Richard E. Waits to Play Tevye in Truncated Version of FIDDLER ON THE ROOF at Teaneck International Film Festival

On Saturday November 16th, at Temple Emeth in Teaneck New Jersey, veteran Actor Richard E. Waits will play 'Tevye' in a truncated version of the beloved Musical "Fiddler On The Roof" as a pre-show presentation to the documentary film "Fiddler: A Miracle of Miracles."

Mr Waits says, "I'm super excited and honored to portray this iconic character in this mini version of the Musical. "Beshert" (destiny) played its part with the festivals executive director, Jeremy Lentz and myself, after a conversation about our love of "Fiddler." To my surprise, Jeremy shared this information with the festivals board and about two weeks later, I was asked to play 'Teyve!'

In my preparation, I focused on the sights, sounds and aromas of my recent trip to Isreal, including Jerusalem's Western Wall. I focused on the universality of the character: the humor, humanity, spirituality and the soul."

Richard E. Waits, started his career dancing with the legendary Ginger Rogers!

Selected credits include: Jingle writing for Maxwell House Coffee, Dreamgirls Concert, Black Stars Of Broadway Concert, I Am Harvey Milk Concert, Duke Ellington's Sacred Concert with Jessye Norman. He has garnered rave notices for his character portrayals of 'Feste' in Twelfth Night, 'Ol Mister' in The Color Purple, 'The Cops' in, the cult hit, The View UpStairs, 'Coalhouse' in Ragtime, 'George' in Uncle Tom's Cabin, 'The Lion' in The Wizard of Oz, 'Horse' in The Full Monty, and 'Sweet Daddy' in Best of Both Worlds with music by Diedre Murray, directed by Tony Award winning Diane Paulus.

As a playwright, his show, Mama Rose, directed by Paul Stancato; for which he also wrote the book and score, played LaMaMa. Social Media handle: @RichardE.Waits

About Fiddler: A Miracle Of Miracles: Directed by Max Lewkowicz:

It's the story behind one of Broadway's most beloved musicals, Fiddler on The Roof, and its creative roots in early 1960s New York, when "tradition" was on the wane as gender roles, sexuality, race relations and religion were evolving. The film explores a variety of international productions of the show, detailing how individuals of many cultures see themselves in the residents of Anatevka.

About the Teaneck International Film Festival:

With the support of the nonprofit organization Puffin Foundation, a small group of dedicated volunteers set out, more than a decade ago, to create an event that would present a collection of compelling and imaginative feature-length films, documentaries, and shorts from a variety of cultures that would lead audiences to question, debate, and become caring and involved citizens who recognize the need to institute positive change.

TIFF has found its niche on the film festival circuit, and, having been dubbed by the Star-Ledger, "the film festival with a social conscience," is growing in reputation as well as numbers.

For festival information:

https://www.teaneckfilmfestival.org/

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