Creative team for Yiddish "Fiddler on the Roof" announced

All-Star Creative Team set for

American Premiere of Yiddish language

Fiddler On The Roof

Directed by Academy Award winner Joel Grey

CASTING TO COMMENCE TODAY

Performances begin July 4th, Independence Day

Off-Broadway at the Museum of Jewish Heritage

Presented by National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene

www.NYTF.org

(New York, NY)—Today thousands of hopefuls will begin to line up at the Actors Equity Audition Center for a chance to be seen for the National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene (NYTF) American Premiere of the Yiddish languageFiddler on the Roof. As casting begins, this highly-anticipated production, helmed by Academy Award and Tony Award winner Joel Grey, announces its full all-star creative team. April marks the final month for discounted pre-sale ticket rates—ticket prices will increase May 1st.

Joining Grey and Tony Award winners Beowulf Boritt, Set Designer, and Ann Hould-Ward, Costume Designer, are: Staś Kmieć, Choreographer (Poland’s Oskar Kolberg Award, New York Musical Theater Festival “Excellence in Choreography” Award); Peter Kaczorowski, Lighting Designer (Tony Award, The Producers and Contact, Tony Award nomination for The Road to Mecca, Anthony Goes, Grey Gardens, The Producers, and Kiss Me, Kate); and, Zalmen Mlotek, Conductor and Musical Director (Co-Creator of the Tony Award-nominated Those were the Days, Best Direction nomination for Eleanor Reissa and Best Supporting Actor nomination for Bruce Adler). Consulting on the production are Pulitzer Prize- and Tony Award-winning lyricist Sheldon Harnick; iconic producer and director Hal Prince, who was the original producer of Fiddler on the Roof; and, veteran Production Stage Manager Peter Hanson (Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, Anything Goes, Brief Encounter) in the production department.

Additional members of the team include: Merete Muenter, Assistant Choreographer (Chita Rivera Award nomination for The Golden Bride); Matthew (Motl) Didner, Assistant Director (Drama Desk Award nomination for THE GOLDEN BRIDE); Jamibeth Margolis, CSA, Casting Director (Cats, Phantom of the Opera, Les Misérables, Miss Saigon); and, Sean Francis Patrick, Production Manager (Roundabout’s Cabaret and Anything Goes).

“With the drive for artistic excellence found amongst our creative team, the American Premiere of Fiddler on the Roof in Yiddish aims to give audiences an authentic, exhilarating, and universally resonant experience,” said NYTF Chief Executive Officer and two-time Tony Award-nominated producer Christopher Massimine. “It is our goal to use the Jewish experience to bridge heritage and identity to the widest walks of life.”

Presented professionally in Yiddish for the first time in over 50 years, since its world premiere in Israel, this historic production is collaborating with the Dog Green Productions and the official Fiddler on the Roofdocumentary: Fiddler, which will depict the musical’s journey from Sholem Aleichem to the modern stage. The film will highlight the unique nature of this American Premiere of the Yiddish translation.

“The Yiddish translation connects the masterpiece by Jerry Bock, Sheldon Harnick, and Joseph Stein to the source material by Sholem Aleichem in a very moving way. It enriches the way that an audience in 2018 will understand the culture, language and customs which sustained the Jewish people for a thousand years in Eastern Europe and how modernization forever changed it,” said NYTF Artistic Director Zalmen Mlotek.

Fiddler On The Roof features music by Jerry Bock, lyrics by Sheldon 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 Tony Award for Best Musical as well as eight other Tony Awards in 1965, and since has been performed in every metropolitan city in the world, from Paris to Beijing.

The Yiddish translation was artfully constructed by noted Israeli actor/director Shraga Friedman in 1965, and deepens the connection of the work to Sholem Aleichem’s original Tevye the Dairyman stories. Friedman, a native Yiddish speaker, was born in Warsaw and escaped the 2nd World War with his family, making their way to Tel Aviv in 1941. Well acquainted with Sholem Aleichem’s works, Friedman crafted his translation to infuse Fiddler with literary references from the original Tevye the Dairyman stories.

Fiddler on The Roof performances will run from July 4th through August 26th. Tickets to previews of Fiddler on the Roof start at $45, and performance tickets start at $50. This is the last month to purchase tickets at the discounted pre-sale rate. Ticket prices will increase on May 1st. For tickets, visit www.NYTF.org or call 866-811-4111. For group sales and memberships, call 212-213-2120 Ext. 204. The show will be presented in Yiddish with English and Russian supertitles. Press Opening is on July 15th, and the VIP Official Opening Gala Performance on July 16th.

Entering its 104th season, 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 company. 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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Joining Joel Grey and the previously announced creative team are:

Staṥ Kmieḉ, Choreography, who has appeared on Broadway with Lee Theodore’s American Dancemachine, and in Don Quixote with Rudolf Nureyev; toured nationally in Fiddler on the Roof starring Theodore Bikel totaling 1,682 performances, and directed and staged the musical multiple times.

Peter Kaczorowski, Lighting Designer, whose 50+ Broadway credits include Sweat, Our Mother’s Brief Affair, The Country House, Love Letters, Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, Living on Love, No Man’s Land/Waiting for Godot, The Assembled Parties, Nice Work If You Can Get It, Wit, Venus in Fur, Anything Goes, A View from the Bridge, Grey Gardens, Contact, The Producers, Kiss Me, Kate, She Loves Me, Steel Pier, and who has receivedTony, Drama Desk, Outer Critics, Dramalogue, Ovation, and Hewes awards.

Zalmen Mlotek, Musical Director, is the Artistic Director at NYTF, and brought Yiddish-Klezmer music to Broadway and Off-Broadway stages with the Tony-nominated Those Were the Days and Amerike – The Golden Land. He serves as Music Director for most NYTF productions, including the Drama Desk Nominated musical, THE GOLDEN BRIDE. His music can be heard in over two-dozen recordings and films.

Merete Muenter, Assistant Choreographer, whose credits include THE GOLDEN BRIDE, Amerike – The Golden Land, The Megile of Itzik Manger, Lies My Father Told Me, The King of Second Avenue, Sherlock Holmes – The Early Years, and South Pacific

Matthew (Motl) Didner, Assistant Director, is the Associate Artistic Director at NYTF, co-directed its production of Drama Desk Award-nominated THE GOLDEN BRIDE, and directed The King of Second Avenue, The Megile of Itzik Manger, Fyvush Finkel Live!, Di Tsvey Brider (The Two Brothers), The Pushcart Peddlers, and Di Ksube (The Marriage Contract), Di Kishefmakherin (The Sorceress), and Di Khasene In Fernvald (The Wedding in Foehrenwald).

Jamibeth Margolis, CSA, Casting Director, is the General Manager at NYTF, and now in her 20th year as a professional casting director in New York. Her credits include the Broadway and National Touring Companies of Les Miserables, The Phantom Of The Opera, Miss Saigon, Cats, and Jane Eyre as well as two dozen other shows on Broadway, and she currently casts for Off Broadway, National Touring Companies, and shows for prominent regional theaters and all of the major theater festivals in New York City.

Sean Patrick, Production Manager, serves as the Managing Director of Cleveland Musical Theatre and the Operations/Production Manager for NYTF. A freelance stage manager and actor, he staged managed the Broadway National Tours of Cabaret and Anything Goes (both with Roundabout Theater Company), The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess, and the pre-Broadway workshop of Finding Neverland.

Previously announced creative team members are:

Joel Grey, Director, Throughout his illustrious career, Joel Grey has exemplified a stunning artistic ability to enliven the stage and screen through memorable roles, such as George M. Cohan in George M!, the Wizard of Oz inWicked, and his multiple-award-winning performance as the Master of Ceremonies in Cabaret on Broadway and in film. One of only eight people to win an Academy Award and Tony Award for playing the same role, he seamlessly transitioned from stage to screen to directing, earning a Tony Award Nomination for his co-direction of the Broadway revival of The Normal Heart in 2011.

Beowulf Boritt, Scenic Designer, Tony and Obie Award-winner and multiple Tony Award-nominee whose credits most recently include Come From Away, Prince of Broadway, Hand to God, On The Town, A Bronx Tale, andRock of Ages. His 100+ Off-Broadway works include The Last Five Years, Sleepwalk With Me, and Miss Julie, and he has designed for the New York City Ballet and the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus.

Ann Hould-Ward, Costume Designer, Tony winner for Beauty and the Beast and Tony nominee for Into the Woods and Sunday in the Park with George, who has also designed for The Color Purple, The Visit, A Free Man of Color, A Catered Affair, and The People in the Picture. Her work can be seen in over 35 International companies of Beauty and the Beast, and her other designs featured in shows all over the world.

Christopher Massimine, Lead Producer, is an award-winning, two-time Tony Award-nominated producer, entertainment executive, playwright/composer, and arts activist. He serves as an advisor on New York City's Cultural Community Council, and is a Trustee at the Alliance of Resident Theatres/New York, Chair of the Immigrant Arts Coalition, and the CEO of the National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene (NYTF), the longest consecutively producing performing arts institution in the United States, and the world's longest continuously operating Yiddish Theatre.