Chita Rivera, Karen Ziemba & More Join National Yiddish Theatre - Folksbiene's RAISING THE ROOF Lineup at Town Hall, 6/9

Tony Award-winners Chita Rivera and Karen Ziemba, Norman Norman Jewison, Academy Award-winning director of the 1971 film version of Fiddler on the Roof (Irving Thalberg Award Recipient), and Ambassador Ido Aharoni, Counsul General of Israel, have joined the lineup of Raising the Roof, an all-star benefit concert celebrating the 100th anniversary of The National Yiddish Theatre - Folksbiene, the 50th Anniversary of iconic American musical, Fiddler on the Roof, and the 90th birthday of its Pulitzer Prize- and Tony-winning lyricist, Sheldon Harnick, on Monday, June 9, 2014 at 7:30 p.m. at New York's The Town Hall (123 West 43rd Street).

Original Fiddler on the Roof producer, Harold Prince, Harvey Fierstein, star of the 2004 Broadway revival, and journalist Frank Rich are the Honorary Co-Chairs of Raising the Roof, with Fiddler vets Gary John La Rosa and Erik Liberman co-conceiving and co-directing the evening.

This historic event will feature renditions of classic Fiddler on the Roof musical 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 1991, who will be joined by Grammy Award-winners Joshua Bell and Frank London, Tony Award-winners Jerry Zaks and Andrea Martin, Tony Award-nominees Adrienne Barbeau, Liz Larsen, Austin Pendleton, Sammy Dallas Bayes and Louis Zorich, Golden Globe Award-winner Pia Zadora, Emmy Award-winner Fyvush Finkel, as well as three sisters from the 1971 film, Rosalind Harris, Michele Marsh and Neva Small, and special guest Jackie Hoffman. Original Broadway run cast members Robert Aberdeen, Maurice Edwards, Tanya Everett-Bagot, Louis Genevrino, Sandra Kazan, Faye Menken-Schneier, Joanna Merlin, Carolyn Mignini, Joe Ponazecki, Larry Ross, Carol Sawyer, Roberta Senn, Harriet Slaughter and Mimi Turque-Marre will be joined by Fiddler vets including Leslie Alexander, Joanne Borts, Mike Burstyn, Rachel Coloff, T. Doyle Leverett, Michael J. Farina, Kerry Frances, Deborah Grausman, Rebecca Hoodwin, Lori Ada Jaroslow, Mark Sanders, Donalyn Petrucci-Shreve, Cheryl Stern, Lori Wilner, plus a choir of 36 children.

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. 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 by engaging, educating, and igniting the imaginations of generations of theatregoers.

For tickets, call 212-213-2120, ext. 203, or online at www.nationalyiddishtheatre.org.

Photo by Laura Marie Duncan

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