Fiddler On The Roof Spends Holidays At Fulton Opera

Fiddler on the Roof takes place in a small Jewish village, or shtetl, on the eve of the Bolshevik Revolution. It tells the story of Tevye, a poor milkman struggling to support his wife and four daughters and to maintain the traditions that he believes are the cornerstone of his Jewish culture. At the same time, his wife is scheming with the local matchmaker to find "suitable" husbands for her girls. Her daughters, however, have very different ideas.

For instance, Lazar Wolf the butcher wants to marry Tzeitel, but Tzeitel loves Motel the tailor. Hodel is falling in love with the revolutionary, Perchik, Chava's smitten with a soldier, and Shprintze dreams of marrying a prince. Meanwhile, Tevye's horse has gone lame and Jews are being driven from their homes all throughout Russia. What's poor Tevye to do? Well, he sings, he dances and he celebrates life, of course.

Fiddler on the Roof is based upon the stories of Sholom Aleichem, one of the most respected Yiddish writers of the late 19th and early 20th Centuries. Called "the Yiddish Mark Twain," Sholom Aleichem used his stories about Jewish communities in times of great turmoil to help his people adapt to the new realities of their lives without surrendering their traditions and their culture.

Fiddler on the Roof stands as one of the most honored musicals in Broadway history. In its original run, it was nominated for 10 Tony Awards, winning nine, including Best Musical. In 1972, the show received its tenth Tony, a special award for becoming the longest running musical in Broadway history (a record that was later surpassed by Grease). In addition to the initial eight-year run, Fiddler has spawned four Broadway revivals and a successful motion picture.

Fiddler on the Roof features a host of magnificent songs familiar to multiple generations of theatergoers, including If I Were a Rich Man, Matchmaker and Sunrise, Sunset. The Fulton production is directed and choreographed by Gary John La Rosa, who is recreating Jerome Robbins' glorious, Tony Award-winning choreography. "It's really, really beautiful," explained La Rosa. "Robbins designed dances that really speak to the shtetl life."

La Rosa was a cast member in both the 25th Anniversary Broadway revival and the 30th Anniversary touring production, both of which employed the original choreography. In the former, he had the privilege of learning from Jerome Robbins himself. While he was not the official choreographer of the revival production, Robbins oversaw the entire production and lent his considerable talents to helping the cast master his dances.

Taking on the roles of Tevye and Golde are Broadway veterans Stephen Berger (Broadway: The Pajama Game, Into the Woods) and Adinah Alexander (Broadway: Wicked, The Wedding Singer, Urban Cowboy, Parade). But, Berger and Alexander are not the only cast members with major Broadway credits.

The cast also features Rachel Coloff, who appeared as Yente the Matchmaker opposite Alfred Molina and subsequently Harvey Fierstein in the 2006 Broadway revival of Fiddler, once again makes the matches in the Fulton production. Ms. Coloff also appeared in the Broadway revival of Candide and the original Broadway productions of Urinetown and the Anne Rice/Elton John musical Lestat. Scott Breitbart who plays Nachum the Beggar appeared in the Broadway revival of Abe Lincoln in Illinois at Lincoln Center. Finally, David Masters, who was a cast member in the original 1964 production of Fiddler, joins the Fulton cast as the Rabbi. He also performed in the 1976 and 1990 Broadway revivals as well as the 25th and 30th Anniversary National Tours of Fiddler. -- www.thefulton.org