YARON KAFKAFI
Composer · Playwright · Lyricist · Director
Yaron Kafkafi on the
Israeli television program Culture Club
Yaron Kafkafi is one of Israel’s leading creators of original musical theatre. For more than three decades, he has written, composed and directed musicals and plays that have reached hundreds of thousands of audience members, with many returning to the stage in major new productions for successive generations.
His work ranges from large-scale family musicals to contemporary plays and internationally developed new work, combining strong dramatic storytelling, melodic scores and a distinctive theatrical imagination.
THREE DECADES OF THEATRE
Kafkafi grew up in Tel Aviv in a family deeply connected to music and theatre. His mother, Aliza Kafkafi, was an opera singer who also performed in musical theatre, including the landmark Israeli production of The King and I. He studied piano and, as a child, performed with the Israeli Opera Children’s Chorus in productions including Carmen, Hansel and Gretel and Otello. His early years as a performer continued through youth theatre, an Israeli military entertainment troupe and later television.
His career as a musical-theatre creator began with David, an original rock musical about the young biblical hero, which Kafkafi wrote, composed and directed in 1992. What began as a production with a young Tel Aviv ensemble grew far beyond its original setting, attracted widespread attention and developed a devoted following that has endured for more than three decades.
In 1994 came The Wizard!, created in collaboration with director Uri Paster. The production became one of the landmark successes of Israeli family entertainment and has since returned in multiple major productions. Over the following decades Kafkafi created a substantial body of original musical theatre, including Around the World in 80 Days, The Heart, King of Siam, King Arthur, Peter Pan, The Three Musketeers and many others. Several have been repeatedly revived, including Around the World in 80 Days, which returned in a major new production in 2026, more than 25 years after its premiere.
Yaron at age 18, in his room.
With legendary choreographer Roni Friedman,
on the set of the musical David.
With Yehoram Gaon at the 2016 premiere of
Born in Jerusalem, a musical based on Gaon’s life story.
With Topol, his collaborator on the musical
The Prince and the Pauper.
INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT
With Stephen Schwartz (Wicked)
at the New York reading of Messiah, 2018.
With Thomas Schumacher,
President of Disney Theatrical Group,
ahead of the New York reading of Messiah, 2018.
Alongside his work in Israel, Kafkafi has increasingly developed projects for the international stage.
His original musical Messiah has received readings and presentations in both Israel and New York and is now being redeveloped as a contemporary international musical exploring artificial intelligence, faith, leadership, morality and human free will.
David has likewise undergone English-language development, recordings and presentations as part of Kafkafi’s continuing work toward bringing original Israeli musical theatre to audiences abroad.
At the heart of Kafkafi’s work is a belief that musical theatre can be both exhilarating entertainment and deeply human storytelling – capable of making an audience laugh, feel and wonder while exploring identity, family, faith, ambition and the possibility of change.
More than thirty years after David first reached the stage, he continues to write, compose, direct and develop new work for audiences in Israel and
BEYOND THE STAGE
Beyond his work as a writer, composer and director, Kafkafi has appeared on television, in public conversations and lectures about creativity, musical theatre and the process of turning ideas into theatrical experiences.
He has also presented a local TEDx talk at Tel Aviv’s Culture Palace, sharing his perspective on creativity and the journey behind his work.
In March 2018, Yaron was invited to speak at TEDxTelAviv, where he presented “The Five Elements of an Extraordinary Person” – an original theory exploring what enables certain people to pursue ambitious dreams and turn their talent into a way of life.
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Stephen Schwartz and Thomas Schumacher wish Yaron Kafkafi a happy 50th birthday.