JANUARY 16 • 2020 | 33

up with music for a student
production, won a compe-
tition seen by a producer
and had his work presented
off-Broadway. He went on to
write for the Hasty Pudding
Theatricals while attending
Harvard.
After moving to New York,
working in advertising for
a time and attending a BMI
Musical Theatre Workshop,
he wrote pieces noticed and
used by Disney Studios,
where he caught the attention
of Menken. In a project with
Andrew Lloyd Webber, Slater
was in Detroit to watch the
first stop in a tour of their
Love Never Dies.
“My wife, Wendy Wilf, is
also a composer and lyricist.”
says Slater, whose family
attends the Stephen Wise
Free Synagogue in New York.
“We’
re working on a show
called Beatsville. She did the
music and the lyrics, and I
did the book.
“For some people, it’
s hard
to imagine A Bronx Tale as a
musical because it can be so
gritty, but one of the things
I’
m really proud of is that we
managed to keep the tone of
the film almost intact.”
Dan Rosenbaum, who
takes the role of Sonny’
s
bodyguard (Tony Ten-to-
Two) and understudies Sonny
and Lorenzo,
was one of those
wondering how
the movie would
translate into
a musical and
became very
impressed as
soon as he connected with
the show.
“It’
s a great production
about fathers and sons, love,
underdogs and, most import-

ant, family,” says Rosenbaum,
41, who appears in most of
the group musical numbers.
“It’
s been a blessing to have a
lot to do.”
The number that strong-
ly speaks to Rosenbaum
is “Look to Your Heart” as
father advises son.
“It’
s Lorenzo saying when
things get tough, look inside
you and choose between love
and fear,” Rosenbaum says.
“It’
s a very tender moment
between the two of them, and
you see how much Lorenzo
cares and how much he wants
to teach Calogero about how
to be a man and make the
right decisions.”
Rosenbaum, who has
toured to Detroit with Miss
Saigon and Rent, made his
decision to be an actor while
appearing in high school
musicals growing up in Ohio.
He studied at Wright State
University before moving to
New York and graduating
from the American Musical
and Dramatic Academy.
While work came soon
through tours and regional
theaters, he took a break
selling advertising for The
Forward. It provided tran-
sition time moving away
from younger roles while
connecting with his religious
heritage.
“I started to learn sing-
ing from my mom and my
grandfather, who performed
with barbershop quartets,”
says the single actor, who
enjoys exploring different
cities. “I’
m a musician as
well so I play in some bands.
Whatever work I’
ve had,
I’
ve met so many awesome
people, especially with this
talented cast bringing these
roles to life.”

Dan
Rosenbaum

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