Fiddler on the Roof comes to St Kilda
Juxtaposing prejudice and displacement while celebrating family, faith and tradition, Fiddler continues to be relevant to this day.
FIDDLER on the roof? Sounds crazy, no?
But in St Kilda this August, the Fiddler won’t be on the roof – he’ll be on the stage, for two weeks only. MLOC Productions presents Fiddler on the Roof, co-directed by Adrian and Sarah Glaubert. With a cast of over 40, Adrian and Sarah felt that it was time that the Jewish people of Melbourne had their own, home-grown and authentically Yiddishkeit production.
“We wanted to make sure that anyone who wanted to be involved in Fiddler on the Roof was able to … so we insisted that we double cast the leading roles, that performances were in St Kilda, and that we did not schedule performances on Shabbos or chagim.”
Fiddler on the Roof is very special to the couple, having performed the roles of Golde and Tevye alongside each other in 2017. Now, those roles will be performed by Joshua Balbin and Elisa Gray (Yellow Cast), and Lara Stein Wittels and Tim Maloney (Blue Cast), with David Hanner as the fiddler, and Geoff Sussman as the rabbi.
Cantor Greg Hurvitz makes his theatrical debut as the unlucky Lazar Wolf, alongside seasoned theatre performers from the community. Meanwhile, Jodie Silberthau, Eliana Morris and Gabi Bergman play some of Tevye’s bright and fiercely independent daughters in a show that highlights the central role of women in the Jewish home.
Evie Smith and Tamara Brodsky share the coveted role of Yente alongside an enormously talented (and predominantly Jewish) cast, with musical direction by Kent Ross leading the orchestra.
For this production, MLOC has collaborated with the Lehenda School, Australia’s largest Ukrainian dancing school. Set in the Pale of Settlement (pockets of land in and around Ukraine where the tsar permitted Jews to live), Fiddler on the Roof is often celebrated for its Cossack and bottle dancing. These scenes, among others, will feature senior students from the Lehenda School, including recently arrived refugees from war-torn Ukraine.
Despite being set in 1905, Fiddler on the Roof is one of theatre’s most timeless stories and one that resonates with cultures across the globe. Juxtaposing prejudice and displacement while celebrating family, faith and tradition, Fiddler continues to be relevant to this day.
Adrian and Sarah shared, “We feel incredibly privileged to bring this story to the Jewish community of Melbourne and to represent our culture, our shared history and our traditions through the story of Tevye, his family, and his (and our) people.”
Fiddler on the Roof will be performed at the Alex Theatre, St Kilda from August 2-13.
Ticket prices begin at $35 and can be purchased at trybooking.com/CHCTF
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