Jackie Hoffman, Joshua Bell & More Join FIDDLER ON THE ROOF 50th Anniversary Benefit Concert Lineup, 6/9

Joshua Bell, Frank London, Austin Pendleton and Jackie Hoffman have joined the lineup for Raising the Roof - an all-star benefit concert celebrating the 50th Anniversary of Fiddler on the Roof, its Pulitzer Prize- and Tony-winning lyricist, Sheldon Harnick, and the 100thanniversary of The National Yiddish Theatre - Folksbiene - on Monday, June 9th, at New York's The Town Hall.

Grammy-winner Joshua Bell is one of the world's most renowned violinists, having performed with nearly every leading symphony orchestra and conductor in the world and recorded 27 albums. Grammy-winning trumpeter and composer Frank London is a member of The Klezmatics, and has been a leading recording artist of contemporary Jewish music and jazz for nearly three decades. Tony-nominee Austin Pendleton originated the role of "Motel" in the original 1964 Broadway cast, which led to an extensive and award-winning career as director, playwright and actor. Obie-winner Jackie Hoffman was last seen in a recurring role on NBC's The New Normal, and appeared in the original Broadway casts of The Addams Family, Xanadu, and Hairspray.

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. Fiddler vets Gary John La Rosa and Erik Liberman will co-conceive and co-direct the evening.

This historic event 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, reprised his role in the film, and returned to Broadway with the role in 1990. Joining him are Tony-winners Jerry Zaks, Andrea Martin andPeg 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, Maurice Edwards, Tanya Everett-Bagot, 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, with additional guests to be announced.

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 ofRaising the Roof. Moishe Rosenfeld is Producer and Folksbiene's Producing Director Christopher Massimine serves as General Manager of the event.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, call 212-213-2120, ext. 203, or online www.nationalyiddishtheatre.org.