The new musical “Glory Ride,” which tells the true story of Tour de France champion Gino Bartali, who secretly saved hundreds of innocent lives during Mussolini’s fascist reign in World War II, will receive two NYC industry readings. They’ll be held on Nov. 20 at Off-Broadway’s Theater 555.
A select number of seats are also available to the general public on a complimentary basis to more public presentations to take place from November 18-21. For further information, send a request to RSVP@showtown.nyc.
“Glory Ride” is scheduled to have a pre-Broadway U.S. premiere at Delaware Theatre Company from Feb. 18-March 8, 2026. The musical will be directed by Federico Bellone and choreographed by two-time Tony Award nominee Denis Jones.
Featuring a book by Victoria Buchholz and Todd Buchholz and a score by Victoria Buchholz, “Glory Ride” is set during the darkest days of World War II, when Bartali led a secret life, conspiring with the Cardinal of Florence to save hundreds of persecuted innocents from Mussolini’s Fascists. Cycling thousands of miles, this unlikely team created the fastest resistance network the world never knew about, until now.
The cast for the reading will be led by Matt Amira as Gino Bartali and Ryan Silverman as Il Lupo, the leader of the Partisan rebels against Mussolini. Amira and Silverman will be joined by Kingsley Leggs, Erin Ramirez, Neal Mayer, Sean Luc Rogers, Rodney Ingram, Sean Seamus Thompson, Max Ehrlich, Anthony Festa, Isabella Kaplan, Michael Kelleher, Kayla Jenerson and Jimmy Schumacher. Casting is by Jen Rudin, CSA. Casting for the run at Delaware Theatre Company is still to be announced.
Rounding out the creative team for “Glory Ride” will be music supervisor Greg Jarrett and two-time Tony-winning scenic designer Beowulf Boritt.
Bellone is an international theater director whose productions have been staged in theaters worldwide, including at the Folies Bergère in Paris, the Gran Via in Madrid and the Dominion in London’s West End.
Jones earned Tony nominations for his choreography of “Tootsie” and “Holiday Inn”; he also choreographed the Broadway musical “Honeymoon in Vegas.” He served as associate choreographer on Broadway’s “Legally Blonde” and “Dirty Rotten Scoundrels.”
Victoria Buchholz’s musical compositions include a set of contemporary pop songs licensed by CBS. Journalistically, she has written for publications such as the New York Times and the Los Angeles Times.
Todd Buchholz is a novelist whose book “The Castro Gene” was a finalist for the USA Best Book Prize. He provided audio narration for his books “New Ideas from Dead Economists” and “The Price of Prosperity.”
The pre-Broadway staging of “Glory Ride” is being supported by commercial producers whose names will be revealed at a later date. General management for “Glory Ride” is by ShowTown Theatricals.
“Glory Ride” originally premiered in London at the Charing Cross Theatre.
