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

m.

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