Yiddish FIDDLER Dedicates Special Performance to 80th Anniversary of Kristallnacht

The 104-year old National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene's (NYTF) critically-acclaimed Yiddish language production of Fiddler on the Roof, playing at the Museum of Jewish Heritage will dedicate its special 104th performance on November 10 to celebrating its 104th season, and to the resiliency of Jewish culture on the 80th Anniversary of Kristallnacht. Due to the unprecedented success of the Yiddish language Fiddler on the Roof, presented with English and Russian supertitles, performances have been extended through November 18.

The special event to mark the show on Saturday, November 10th at 7:00 PM includes an after-performance reception. Tickets for that show start at $95.

"In the famous wedding scene in Fiddler on the Roof, the badkhn (master of ceremonies), while celebrating the nuptials, stops to remember those who are no longer with us," said Zalmen Mlotek, Artistic Director of the National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene and Music Director of Fiddler on the Roof. "In the Jewish tradition of remembrance, even during this happy occasion, we pause to reflect on the 80th Anniversary of Kristallnacht which took place on November 9 and November 10, 1938, during which Nazis in Germany torched synagogues, vandalized Jewish homes, schools and businesses and killed close to 100 Jews. As we celebrate the success of Fiddler on the Roof in Yiddish, we are reminded that the pogroms and forced expulsions which are so poignantly depicted in Fiddler on the Roof set a precedent in the modern world that violence could be unleashed on entire populations while the world remains silent. Our special 104th performance will pay tribute to the resiliency of the Jewish people and culture by the world's oldest Yiddish theater company."

Directed by Academy Award-and-Tony Award winner Joel Grey, the Yiddish Fiddler on the Roof has received universal positive praise from critics, including landing a place as a New York Times' Critic's Pick. Cindy Adams of the New York Post wrote the Yiddish Fiddler was "Marvelous. Magical. Magnificent" and "Joel Grey deserves another Tony for directing this history of the shtetl of Anatevka in the shadow of Miss Liberty." Edward Rothstein of The Wall Street Journal called it "thrilling," and Tim Teeman of The Daily Beast declared the production "a moving triumph" and "piercing delight." "Fiddler' in Yiddish unfolds with majestic simplicity," Barbara Schuler said in Newsday. Ted Merwin wrote in Jewish Week, "Anatevka crackles with a new, more authentic energy." And, Time Out NY's Raven Snook wrote, "Here's hoping that Yiddish Fiddler becomes a new tradition."

"To date, 40,000 theater goers have delighted in seeing Fiddler on the Roof performed in Yiddish. We are incredibly moved by the positive outpouring the show has received, the glowing reviews, and the passionate anecdotes we hear daily from audiences of all ages, and from all walks of life who say the experience is so universal," says NYTF Chief Executive Officer and two-time Tony Award-nominated producer Christopher Massimine. "That we are celebrating the landmark 104th performance -- of a show performed in Yiddish -- on the anniversary of a vicious act of anti-Semitic violence is both joyous and heart-breaking, much like Fiddler itself."

The Yiddish language Fiddler on the Roof is based on the Tevye the Dairyman vignettes by Sholem Aleichem and is translated by Shraga Friedman. Tony Award-winning Fiddler lyricist Sheldon Harnick and producer/director Harold Prince have been consulting with NYTF on the production.

In addition to Grey and Massimine, the creative team features choreography and musical staging by Sta? Kmie?, music direction by NYTF Artistic Director Zalmen Mlotek, casting by Jamibeth Margolis, C.S.A., and an all-star design team of Tony Award winners and nominees including set design by Beowulf Boritt, costume design by Ann Hould-Ward, sound design by Dan Moses Schreier, lighting design by Peter Kaczorowski, wig and hair design by Tom Watson, and props by Addison Heeren.

Playing the iconic roles of Yente, Tevye, and Golde are, respectively, comedian and Emmy Award nominee Jackie Hoffman (Charlie And the Chocolate Factory, The Addams Family, Hairspray, Xanadu), and Broadway veterans Steven Skybell (Fiddler on the Roof, Wicked, The Full Monty), and Jennifer Babiak (Fiddler on the Roof, West Side Story, Grease, Evita).

The cast is rounded out with: Joanne Borts as Sheyndl/Understudy for Yente, Fruma-Sarah, Grandma Tzeitel; Doug Chitel as Understudy for Mendel, Avrom, Nokhum/Mordkhe, The Rabbi and The Constable; Michael Einav as Ensemble/Understudy for Motel Kamzoil, Perchik, Fyedka and The Rabbi; Lisa Fishman as Grandma Tzeitel/Understudy for Golde and Sheyndl; Lydia Gladstone as Grandma Tzeitel/Understudy for Golde and Sheyndl; Jessica Rose Futran as Ensemble/Understudy for Tzeitel, Hodel and Chava; Kirk Geritano as Avrom; John Giesige as Male Swing; Josh Kohane as Male Swing; Abby Goldfarb as Female Swing; Maya Jacobson as Bielke; Cameron Johnson as Fyedka; Ben Liebert as Motel Kamzoil; Moshe Lobel as Nokhum/Mordkhe; Stephanie Lynne Mason as Hodel; Rosie Jo Neddy as Chava/Dance Captain; Raquel Nobile as Shprintze; Jonathan Quigley as Dancer/Ensemble/Understudy for The Fiddler; Nick Raynor as Yussel/Dancer/Ensemble; Grant Richards as Yussel/Dancer/Ensemble; Bruce Sabath as Lazar-Wolf (Company); Drew Seigla as Perchik; Adam B. Shapiro as The Rabbi/Ensemble/Understudy for Tevye and Lazar-Wolf; Jodi Snyder as Fruma-Sarah/Ensemble; James Monroe Števko as Mendel; Lauren Jeanne Thomas as The Fiddler; Bobby Underwood as The Constable/Ensemble; and, Rachel Zatcoff as Tzeitel.

The Yiddish language Fiddler on the Roof plays Off Broadway at the Museum of Jewish Heritage, Edmond J. Safra Plaza, 36 Battery Place, through November 18. Tickets start at $75 and can be purchased by calling (866) 811-4111 or visiting www.nytf.org.

The 104-year-old Tony Award-nominated and Drama Desk Award-winning National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene (NYTF) is the longest consecutively producing theatre in the U.S. and the world's oldest continuously operating Yiddish theatre. Led by CEO Christopher Massimine and Artistic Director Zalmen Mlotek, 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. Learn more at www.NYTF.org.

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