Jackie Hoffman (Charlie And the Chocolate Factory, The Addams Family, Hairspray), Steven Skybell (Fiddler On The Roof, Wicked, The Full Monty), and Jill Abramovitz (Fiddler On The Roof, Cinderella, 9 to 5) will lead this summer's American premiere of the Yiddish-language adaptation of Fiddler on the Roof in the roles of Yente, Tevye, and Golde, respectively.
Directed by Oscar and Tony winner Joel Grey, the production will mark the first time the Yiddish version of the musical has been staged since its world premiere in Israel more than 50 years ago. The Off-Broadway staging from National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene will be presented in Yiddish with English and Russian supertitles.
Performances will begin July 4 in the Edmond J. Safra Theatre at the Museum of Jewish Heritage, where they are scheduled to run through August 26.
The cast will also include Kirk Geritano (The Sorceress) as Avram; Samantha Hahn (Nella the Princess Knight) as Bielke; Cameron Johnson (The Golden Bride) as Fyedka; Daniel Kahn (NYTF’s Amerike - The Golden Land) as Perchik; Ben Liebert (Wicked, Grease) as Motel; Stephanie Lynne Mason (Fiddler on the Roof) as Hodel; Rosie Jo Neddy (Carousel) as Chava; Raquel Nobile (The Sorceress, Amerike – The Golden Land) as Shprintze; Bruce Sabath (Company) as Lazar Wolf; Jodi Snyder (Pete The Cat) as Fruma-Sarah; Lauren Jeanne Thomas (Once; The Goree All-Girl String Band) as The Fiddler; Bobby Underwood (Amerike – The Golden Land, The Sorceress) as The Constable; Michael Yashinsky (The Sorceress) as Mordcha; and Rachel Zatcoff (The Phantom of the Opera) as Tzeitel.
Fiddler on the Roof in Yiddish is based on the Tevye the Dairyman vignettes by Sholem Aleichem and is translated by Shraga Friedman. Tony-winning Fiddler lyricist Sheldon Harnick and producer and director Harold Prince have been consulting with NYTF on the production.
The creative team also features Tony-winning set designer Beowulf Boritt, Tony-winning costume designer Ann Hould-Ward, choreographer Staś Kmieć, Tony-nominated sound designer Dan Moses Schreier, and Tony-winning lighting designer Peter Kaczorowski. Casting is by Jamibeth Margolis, C.S.A, and Zalmen Mlotek is NYTF's artistic director.
Completing the cast of Fiddler will be Jennifer Babiak, Joanne Borts, Josh Dunn, Michael Einav, Evan Mayer, Nick Raynor, Kayleen Seidl, Adam Shapiro, and James Monroe Stevko.
Fiddler on The Roof has music by Jerry Bock, lyrics by Harnick, and book by Joseph Stein. The original Broadway production of the show, which opened in 1964, was the first musical theatre production in history to surpass 3,000 performances. The show won the 1965 Tony Award for Best Musical in addition to eight other Tony Awards that year.
For tickets, visit NYTF.org or call (866) 811-4111.
