In celebration of the 50th anniversary of Fiddler on the Roof, Pulitzer Prize- and Tony Award-winning lyricist Sheldon Harnick will be honored and will perform with the largest-ever reunion of original, revival and film cast members as part of an all-star benefit concert for The National Yiddish Theatre - Folksbiene on Monday, June 9th, at New York's Town Hall.
Original Fiddler producer,
Harold Prince,
Harvey Fierstein, star of the 2004 Broadway revival, and journalist and veteran theater critic
Frank Rich will serve as Honorary Co-Chairs of Raising the Roof. Tickets for the gala concert, which start at $75, go on sale today.
Raising the Roof will feature renditions of classic Fiddler numbers by their originators and notable successors. Generations of Anatevkans will celebrate the show's milestone anniversary, including two-time Golden Globe-winner and Oscar and Tony-nominee, Topol, who originated the role of "Tevye" on the London stage in 1967, reprised his role in the 1971 film, and returned to Broadway with the role in 1990. Joining him are Tony-winners
Jerry Zaks,
Andrea Martin,
Randy Graff and
Peg Murray, Tony-nominees
Adrienne Barbeau,
Liz Larsen and
Louis Zorich, Golden Globe-winner
Pia Zadora, Emmy-winner
Fyvush Finkel, as well as
Joanna Merlin,
Rosalind Harris,
Neva Small, and more than 40 Fiddler vets, including
Sammy Dallas Bayes,
Robert Berdeen,
Duane Bodin,
Joanne Borts,
Mike Burstyn,
Rachel Coloff,
Tanya Everett,
Michael J. Farina,
Louis Genevrino,
Lori Ada Jaroslow,
Sandra Kazan,
T. Doyle Leverett,
Faye Menken Schneier,
Carolyn Mignini,
Joe Ponazecki,
Larry Ross,
Carol Sawyer,
Roberta Senn,
Harriet Slaughter,
Cheryl Stern,
Mimi Turque Marre and
Lori Wilner. Additional guests to be announced in the coming weeks.
Raising the Roof will also feature appearances by
Bel Kaufman, the 103-year-old granddaughter of famed Yiddish author and playwright
Sholom Aleichem, who wrote Fiddler's source material, Tevye and His Daughters, and
Alisa Solomon, author of the acclaimed book, Wonder of Wonders: A Cultural History of "Fiddler on the Roof."
Since its premiere on Broadway in 1964, Fiddler on the Roof has become one of the most beloved and popular musicals of all time, with four Broadway revivals, an Academy Award-winning film adaptation and hundreds of annual productions worldwide.
"Half a century later, Fiddler on the Roof's universal themes remain as relevant as ever, offering every culture a lesson in how to navigate inevitable change while preserving what makes that culture unique," says
Zalmen Mlotek, Artistic Director of The National Yiddish Theatre - Folksbiene and
Music Director of Raising the Roof.
The gala concert is co-conceived and co-directed by
Gary John La Rosa, who appeared with Topol in the 1990 Broadway revival,
Theodore Bikel in the 1995 tour, and is the director of dozens of regional Fiddler productions, and
Erik Liberman, who toured North America as "Motel" opposite Topol,
Harvey Fierstein and
Theodore Bikel from 2009-2010. Rabbi Peter and Ellen Weintraub head the Gala Committee as Co-Chairs.
Since 1915, The National Yiddish Theatre - Folksbiene has presented a window into the world of Jewish culture, engaging, educating, and igniting the imaginations of generations of theatregoers.
For tickets, contact 212-213-2120, ext. 203, or write
development@nationalyiddishtheatre.org.
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