“The Story of a Rose” A Musical Reverie on the Great War

Inspired by the story of her own family’s journey during World War I, Broadway star Melissa Errico has created a new musical memoir about that era in American life entitled, “The Story of a Rose- A Musical Reverie on the Great War” conceived and performed by Broadway star Melissa Errico.

The musical performance series, to benefit the Doughboy Foundation, is set to debut on May 7, 2025, at the Terrace Theatre at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. and tickets are now on-sale Nominated for a Tony Award for her role in the musical “Amour” as well as performing on Broadway in shows such as “My Fair Lady” as Eliza Doolittle, Irving Berlin’s “White Christmas,” and Cole Porter’s “High Society,” Errico is also a recording artist and contributing writer for the New York Times. Her musical memoir tells the story of her great Aunt Rose and her grandmother who came to the United States from Italy by boat during World War I and immediately took up work as seamstresses making uniforms for the war. “The Story of a Rose- A Musical Reverie on the Great War” is comprised of early jazz ragtime music and elegant storytelling, as Errico brings together love letters, stories of friendship, and authentic songs to bring the World War I era to life.

“I feel a deep connection to Rose and her generation,” said Errico. “She may not have fought in the trenches, but her needle and thread were her tools of war. The care and precision she put into each uniform remind me that every stitch was a quiet, yet powerful contribution to the lives of the individuals immersed in the world-changing events of 1917 and 1918.”

The performance series will feature a blend of original arrangements and archival images, giving audiences a fully immersive experience of life during World War I. The Doughboy Foundation, known for its dedication to preserving the legacy of World War I and remembering its service members, supports this performance series as an opportunity to broaden the historical narrative while generating support for all its programs.

The Doughboy Foundation, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, supports and encourages planning and execution of programs, projects, and activities commemorating and educating the public on America’s role in World War I, “The War that Changed the World.” The Foundation encourages private & educational organizations, Federal, State, and local governments, and all individual Americans to Keep Faith with the American Doughboys and every American who served in World War I. The Foundation’s three-fold mission: Commemorate the experience of those Americans who served; Honor the 4.7 million Americans who put on the uniform to answer the call of their country; Inspire 21st-century Americans and all future generations to learn about, remember, and understand how WWI transformed our country and the world. The Doughboy Foundation has worked in partnership with the U.S. World War I Centennial Commission to build the new National World War I Memorial in Washington, D.C. Following the September 30 sunsetting of the Centennial Commission, the Doughboy Foundation continues its mission of stewardship for the National World War I Memorial, and the remembrance of all
those who served and sacrificed in World War I.

Melissa Errico is a Tony Award-nominated Broadway actress, singer, and author. Touring the world with her inimitable thematic concerts, from Singapore to Paris to San Francisco and beyond, she has built a unique niche in the world of theater and jazz – so much so that when Steven Reineke, principal conductor of the New York Pops, introduced her Carnegie Hall debut, he announced that “Melissa Errico is a unique force in the musical life of New York City: a Broadway star, a concert artist, and an author who regularly contributes essays to The New York Times. There’s really no one like her!” The Times itself summed up her appeal simply: “Any chance to hear Melissa Errico sing is a chance worth taking.”

Her concerts in the past year alone have included a Paris duet in 2023 with her frequent singing partner Isabelle Georges, broadcast nationally on Radio France, followed by a sold-out cabaret at the historic Le Bal Blomet. In that same summer, she opened for music icon George Benson at the Montreal Jazz Festival. A writer from London Jazz News wrote that: “Errico was energized, making sure with every breath that she would get the audience in the 3000-seater Pelletier really on her side. Every high note was heroically held, and she got a standing ovation from this audience. Montreal audiences always want to show their warmth, and this one made her deservedly welcome.”

A uniquely wide-ranging performer, a specialist in the seemingly very different musics of Stephen Sondheim and Michel Legrand, her 2018 album, Sondheim Sublime, was called by The Wall Street Journal “The best all-Sondheim album ever recorded,” and her November Carnegie Hall debut performance included three Sondheim numbers, including “Losing My Mind” and “Move On.” On the other shore of her expertise, in 2019 she wrote the eulogy for Legrand in The New York Times and was the only American performer asked to appear at the now-legendary two-day memorial concert at Paris’ Le Grand Rex.

First known for her starring roles on Broadway, including My Fair Lady, High Society, Anna Karenina, White Christmas, Dracula, and Les Misérables, Melissa has had a wide-ranging career from television and film to recording. She starred in the CBS show Central Park West and played roles on Blue Bloods, The Knick, and more, as well as Billions on Showtime. She has starred in many non-musical roles by Shaw and Oscar Wilde, including Dear Liar in the spring of 2023, playing George Bernard Shaw’s original Eliza Doolittle.

Though a constant in the New York theater, she has become equally known for her music and concert work worldwide, with sold-out concert dates from Ravinia to Caramoor and Wolf Trap — including the 92nd Street Y, Joe’s Pub, Town Hall, and Lincoln Center’s Allen Room. Errico’s history with Sondheim began when he selected her to star as Dot in Sunday In The Park With George at The Kennedy Center, then as Clara in Passion at Classic Stage Company; then in the NY City Center Encores! production of Do I Hear A Waltz? In 2020, she sang “Children and Art” in the Sondheim 90th Birthday Concert Take Me To The World, and was featured on PBS television in a documentary special in which she sang a feminist version of “Finishing The Hat” and joined Adam Gopnik and Raul Esparza to talk Sondheim on Poetry in America. She was also featured in The New York Times tribute to Sondheim in November 2021 as one of the top ten interpreters of his work. Her second Sondheim album, Sondheim In The City, was released on February 16, 2024, and earned her still more praise from the Times as, “one of Sondheim’s deepest-hearted but lightest touch interpreters.”

In addition to Sondheim, nothing in her work has been more constant than her association with Legrand. Having starred in his sole Broadway show, Amour, she went on to collaborate with him on the iconic album Legrand Affair. Warner Music/Ghostlight Records also reissued her symphonic album, which Legrand arranged and conducted, as Legrand Affair (Deluxe Edition).

A student of the great American songbook, Melissa’s album Out Of The Dark: The Film Noir Project was released by Warner Music/Ghostlight Records, and garnered the 2023 Bistro Award for the best Concept Album. The recording was supported by coast-to-coast noir concerts, including Feinstein’s/54 Below, with the Ronnie Scott’s Band in London, and at NYC’s Birdland Jazz Club for a sold-out 10-performance Valentine’s Week residency. Of her Noir project, The Wall Street Journal opined that: “Melissa Errico’s new album, Out of the Dark: The Film Noir Project gives us noir music the way we imagine it…melancholy, bittersweet tales of isolation and loneliness, beauty and betrayal—especially relevant at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic.”

She is currently working on expanding her collected New York Times essays about a singer’s strange life on the stage and road, gathered under the heading “Scenes From An Acting Life”, into a book. She has three daughters and is married to tennis player and journalist Patrick McEnroe.

Your support for the Doughboy Foundation will help fund our mission in perpetuity, inspiring future generations of visitors and forever honoring our World War I veterans and all U.S. servicemen and women. Donate today →