FIDDLER ON THE ROOF IN YIDDISH Will Return Off-Broadway This Fall Starring Steven Skybell

National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene will present a seven-week return engagement of Fiddler on the Roof in Yiddish, the revelatory and award-winning production of one of the world's most beloved musicals. The production, a New York Times Critic's Pick, will play a strictly limited seven-week return engagement from November 13, 2022 to January 1, 2023 Off-Broadway at New World Stages (340 West 50th Street).

Fiddler on the Roof is presented in Yiddish with English and Russian Supertitles. Tickets are on sale to the general public on Wednesday, July 27 at 10:00 AM at nytf.org/fiddler or at Telecharge.com (212-239-6200). For group sales, contact Caryl Goldsmith or Scott Mallalieu at Great White Way at 212-889-4300.

The acclaimed production is directed once again by the legendary Oscar and Tony Award-winner Joel Grey. Also returning to recreate his award-winning performance is Steven Skybell who stars as Tevye, a milkman navigating family, faith and changing traditions in the little Russian shtetl of Anatevka. Choreography is by Jerome Robbins with Musical Staging and New Choreography by Staś Kmieć.

Fiddler on the Roof features a book by Joseph Stein based on stories by Sholem Aleichem, music by Jerry Bock and lyrics by Sheldon Harnick. Yiddish translation is by Shraga Friedman. The original 1964 Broadway production, produced on the New York Stage by Harold Prince and directed and choreographed by Jerome Robbins, won nine Tony Awards, including Best Musical. The musical has been playing on world stages ever since its original Broadway production.

National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene (NYTF) is the longest consecutively producing theatre in the US and the world's oldest continuously operating Yiddish theatre company. NYTF's Fiddler on the Roof in Yiddish, originally produced in 2018, sold out for six months before moving uptown to Off-Broadway's Stage 42 where it played for a year. The production won the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Revival of a Musical, the Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Revival of a Musical, a New York Drama Critics Circle Special Citation, an Off-Broadway Alliance Award for Best Musical Revival, and a Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Musical - Steven Skybell. Earlier this year, NYTF staged the New York premiere of Barry Manilow and Bruce Sussman's award-winning Harmony.

"The fictional Anatevka of Fiddler on the Roof is based on shtetls that were located outside of Kyiv in present-day Ukraine. We can't help but think of the displaced residents of Anatevka while a new generation of refugees are fleeing their homeland due to the current crisis," commented NYTF's Artistic Director, Zalmen Mlotek. "It seems like an appropriate moment for us to revisit this timeless show, and to experience its joy, sorrow, humor and universal truths in this expressive translation that enriches the experience for all audiences, whether or not you know a word of Yiddish."

"It's a blessing on our heads to have the great Joel Grey return to helm his authentic and deeply emotional production, which touched audiences so profoundly," commented NYTF's Executive Director Dominick Balletta. "It's a double blessing to welcome Steven Skybell back to recreate his magnetic, warm and moving portrayal of Tevye. We are thankful that we are able to once again share with a wide audience the power and allegiance to Jewish culture and values that this production represents. It's both an obligation and a privilege to do so."

The New York Times said Fiddler on the Roof in Yiddish "strikes a deep emotional chord" and "offers a kind of authenticity no other American Fiddler ever has." Newsday said it "speaks to us all." The Hollywood Reporter raves "It must be seen." The production has been hailed as "a richer, deeper interpretation" by The Wall Street Journal, "a mitzvah" by Time Out New York, and AM New York in its four-star review deemed it "perfect."

Fiddler on the Roof in Yiddish won the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Revival of a Musical, the Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Revival of a Musical, a New York Drama Critics Circle Special Citation, an Off-Broadway Alliance Award for Best Musical Revival, and a Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Musical - Steven Skybell.

The production was also nominated for the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Director of a Musical (Joel Grey), Outstanding Actor in a Musical (Steven Skybell), and Outstanding Orchestrations (Larry Blank); Lucille Lortel Awards for Outstanding Revival, Outstanding Director (Joel Grey), Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical (Jackie Hoffman); Drama League Awards for Outstanding Revival of a Musical, Distinguished Performance Award (Steven Skybell); Outer Critics Circle Awards for Outstanding Director of a Musical (Joel Grey) and Outstanding Actor in a Musical (Steven Skybell); and a Chita Rivera Award for Outstanding Ensemble.

Fiddler on the Roof in Yiddish is produced in association with Hal Luftig, Jana Robbins, LHC Theatrical, Jenny Steingart, Steven Chaikelson, Ruth Hendel, Braemar House Productions, Jamie deRoy & friends, Nina Korelitz Matza/Nicola Behrman, Anita Waxman/Martin H Borell, and The Shubert Organization in association with Sandy Block, Roy Gabay, Executive Producer.

The Original Off-Broadway Cast Recording of Fiddler on the Roof in Yiddish is available on Time Life Music Distributed by Warner Bros.

Additional cast and creative team will be announced in coming weeks.

BIOGRAPHIES

Joel Grey (Director). Broadway: Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard (Roundabout Theatre Company), Anything Goes, Wicked, Chicago, George M! (Tony Award nomination), Cabaret (Tony Award). Off-Broadway: The Normal Heart, in 1986, co-directed the Tony-winning Broadway premiere in 2011. Film: Cabaret (Academy Award), Buffalo Bill and the Indians, Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins, Dancer in the Dark, The Seven Percent Solution, Man on a Swing. Joel is an internationally exhibited photographer with four published books: Pictures I Had to Take (2003), Looking Hard at Unexamined Things (2006), 1.3-Images From My Phone (2009) and The Billboard Papers (2013). His memoir, Master of Ceremonies, was released in 2016 (Flatiron Press).

Steven Skybell (Tevye) most recently starred Off-Broadway in the New York premiere of Karen Hartman's play The Lucky Star. Pre-pandemic, he starred for two years as Tevye in Joel Grey's acclaimed production of Fiddler on the Roof in Yiddish, for which he received the 2019 Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Performance by a Lead Actor in a Musical. Broadway credits include Fiddler on the Roof, Pal Joey, Wicked, The Full Monty, Love! Valour! Compassion!, Cafe Crown, and Ah, Wilderness! Off-Broadway appearances include Babette's Feast, Cymbeline, and Antigone in New York (Obie Award). Other credits include: Camelot (Helen Hayes nomination). Broken Glass and Caucasian Chalk Circle (both Connecticut Critics Circle nominations), and Henry V (Shakespeare's Globe, London). Skybell's numerous TV and film credits include "The Good Fight," "Blue Bloods," "Elementary," "Chicago PD," Cradle Will Rock, and Simply Irresistible.

Now entering its 108th season, the Drama Desk Award-winning National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene (NYTF) is the longest consecutively producing theatre in the US and the world's oldest continuously operating Yiddish theatre company. NYTF is in residence at the Museum of Jewish Heritage - A Living Memorial to the Holocaust. Under the leadership of Artistic Director Zalmen Mlotek and Executive Director Dominick Balletta, NYTF is dedicated to creating a living legacy through the arts, connecting generations and bridging communities. NYTF aims to bring history to life by reviving and restoring lost and forgotten work, commissioning new work, and adapting pre-existing work for the 21st Century. Serving a diverse audience comprised of performing arts patrons, cultural enthusiasts, Yiddish-language aficionados and the general public, the company presents plays, musicals, concerts, lectures, interactive educational workshops and community-building activities in English and Yiddish, with English and Russian supertitles accompanying performances. NYTF provides access to a century-old cultural legacy and inspires the imaginations of the next generation to contribute to this valuable body of work.