Rabbis, cantors, and other all stars from Upper Fairfield County Jewish community come together for Fiddler on the Roof

“All-Star” Community Cast to Perform Fiddler on the Roof on Dec. 3

Rabbis, cantors, and other “all stars” from throughout the Upper Fairfield County Jewish community will come together on Sunday, December 3, 2017 at 4 pm at Congregation Rodeph Sholom in Bridgeport to perform a very special staged reading of the classic Broadway musical, Fiddler on the Roof, including all of the show’s most memorable songs.

The performance is presented by the Federation for Jewish Philanthropy of Upper Fairfield County, a non-profit educational and humanitarian organization representing 15 Jewish communities in the region bordered by Ridgefield, Monroe, Stratford, and Rowayton. The production’s cast includes clergy and agency leaders from Jewish congregations and organizations throughout the area, along with a local volunteer orchestra and choral ensemble.

The event is the brainchild of Federation CEO David Weisberg, a former professional theatre performer, who sees the production as an opportunity to bring together members of the Jewish community from throughout the Federation’s broad geographic area and beyond for a fun afternoon of entertainment and to benefit a great cause. The audience will be invited and encouraged to sing along on classic numbers including Tradition and To Life.

All net proceeds from the performance will benefit the Federation’s efforts to support needy Jews in Ukraine, creating a connection between the event and the geographical setting of Fiddler on the Roof – writer Sholom Aleichem’s fictional town of Anatevka in 19^th-century Russia. Weisberg recently returned from a journey to Ukraine, and explains that the places and community projects he visited – which will benefit from the event – include a new village outside Kiev being built to provide refuge for Jews fleeing war-torn eastern Ukraine. Inspired by Fiddler on the Roof, the new community has aptly been named “Anatevka.” 

Weisberg, who will be featured in the role of “Teyve,” has ancestral roots in a similar-sounding Ukrainian shtetl (small village), Obodivka, which he visited during his trip, an experience he described as “like traveling back in time.”

The special Fiddler on the Roof production is “script in hand” with minimal sets and costuming. The cast includes Cantor Debbie Katchko Gray in the lead role of “Golde;” Rabbi Ita Paskind, Cantor Shirah Sklar, and Federation Israeli Emissary Bar Degani as Teyve’s daughters, Tzeitel, Hodel, and Chava; and Rabbi Evan Schultz, Cantor Dan Sklar, and educator Justin Beck playing Motel, Perchik, and Fyedka.

The cast also features Rabbi Colin Brodie, Rabbi Rachel Bearman, Rabbi Greg Schindler, Hazzan Niema Hirsch, Ellen Ashkins, Matt Greenberg, Julia Brennan, Dana Preis, and Shlomo Kessel, along with a choral ensemble. One ensemble-member, Sandy Rothenberg, has the special distinction of being the great-granddaughter of Sholom Aleichem, the Yiddish author whose stories inspired the Fiddler on the Roof musical.

The volunteer orchestra is led by Arthur Gang, and Diana Muller serves as the Production Manager.

Tickets for the Fiddler on the Roof event are $10 and can be purchased at shalomct.org/fiddler or (203) 226-8197.  The Federation’s Fiddler on the Roof production is being presented through a special arrangement with Music Theatre International. All net ticket proceeds benefit the Federation’s partner organizations who help needy Jews in Ukraine.

All-Star Community Staged Reading of Fiddler on the Roof: Sunday, Dec. 3, 4 PM, Congregation Rodeph Sholom, 2385 Park Ave., Bridgeport | All tickets $10: shalomct.org/fiddler / (203) 226-8197