Iron & Coal
A searing rock-opera, Iron & Coal zeros in on the relationship between a father and son in the shadow of the Holocaust. Taking inspiration from his father, an Auschwitz survivor, composer Jeremy Schonfeld weaves together his personal experiences with excerpts from his father’s memoir Absence of Closure. The ghosts of a vanished world mix with the present, brought to life through animation, a rock band, an orchestra, and multigenerational choruses, to celebrate the indomitable spirit of our ancestors and the legacy we carry with us.
Produced by Beth Morrison Projects
Commissioned and developed by Strathmore and Beth Morrison Projects
Iron & Coal is made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo and the New York State Legislature, and by public funds from The New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council
Photo Credit: Jill Steinberg
Composed, created, and performed by — Jeremy Schonfeld
Directed by — Kevin Newbury
Music Direction and arrangements by — David Bloom
Father — Rinde Eckert
Young Father — Daniel Rowan
Son — Jeremy Schonfeld
Featuring — Brooklyn Youth Chorus, Contemporaneous, MasterVoices, Rinde Eckert, and Daniel Rowan
Costume Design — Paul Carrey
Lighting Design — Japhy Weideman
Sound Design — Tyler Kieffer
Animations Design — Thomas Seltzer
Projection Design — S. Katy Tucker
Video Engineer — Gil Sperling
Associate Direction and Choreography by — Natalie Lomonte
Deck Stage Management by — Devin McMahon
Line Produced by — Meridith Grundei
Run time — 90 minutes
Team
Jeremy Schonfeld
(Composer, Creator, Performer) is a singer/songwriter, composer/lyricist, producer, mentor, teacher, and actor. His concept album “Iron & Coal”, produced in Vienna, Austria with producing partners Beat4Feet, was nominated for several Amadeus Awards, and in May of 2018, a multimedia concert-event based on the album, featuring Jeremy, received its two-night World Premiere at The Strathmore in Bethesda MD. Recently, Jeremy’s earlier concert-theatrical piece Drift, was revived in events both in London and in Lancaster, PA. In June of 2019, Calling All Kates will open the Adirondack Theater Festival. Previously, Jeremy created the album 37 Notebooks, featuring noted Broadway veterans Adam Pascal, Tracie Thoms, Julia Murney, and more. Interesting note: “House of Love,” now featured in Spun, was also originally recorded for the 37 Notebooks album (vocals by Shoshana Bean and the Broadway Dreams Chorus). Additional Jer albums include “Drift”, “Iron & Coal”, and “Blue Skies” and All. Jeremy wrote and performed two songs for the “Clear Blue Tuesday” film soundtrack, and penned two featured singles for the Broadway in South Africa campaign. Recently, Jeremy scored a Billboard Top 25 hit with his song “Queen” recorded by Frankie Grande. Jeremy lives in Beacon NY with beautiful wife Sarah-Jane, young kids Gus and Frances, older daughter Alexandra, and hyper dog, Lily Bunny (Gus named her. Don’t ask.)
Kevin Newbury
Kevin Newbury (Director) is a theatre, opera and film director based in New York. Kevin has directed over sixty original productions including engagements with Carnegie Hall, The Kennedy Center, the Ravinia Festival, the Park Avenue Armory, San Francisco Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Houston Grand Opera, The Santa Fe Opera, Barcelona Liceu, Opera Theatre of St. Louis, Minnesota Opera, The San Francisco Symphony, L'Opera de Montreal, The Prototype Festival, Bard Summerscape, Portland Opera, Opera Philadelphia, Philadelphia Orchestra, Seattle Opera, Glimmerglass Opera, and The Wexford Festival in Ireland, among many others. Recent world premiere highlights include Rodewald/DiNovelli’s The Good Swimmer (BAM Next Wave Festival), Spears/Pierce's Fellow Travelers(Cincinnati Opera, Prototype Festival/NYC, Lyric Opera of Chicago), Bates/Campbell's The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs (Santa Fe Opera, Indiana University; upcoming: Seattle Opera and San Francisco Opera), Almond's Kansas City Choir Boy (starring Almond and Courtney Love: Prototype/NYC, ART/Boston, CTG/LA, Maimi), and Lopez/Cruz's Bel Canto (Lyric Opera of Chicago, PBS' Great Performances). Theatre work includes the GLAAD-winning play Candy & Dorothy. Kevin’s three short films, “Monsura is Waiting”, “Stag” and “Epiphany V” are all available online. www.kevinnewbury.com
David Bloom
(Music Director and Arranger) is founding co-artistic director of Contemporaneous, a 22-member New York-based ensemble, and co-artistic director of Present Music, Milwaukee’s long-running new music ensemble. He has conducted over 200 world premieres and has worked with such artists as Bang on a Can All-Stars, David Byrne, Helga Davis, Donnacha Dennehy, Kronos Quartet, Courtney Love, NOW Ensemble, and Dawn Upshaw. He will appear as a guest conductor with the Los Angeles Philharmonic next season. David has conducted productions for Opera Omaha, PROTOTYPE Festival, Beth Morrison Projects, American Opera Projects, and Experiments in Opera, among others. David is Resident Conductor of The Dream Unfinished, an activist orchestra for social justice that promotes music by composers of color, and conductor of Face the Music, New York’s new music youth orchestra. He will appear as a guest conductor with the Los Angeles Philharmonic in April 2020. He leads frequent educational programs throughout the US, including at his alma mater, Bard College.
