PRESS RELEASE: Fiddler on the Roof Extended Thru October 8, 2023
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 19, 2023
Contact: Kira Catanzaro, Marcom Manager
707-888-5591
kira@6thstreetplayhouse.com
6th Street Playhouse to Extend Fiddler on the Roof
Now Thru October 8, 2023!
The Deeply Moving Musical About Tradition, Family and Love.
SANTA ROSA, CA (Sept. 19, 2023) – High ticket sales and positive patron testimonials have prompted 6th Street Playhouse to extend its run of the beloved, 10 Tony Award-Winning musical masterpiece, Fiddler on the Roof. Based on Sholem Aleichhem stories, with book by Joseph Stein and music by Jerry Bock and Lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, it is a story that captures the essential human longings for love, community, success, freedom, family, and meaning during a time of sweeping change. An uplifting celebration of life, this musical is directed by Joe Gellura, with music direction by Les Pfutzenreuter and choreography, based on the original by Jerome Robbins, reproduced by Joseph Favalora. Steven Kent Barker stars as Tevye. It runs September 8 through October 8 in the G K Hardt Theater.
“One of the most glowing creations in the history of the musical theater. …Filled with laughter and tenderness. It catches the essence of a moment in history with sentiment and radiance.”—New York Times
Fiddler on the Roof is an epic and timeless musical that is both a spirited, humorous look at rural life and a serious portrait of sweeping change. It is the story of the small, tradition-steeped Ukrainian town of Anatevka, where Jews and Russians live in a delicate balance on the eve of revolution.
The musical begins in darkness with a mesmerizing violin solo hitting all the notes to create an atmosphere containing the powerful emotional breadth of the story: joy, regret, humor, love, nostalgia, heartbreak and celebration.
The light finally reveals a young fiddler perched precariously on a roof and Tevye, one of the most iconic roles in musical theatre, played by Steven Kent Barker. The dairyman introduces his close-knit Jewish community and their way of life in the show’s rousing theme song “Tradition.”
“If I were to write an opening song for Fiddler on the Roof, it would be called ‘Transition,’” said Director Joe Gellura. “I see these Jews of Anatevka Shtetl at the dawn of the Twentieth century about to be ripped out of the medieval life-style that had defined their lives for centuries, and tossed into the modern era.”
The village matchmaker, Yente (Laura J. Davies) approaches Tevye’s head-strong wife, Golde (Ginger Beavers) with a potential husband for their eldest daughter, Tzeitel (Ella Park). Sisters, Tzeitel, Hodel (Megan Bartlett) and Chava (Lydia Louviere) share their dreams about who they will marry someday and then refute the tradition of arranged marriages in “Matchmaker.”
“Ironically,” said Gellura, “the engine of change comes from the weakest members of the community – the women. In a sense, this is also a tale of women’s liberation. Each daughter, because of the person they choose to marry, pushes the envelope of change further and further away from Medieval tradition and into the freer air of the modern age.”
Fiddler is the perfect mix of audience-pleasing humor and heart. It features the beloved songs “If I Were a Rich Man,” “Miracle of Miracles,” and the hauntingly emotional “Sunrise, Sunset.”
Director Joe Gellura begins his seventh decade of directing musicals with this production of Fiddler, his first for 6th Street. A high school theatre arts teacher for 29 years he became a founding member of the Raven in Healdsburg, CA, and of its resident company. There he has directed musicals from Anything Goes to The Wiz. Among other favorite musicals were Follies and Pippin. He has also performed, designed sets and lights, and produced.
The Cast of Fiddler on the Roof is as follows:
Tevye – Steven Kent Barker
Golde – Ginger Beavers
Tzeitel – Ella Park
Hodel – Megan Bartlett
Chava – Lydia Louviere
Shprintze – Courtney Romero
Bielke – Fallon Mullen
Bielke – Tatum Mullen
Yente – Laura Davies
Motel/Nachum – Jeff Coté
Perchik/Bottle Dancer – Daniel Silva
Lazar Wolf – Dwayne Stincelli
Avram – Max Bessire
Grandma Tzeitel – Tracy Hinman
Fruma-Sarah/Shaindel – Laura Downing-Lee
Constable/Tevye Alternate – Peter Downey
Rabbi/Bottle Dancer. – Mr. Caetano
Fyedka/Ensemble/Bottle Dancer – Michael Hunter
Mendel/Ensemble/Bottle Dancer – Diego Rodriguez
Yussel/Ensemble/Bottle Dancer – Oliver Sweet
Young Suitor/Ensemble – Langston Chuenyane
Young Suitor/Ensemble – Kabello Chuenyane
Rifka/Ensemble – Maggie Belle
Fiddler/Ensemble – Henry Miller
Fiddler/Ensemble – Samuel Strong
Constable Alternate – Skyler King
Fiddler on the Roof opened on September 22, 1964, directed and choreographed by Jerome Robbins and starring Zero Mostel as Tevye. It won nine 1965 Tony Awards, including Best Musical, Best Book, and Best Score. It also received a special 1972 Tony for becoming the longest-running Broadway musical of the time (3,242 performances).
Fiddler on the Roof is presented through special arrangement with Music Theatre International (MTI).
All authorized performance materials are also supplied by MTI. http://www.mtishows.com
Dates/Times:
September 8 – October 8, 2023
Runs Thursdays—Sundays (see website for details)
Run Time: 3 hours plus a 15-minute intermission.
Tickets cost: $28 – $51 and are available online at 6thStreetPlayhouse.com
or by calling the Box Office at (707) 523-4185.