, a piano, the freedom to play—and above all, trust and respect.
But her involvement, even if motivated by love and a desire to save them, quickly deteriorates: Parker dies in her room, Monk gets into trouble with the law, and American society refuses to accept the breaking of the racial and class barrier.
The media revels in “the corrupt baroness,” her family in Europe disowns her, and the tension between idealism and reality intensifies.
Nica is forced to choose between the Rothschild name and the person she chooses to become.
The freedom she grants others clashes with her personal pain: the children left behind, the relationship that fell apart, and the realization that true freedom is not romantic—it is painful, dangerous, and demands sacrifice.
The performance features a live orchestra on stage.
Running time: One and a half hours, without an intermission.
Written by: Yehondav Tzadka
Directed by: Gadi Tzadka
Music: Yehonatan Perlman
Set design: Adam Keler
Lighting: Ziv Voloshin
Costumes: Yehudit Aharon
Poster photography credit: Pini Siluk
Cast: Neta Plotnik, Gil Weinberg, Gabriel Demidov, Ainos Aino, Adi Elmo, Tovit Samai, Oren Habot, Yiftah Kaminer, Erez Weiss, Shani Sarim.
Photography credit: Pini Siluk
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