Rob Roy The Musical celebrates the adventures of one of the best known heroes in Scottish history. Set in Scotland and England during the first half of the 18th Century, Rob Roy The Musical tells the tale of the famous Highlander from his days as a peaceful clan leader through his difficulties with the abrasive Duke of Montrose. Rob Roy MacGregor is branded as an outlaw due to a business transaction which bore all the signs of a set-up. This all took place at a pivotal time in Scottish history, when the Scots hoped to finally break free from King George I and follow what they believed was their true destiny. Rob Roy in his flight from the law yet captured many times, always managed to escape while becoming a hero to the Scots.
The book, music and lyrics of Rob Roy The Musical are by David Warrack. A workshop production of Rob Roy The Musical played at the 2006 Edinburgh Fringe Festival as a one-act piece, approximately 90 minutes and featured a cast of 12 with 6 musicians. Rob Roy The Musical received rave reviews including The Theatre Record which called it "a richly tuneful musical, very well sung." The Scotsman hailed the show as "full of emotional resonance," and Three Weeks in Edinburgh raved, "(a) mature…genuinely moving tale (with a)…touching musical score."
Rob Roy The Musical is directed by Tony Award winner Len Cariou who is best known for his portrayal in the title role of Hal Prince's original production of Sweeney Todd, opposite Angela Lansbury for which he was honored with the Tony Award for Best Actor.
Cariou has been involved with sixteen Broadway productions over a forty-year career as performer or director. Highlights in Cariou's illustrious stage career include his Tony Award nominated starring roles in Applause and A Little Night Music. He has also appeared in numerous off-Broadway productions. In Canada, he has made many celebrated appearances at the Stratford Festival, and has directed plays at the Guthrie Theatre including The Crucible and Of Mice and Men. He also directed James Whitmore in an award-winning production of Death of a Salesman at the Citadel Theater. Cariou was inducted into the Theatre Hall of Fame in 2005. In the fall of 2008, he played Richard Nixon in Frost Nixon, Vancouver's Playhouse Theatre and Toronto's Canadian Stage.
Rob Roy The Musical stars George Masswohl in the title role, Susan Gilmour as his wife Mary and David Dunbar as the Duke of Montrose, Rob Roy's nemesis, as well as a supporting cast of 22 and an orchestra of 10 musicians.
Tickets to Rob Roy The Musical are priced from $52 - $82 . There is an early bird ticket offer, for tickets purchased before Dec. 23: $50 ($30 kids under 12) for main floor seating; $30 ($20 kids under 12) for balcony seating. Tickets are available by calling the Arie Crown Theater box office at 312-279-6190 or visiting www.ticketmaster.com.