Adult Subscription 26–27: Baroness Rothschild
A historical drama performance about Baroness Rothschild and the world of jazz in New York. March 14, 2027, at 20:30, Ramla Cultural Center.
A powerful historical-human drama set between post-World War II Europe and New York’s jazz world in 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, she is trapped within a rigid social role: to be the “pretty face” of a family defined by money and status. Behind the glamorous appearance is an unfree, emotionally oppressed woman controlled by her diplomat husband and her brother, Baron Rothschild, who leads the family.
The turning point comes when she accidentally encounters 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 jazz world—a world of genius, addiction, racism, poverty, freedom, and chaos.
She becomes a patron of Black musicians, foremost among them 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 when motivated by love and a desire to save, soon deteriorates: Parker dies in her room, Monk gets into trouble with the law, American society refuses to accept the breaking of racial and class barriers, the media revels in “the corrupt baroness,” her family in Europe disowns her, and the tension between idealism and reality continually intensifies.
Nica is forced to choose between the Rothschild name and the person she chooses to become.
The freedom she gives others collides with 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: 90 minutes without an intermission.
Written by: Yehonadav Tzadaka
Directed by: Gadi Tzadaka
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 Almo, Tovit Samai, Oren Havut, Yiftach Kaminer, Erez Weiss, Shani Sarim.
Photography credit: Pini Siluk
Weekly events digest
The week's best events, in your inbox — free.
