Rosenblum composed the score for the Off-Broadway show Fermat's Last Tango, a musical version of the story of Andrew Wiles, the Princeton mathematician who proved Fermat’s Last Theorem, the most famous unsolved problem in mathematics. The show was a collaboration between Rosenblum and his wife, novelist, librettist and singer Joanne Sydney Lessner, who wrote the book and co-wrote the lyrics with Rosenblum. Fermat’s Last Tango ran in New York at the York Theatre Company, and received its international premiere at Teatro da Trindade in Lisbon. Rosenblum and Lessner also collaborated on Einstein's Dreams, Garbo and Me, based on the life of screen legend Greta Garbo, and The Haunted Hotel, which was commissioned by the Signature Theatre in Virginia as part of their New American Voices Project. Einstein’s Dreams was given a concert performance at Symphony Space in 2009 starring John Bolton and Kate Shindle, and also received performances at Teatro da Trindade in Lisbon. The show had its Off-Broadway premiere production in 2019, presented by the Prospect Theater Company at 59E59 Theaters, with first preview performance on November 5 and the closing performance on December 14. The Off-Broadway production of Einstein's Dreams was nominated for four Drama Desk Awards, including Outstanding Music, Outstanding Lyrics, Outstanding Lighting Design, and Outstanding Projections. Rosenblum wrote the songs and incidental music for Quincy Long's play The Joy of Going Somewhere Definite, which ran Off-Broadway at the Atlantic Theater Company in 1997. In 2005, in response to the re-election of President George W. Bush, Rosenblum created the satirical musical revueBush is Bad, which ran for a year and a half at New York’s Triad Theater, and spawned additional productions in Los Angeles, Minneapolis, and Charleston, SC. In its original iteration, it starred Kate Baldwin, Michael McCoy, and Neal Mayer, who each portrayed multiple figures in the Bush administration. Also along political lines, Rosenblum wrote book, music, and lyrics for Mark Felt, Superstar, which tells the story of the Watergate scandal from the perspective of "Deep Throat," the FBI official who was the secret source for journalists Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein of the Washington Post. Mark Felt, Superstar had performances at the Triad in April 2015, and a limited run at the York Theatre in 2017. In February 2016, the Central School of Speech and Drama in London presented a devised musical theater work consisting of Rosenblum's songs, entitled "Love is Not a Science". As a result, the Central School commissioned Rosenblum and Lessner to write a new musical, based on the play Stage Door by Edna Ferber and George S. Kaufman, which received its world premiere production in May, 2017.
Concert music
Rosenblum has composed extensively for the concert hall, and his works can be heard on two recordings, Impetuosities and Sundry Notes, both on the Albany Recordslabel. In 2009, Rosenblum founded The Pit Stop Players, a chamber group composed of New York freelance musicians. The group focuses on contemporary classical music, including Rosenblum’s own compositions, but also plays pieces from a wide variety of other genres, including rock, jazz, fusion, opera, and film music. The group's concerts have been critically acclaimed. A 2012 performance featured Rosenblum's original work, "A Young Person's Guide to the Pit Stop Players." The piece, an homage to Britten's similarly titled "A Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra," was narrated by actress/director Cynthia Nixon.
Music journalism
Rosenblum has contributed CD and performance reviews as well as feature articles to Opera News magazine on a regular basis since 1999. He has also written for Newsday, Stagebill, ZEALnyc, and The Charleston Post and Courier.
