WHITE ROSE: THE MUSICAL
SHOW INFO
Performances Begin January 17, 2024
Opening night January 25, 2024
At Theatre Row's Theatre 3
Book & Lyrics by BRIAN BELDING
Music by NATALIE BRICE
Orchestrations by CHARLIE ROSEN
Musical Direction & Arrangements by SHEELA RAMESH
Movement Direction by JORDAN RYDER
Direction by WILL NUNZIATA
White Rose: The Musical is a powerful new musical that follows the inspiring story of a courageous group of university students who stood up to Hitler. Set against the backdrop of Nazi Germany, the musical follows Sophie and Hans Scholl and a group of young activists as they create and distribute leaflets challenging Hitler's propaganda. Through its dynamic and hopeful portrayal, the musical vividly captures the unwavering spirit of youthful resistance against oppression, making for a compelling and heartwarming theatrical experience.
THE STORY
Sophie Scholl arrives in Munich to join her brother, Hans, at the university. Inspired by a rebellious professor, Sophie and Hans form a small group of students to resist Nazi rule. In passionate and articulate leaflets the White Rose provides instructions for passive resistance and ultimately sabotage.
Sophie is passionate, impulsive, and bold...dangerous traits in Hitler’s Germany.
The hopeful words and actions of a nation’s youth defy an oppressive government and inspire others to do the same.
CAST
JO ELLEN PELLMAN (Sophie Scholl) will next be seen in Shruti Ganguly’s indie feature TRIPPED UP and the short film SASPORUMPET (in which she also co-wrote and produced); and is currently recurring on the new Taylor Sheridan series 1923 on Paramount+. Jo Ellen is known for her leading role in Ryan Murphy’s hit Netflix film THE PROM, based on the Tony-winning musical of the same name playing ‘Emma Nolan,’ a lesbian high school student in Indiana, who is fighting to be able to attend her own prom. Jo Ellen leads an all-star cast including Meryl Streep, Nicole Kidman, Keegan Michael Key and Kerry Washington, among others. Jo Ellen’s other past credits include: Comedy Central’s ALTERNATINO, HBO’s THE DEUCE, and the past season of Amazon’s Emmy Award-winning series THE MARVELOUS MRS. MAISEL.
MIKE CEFALO (Hans Scholl) made his Broadway debut in New York, New York, directed and choreographed by Tony Award winner Susan Stroman. Recently, Mike starred opposite Dominic Chianese in The Old Guitarist. Mike previously appeared in the Broadway National Tour of The Band’s Visit, directed by Tony Award winner David Cromer. Off Broadway: A Day in Hollywood / A Night in the Ukraine. Favorite Regional: A Bronx Tale, The Little Mermaid, Next to Normal, Newsies. @mikecef
PAOLO MONTALBAN (Kurt Huber) most recently appeared as Florenz Ziegfeld in Funny Girl on Broadway starring Lea Michele. He’s best known as Prince Christopher in “Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella” opposite Brandy and as Kung Lao in “Mortal Kombat: Conquest.” Other Broadway: Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Pacific Overtures, The King & I. Off-Broadway/Regional: The Unsinkable Molly Brown (Transport Group), Bella: An American Tall Tale (Playwrights Horizons—Lortel nomination), Two Gentlemen of Verona (Delacorte), Captain Georg von Trapp in The Sound of Music (Dallas Theater Center). Other TV: “Madam Secretary,” “The Blacklist,” “Law and Order: SVU.” Film: King Charming in the upcoming Descendants 4 movie, the independent rom-com feature Asian Persuasion, the movie musical The Girl Who Left Home, Just Wright, The Great Raid.
SAM GRAVITTE (Frederick Fischer) (he/him) is a New York City based actor and writer. Broadway: Wicked (reopening cast). Tour/Regional: Wicked, Sweeney Todd (TUTS), Almost Famous (Old Globe), Joseph… Dreamcoat (ACT), and others. Film: State Lines. Sam is a Lifetime Member at The Actors Studio. AB Princeton University. Love to the team at Stewart and Mosaic. @samgravitte
LAURA SKY HERMAN (Lila Ramdohr) is honored to tell this story. National tour: Hello, Dolly! (Ermengarde). Off-Broadway/NYC: Life Boat (The Shed), Muriel’s Wedding (Playwrights Horizons), The Little Dancer (Theater 71). Favorite regional credits include principal roles at Goodspeed Opera House, American Repertory Theater, Sacramento Music Circus, and New London Barn Playhouse. She is a recent Harvard graduate, where she made history as one of the first women to perform with the Hasty Pudding Theatricals, the oldest theater group in the country. For my family. @lauraskyherman
KENNEDY KANAGAWA (Christoph Probst) is thrilled to be part of this company and tell this powerful story. He made his Broadway debut last year as Milky White in the critically acclaimed revival of “Into the Woods,” for which he received a Drama Desk nomination. Other recent credits include: Into the Woods (National Tour); Tiananmen (Phoenix Theatre Co); Gold Mountain (Utah Shakespeare Festival); Saturday Night (2nd Stage); The Good Swimmer (BAM); Lolita, My Love (York Theatre Company); Dinner with Georgette (NYTW Next Door); Last Ship to Proxima Centauri (Portland Stage); Eastbound (Village Theater). Love to OTC. @thisiskennedy
COLE THOMPSON (Willi Graf) Broadway: Into the Woods National Tour: Into the Woods Regional: Weston Playhouse, Connecticut Repertory Theatre. Proud graduate from the University of Michigan”s Musical Theatre Program. @_cole__thompson
DANI APPLE (Swing) is thrilled to be a part of the White Rose family! Off-Broadway: Meydl – THE SORCERESS and Swing – AMID FALLING FALLS (NYTF), Nicole – THE BAKER’S WIFE (J2 Spotlight), and June – OVER HERE! (Traguna Productions). Regional: Ellie Blake – FREAKY FRIDAY (Virginia Musical Theatre) and Oz – WE WILL ROCK YOU (Barn Theatre). TV: FOX/Hulu’s I CAN SEE YOUR VOICE Season 2 and voice of Princess Poppy on RUPAUL’S DRAG RACE Season 15. Staged Readings: ZM (Goodspeed Opera House), POUPELLE OF CHIMNEY TOWN (LDK Productions), RUNAWAY HOME (Visceral Entertainment), and OUT OF THE BLUE (Mazzarella Media, Inc.). She holds a BFA in Musical Theatre from The Boston Conservatory. Special thanks to this incredible team, her parents, and Nick for their constant support! www.daniapple.net IG: @apple.dani TikTok: @daniapple
ELLIS GAGE (Swing) Growing up, Ellis appeared in the original cast of Pasek & Paul/Graciela Danielle’s “James & the Giant Peach” (Goodspeed), “Dani Girl” (Cherry Lane), & Phyllis Newman’s “Neverland.” He sang roles at the Metropolitan/NYC Opera, won an IRNE for “King & I” (North Shore), & was Seth Rudetsky’s “big belt kid” (SiriusXM). Recently, Ellis starred in Kitt & Yorkey/Michael Greif’s “Next To Normal” (original Taiwan cast), the acclaimed “Far From Canterbury” world premiere, & “Into The Woods” (Arden – BWW nominated). He swung the “FlyBoys” US tour & was seen in the developments of Richard Maltby’s “Noble Family,” Paul Gordon’s “Gospel According To Heather,” & “Siluetas” (Passage). Other credits: Kennedy Center, Signature, Bay Street, Prospect, Huntington, AMAS, AOP, York, & Boston Lyric Opera. www.ellisgage.com | @ellis_gage
CREATIVE TEAM
BRIAN BELDING (Book and Lyrics) San Francisco and NYC-based playwright and lyricist Brian Belding combined his love of musical theatre and resistance movements to create White Rose: The Musical. After successful industry presentations in May 2022 and October 2022, the musical is being developed in NYC with a Broadway creative and production team. A proud member of the Dramatists Guild, Belding taught high school history in the San Francisco Bay Area for twenty years before becoming a full-time writer for the theatre.
NATALIE BRICE (Composer) is a musician with the tenacity to bring original works to life. She recently music directed the new musical Happily Even After, with performances in California and a run at Don't Tell Mama NYC. In 2020, Natalie music directed Hell on Earth, a new musical performed at 54 Below featuring Laurie Metcalf and Anthony Rosenthal. She was the music director and pianist on Asher Child, an original musical in California. She wrote, composed, and co-directed the musical film Go With Me in 2019. For White Rose: The Musical, she is committed to musically encapsulating the camaraderie, youth, adrenaline, celebration, and heart of the resistance group.
WILL NUNZIATA (Director) is a NYC-based award-winning director, writer, and creator of theatre, concerts, television, and film. Film: The Old Guitarist (Writer, Director). Awards: London Movie Awards (Best Short Film, Best Director), New York Movie Awards (Best First Time Director of a Short), Paris Film Awards (Best First Time Director of a Short). Screenplay: Lillith (Winner of Best Original Screenplay, 2023 Hollywood Blood Horror Festival). Theatre: Figaro: A New Musical (Director, Co-Book Writer - West End 2024), White Rose: The Musical (Director - Off-Broadway 2024), An Entirely Ordinary Town: A New Musical (Director), Poupelle of Chimney Town: The Musical (Co-Director), Faygele: A New Play (Director), The Betty Kiss: A New Dark Comedy (Director), Little Black Book: A New Musical (Co-Creator). Miss Peggy Lee (Director, Writer, Co-Conceiver) starring Tony Award winner Cady Huffman. Award: Broadway World Best Director. NYC: Our Guy Cy: The Songs of Cy Coleman starring Tony Award winners Randy Graff, Cady Huffman, Judy Kaye, and Lillias White (Director, Conceiver). Over Here! starring Tony Award winner Debbie Gravitte (Director, Adapter). Will is a proud graduate of Boston College and a member of the Stage Directors & Choreographers Union. For more, please visit www.WillNunziata.com and @willnunzofficial on Instagram.
SHEELA RAMESH (Music Director and Arranger) is a music director, arranger, and composer with a passion for stories and sounds that have traditionally been marginalized, and a mission to use art as a force for social justice. Professional highlights include Broadway (Six, Moulin Rouge, Almost Famous); Off-Broadway (Merrily We Roll Along at New York Theatre Workshop, Vanities at The York Theatre Company, Millennials Are Killing Musicals); TV (NBC's Annie Live!); concert (Jessica Vosk, My Golden Age, Carnegie Hall); regional theater (Group!, a Passage Theatre world premiere); and works in development (The Karate Kid, Bliss, Center Theatre Group's A Transparent Musical, Lincoln Center Theater's The Lunchbox, Fiasco Theater's Diamond Alice, Jeanette: The Musical, and more). Sheela received undergraduate and graduate degrees in vocal performance at the Carnegie Mellon University School of Music and the Royal College of Music. She also holds degrees in psychology/cognitive science (BS, Carnegie Mellon; MSc, University College London) and law (JD, Yale Law School), and has spent her nonmusical professional life working to ensure that youth who've experienced trauma have opportunities to thrive. sheelarameshmusic.com.
JORDAN RYDER (Movement Director) is a choreographer, movement director, and dancer. She is a graduate of New York University Tisch School of the Arts where she holds a BFA in Dance and a double minor in Sociology and Entertainment Business. Jordan is the Artistic Director of RyderDance, a contemporary dance company, where her work has been presented at notable venues across the tri-state area, Atlanta, and Chicago, and has reached a global audience virtually. Most recently, Jordan choreographed and directed her first sold-out RyderDance season and is the choreographer for Singfeld! A Musical About Nothing!, an Off-Broadway production that is currently running at the Jerry Orbach Theater. Choreographic commissions include Eryc Taylor Dance Company, New York University Tisch School of the Arts, Rogue Wave Dance | Fall for Fall Dance Festival, Bromance Web Series, Melange Dance Company, and One Day Dance, among others. @ryderdance | ryderdance.com
CHARLIE ROSEN (Orchestrations) is a Tony Award and Grammy Award winning composer and orchestrator whose music has been heard worldwide across many stages and screens around the world. Some recent credits include: Broadway: Some Like it Hot (Orchestrations), A Strange Loop (Orchestrations), Be More Chill (Music Sup/Orchestrations), Moulin Rouge (Orchestrations) [Tony Award], Prince of Broadway (Orchestrations), American Psycho (Assoc MD/Keys), The Visit (Guitar/Zither), Honeymoon in Vegas (Orchestrations), Cyrano de Bergerac (Composer), One Man, Two Guv’nors (Music Director, Bass), 13 The Musical (Guitars, Bass, Keys), Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson (Assoc. MD, Bass, addl. Orch). Off Broadway/Regional: Guys and Dolls (Orchestrations) – The Bridge Theater London, Love in Hate Nation (Orchestrator) – Two River Theater, Broadway Bounty Hunter (Orchestrations) – Greenwich House Theater, A Legendary Romance (MD/Orch.) – Williamstown Theater Festival, Miss You Like Hell (Orchestrations), The Public Theater. In addition to his theater credits, Charlie is the bandleader for the Grammy award winning Video Game Music Jazz orchestra “The 8-Bit Big Band”
JAMES NOONE (Set Designer) has been a Scenic Designer in NYC since 1983 and a member of USA local 829 since 1986. During this time he has worked for some of NYC’s most prestigious theatre companies including Playwrights Horizons, Manhattan Theatre Club, Lincoln Center Theatre, Roundabout Theatre Company and numerous others. Off-Broadway he designed the original productions of Terrance McNally’s FRANKIE AND JOHNNY IN THE CLAIR DE LUNE, Edward Albee’s Pulitzer Prize winning play THREE TALL WOMEN, the long running solo shows FULL GALLOP and FULLY COMMITTED. Other long running Off-Broadway shows include COWGIRLS , BREAKING LEGS, The original production of A BRONX TALE, the first revival of BOYS IN THE BAND and the musical RUTHLESS. Broadway productions include SUNSET BOULEVARD (revival) LADY DAY AT EMERSON’S BAR AND GRILL, the long running JEKYLL AND HYDE, A CLASS ACT, many productions for Tony Randall’s National Actors Theatre, including THE PERSIANS, JUDGEMENT AT NUREMBERG, NIGHT MUST FALL, THE SUNSHINE BOYS and THE GIN GAME and the Broadway revivals of A BRONX TALE and COME BACK LITTLE SHEBA.
Outside of NYC he has designed at many of the leading regional Theatres in America as well as numerous national tours including, THE SHAKESPEARE THEATRE DC, THE CENTER THEATRE GROUP ( AHMANSON MARK TAPER FORUM AND CURT DOUGLAS THEATRES), THE GUTHRIE THEATRE, LONG WHARF THEATRE, GOODSPEED MUSICALS, PITTSBURGH PUBLIC THEATRE, OLD GLOBE THEATRE, PASADENA PLAYHOUSE, CLEVELAND PLAYHOUSE, BALTIMORE CENTER STAGE, STUDIO THEATRE DC., SIGNATURE THEATRE DC, WILLIAMSTOWN THEATRE FESTIVAL and many others, His work in Opera has been seen at the GLIMMERGLASS FESTIVAL, NYC OPERA, LYRIC OPERA OF CHICAGO, HOUSTON GRAND OPERA, LA OPERA, WASHINGTON NATIONAL OPERA, ENGLISH NATIONAL OPERA, ATLANTA OPERA,CANADIAN OPERA CO. CHATEAU DE VERSAILLES SPECTACLES, For Television he has designed for Live from Lincoln Center, Great Performances, and The HBO production of LADY DAY AT EMERSON’S BAR AND GRILL.
Currently he is an Associate Professor and head of The Scenic Design program at Boston University, a position held since 2000.
SOPHIA CHOI (Costume Designer) is a costume designer for stage and screen based in New York. Selected design credits include KPOP (Broadway), An Enemy Of The People (Yale Repertory Theatre), Notes On My Mother’s Decline (The Play Company & Andy Bragen Theatre Projects), Intelligence (Dutch Kills Theater Company), Anna May Wong: The Actress Who Died A Thousand Deaths (Cinthia Chen & Mabou Mines), and Stick Fly (The Juilliard School). Sophia holds an MFA in Design from the Yale School of Drama and a BFA in Theatre Design & Technology from VCU School of the Arts.
ALAN EDWARDS (Lighting Designer) Work includes the world premieres of Harry Clarke (The Vineyard, Lortel Award), Kill Move Paradise (National Black Theatre, Drama Desk nomination), and The Hot Wing King by Katori Hall (Signature NYC, 2021 Pulitzer Prize for Drama). Other New York work includes: Anna Deavere Smith’s Twilight: Los Angeles 1992, and Fires in the Mirror (Signature NYC); Twelfth Night, Seize The King, and Macbeth (Classical Theatre of Harlem); Bluebird Memories featuring rap-artist Common (Audible Theatre); and Baldwin and Buckley at Cambridge by Greig Sargeant and Elevator Repair Service (The Public). Regional work includes: the world premier of Sally & Tom by Suzan-Lori Parks, Sweat, A Raisin In The Sun, We Are Proud to Present… (The Guthrie); Paradise Blue, and Lights Out: Nat King Cole (Geffen Playhouse); The Ripple The Wave That Carried Me Home (Yale Rep); the world premier of Tiny Father by Mike Lew (Barrington Stage); and the new South-African musical Calling Us Home, in Cape Town, South Africa. His work in dance includes: Where We Dwell, Chasing Magic, and NY City Center’s Artists At The Center by Ayodele Casel; Rhythm Is Life by Dormeshia Sumbry-Edwards; and Lifted, choreographed by Christopher Rudd for American Ballet Theatre. On Broadway, Edwards was the associate to lighting designer Jennifer Tipton on The Testament of Mary. He is a graduate of the Yale School of Drama, where he is also an assistant professor of lighting. @alancedwardsdesign, www.alancedwards.com.
ELISABETH WEIDNER (Sound Designer) is a Sound Designer and Composer based in NYC. She is a graduate of Florida State University where she holds a degree in Commercial Music. Elisabeth is a member of United Scenic Artists-Local 829 and serves as Co-Vice Chair for the TSDCA (Theatrical Sound Designers and Composers Association). Some theatre credits include: Broadway: Funny Girl (Associate Sound Designer). Off-Broadway: F*ck 7th Grade (Sound Designer), The Magnificent 7 (Sound Designer), Trevor (Assistant Sound Designer). Pre-Broadway Out of Town: Water For Elephants (Associate Sound Designer-Alliance Theatre). Resident Sound Designer/Composer: PCPA-Pacific Conservatory Theatre 2009-2019. Regional: Curran Theatre, Asolo Repertory Theatre, PCPA, First Stage Milwaukee, The Oregon Cabaret, The Ensemble Theatre, Bike City Theatre, SLO Rep, The Great American Melodrama. www.elisabethanneweidner.com
LIZ PRINTZ (Wig Designer) [TV/Film] Emmy Nominated Hair stylist The Wiz Live!. [Producer] Feature film THORP: Streaming on Amazon Prime, Short film Sun Shine, Bird House, Halmoni’s Pot. [Wig Designer Credits] Goodspeed Opera House, Summer Stock, 5th Ave Theatre Griswold’s Broadway Vacation, Seattle Rep, Bruce, The Muny Legally Blonde, George Street Playhouse JOY Off B’Way, Oil of Olay Presents Olay Live!, Barrington Stage COMPANY, Bay Street Theatre Annie Get Your Gun, North Carolina Theatre, Theatre Raleigh, American Contemporary Theatre of Connecticut, Williamstown Theatre Festival. [Broadway Associate Wig Designer] COMPANY 1st National Tour, Diana: The Musical, Jersey Boys, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Hamilton, On Your Feet, Beautiful the Carol King Musical. Graduate of University of North Carolina School of the Arts “09 and Local 798 Member. Website lizprintzdesigns.com
VAIBU MOHAN (Creative Consultant) is a multi-faceted, Indian-American artist from Phoenix, AZ (via Montreal, Canada). She was born into a family of artists who surrounded her with music, dance, and theatre from before she was born. Vaibu made her stage debut as “The Cat‘’ at age 3 in her father’s play. She began learning Bharatnatyam from her mother at age five and they have been working together ever since. Vaibu received her BM from Arizona State University in musical theater performance and her MFA in musical theater writing from New York University with an emphasis on bookwriting and lyric writing. As a producer, Vaibu specializes in the development of production of new work and began a series called Work In Progress at 54 Below with Molly Heller to showcase new writers and give them a space to workshop material in front of a live audience. Vaibu is developing her own musical, Sati: Goddess Incarnate, with Zachary Catron and is releasing her first EP, Pure Brown Noise, in March 2023.
LDK PRODUCTIONS (General Management / Executive Producer) is a theatrical general management and producing firm based in New York City, founded by Lisa Dozier Shacket in 2004. Lisa has managed more than one hundred professional productions, and has been on staff at the New 42nd Street, Manhattan Theatre Club, Symphony Space, American Repertory Theatre and New York Stage & Film. She is also on faculty at the University of Florida, served as the BFA Theatre Management program director at the University of Miami from 2013-2018, and was the founding producing director for Miami New Drama, a new regional theatre that produces and manages the 400 seat historic Colony Theatre on Miami Beach. Lisa served as the resident general manager for the National Alliance for Musical Theatre’s Festival of New Musicals from 2008-2018.
EISENBERG / BEANS CASTING (Casting Director) Daryl Eisenberg, CSA, & Ally Beans, CSA
Broadway: Gettin’ The Band Back Together. NY Theatre: Bedlam, Love & Science, Baghdaddy, SuperHero, Powerhouse, WP Theater, DVRF, Cherry Lane. Regional/Other: Dallas Theater Center, May We All, Heartbreak Hotel (Broadway in Chicago), Folger Theatre, Cape Cod Theatre Project, Norwegian Cruise Line, Arizona Theatre Company. Film: The Cathedral (Sundance), The MisEducation of Bindu (Peacock), Menorah In The Middle (Hulu), Angry Neighbors, Hey Vicktor (Tribeca), Shadows (HBO). Audio: Limetown, Shipworm, The Callisto Protocol, City of Ghosts. @EBCastingCo. www.ebcastingco.com
KEN DAVENPORT (Executive Consultant) is a Tony Award-winning Broadway producer and writer whose credits include Harmony: A New Musical written by Barry Manilow and Bruce Sussman, A Beautiful Noise: The Neil Diamond Musical, Once On This Island (Tony Award), Gettin’ the Band Back Together, The Play that Goes Wrong, Groundhog Day (Tony nomination), Deaf West Theatre’s Spring Awakening (Tony nomination), It’s Only a Play, Macbeth starring Alan Cumming, Godspell, Kinky Boots (Tony Award), and more, including multiple Off-Broadway productions such as Altar Boyz, The Awesome 80s Prom and more. Ken’s shows have been produced internationally in over 25 countries around the world. He is the founder of TheaterMakersStudio.com, a one-of-a-kind “masterclass” community that provides training and inspiration from Broadway’s best to writers, directors, producers and more. Ken created the best-selling board game, Be A Broadway Star, one of the highest-ranking Broadway gifts on Amazon.com. Ken was also the Executive Producer for North America for Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Really Useful Group and is the Theatrical Consultant for Primary Wave, a music management and publishing company. Ken’s unique production and marketing style has garnered him international attention in numerous publications, including Vanity Fair and The New York Times. Upcoming projects include The Griswolds’ Broadway Vacation, JOY the Musical, The Ten and a musical based on the life of Harry Belafonte. www.KenDavenport.com.
PRESS
NY1, 1/26/24
Frank DiLella's theater picks: 'The Connector,' 'Job' and more
READ MORE
BROADWAY WORLD, 1/26/24
Photos: WHITE ROSE: THE MUSICAL Celebrates Opening Night Off-Broadway
READ MORE
THEATERMANIA, 10/25/23
Initial Casting Announced for White Rose: The Musical Off-Broadway
READ MORE
BROADWAY WORLD, 10/25/23
Jo Ellen Perlman, Mike Cefalo, Paolo Montalban & More to Star in WHITE ROSE: THE MUSICAL Off-Broadway
READ MORE
PLAYBILL, 10/25/23
The Prom Film Star Jo Ellen Pellman to Lead Off-Broadway Premiere of White Rose: The Musical
READ MORE
NEW YORK THEATRE GUIDE, 10/25/23
'White Rose: The Musical' to premiere off Broadway
READ MORE