A Fiddler On The Roof!

A Fiddler On The Roof!

Alexandria Jefferson High School Production

 

Glenwood Community Theater Production

     Becker High School recently performed their annual fall Musical.  This year it was Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.  It was an excellent, energy-packed performance full of color and spirit.  I'm so glad I went!  I'm also glad I attended because it brought back wonderful memories of the productions I have been involved in.  My all time favorite Musical experience was being the fiddler in Fiddler On The Roof.  In fact, I was lucky enough to get to perform it in two separate productions!  In the spring of my 9th grade year I was the fiddler for my high school and then that very summer I was the fiddler for Glenwood Community Theater when they performed it.  You would be surprised at how varied the roles actually were.  Let me tell you about it.    

     In our high school production, my character was very somber.  I wore all black and was never to smile.  In the Glenwood production, my character was to be jolly and smiley and full of energy and bounce.  My costume was pink and purple!  In both productions, I was in the pit orchestra most of the time and on stage part of the time.  Part of what was special about me be the fiddler was that I could actually play my violin parts on stage instead of just acting like I was playing.  I had to memorize my parts.  It was fun! 

     In both productions, I got to be in the opening scene playing fiddle all by myself while sitting on a roof (actually I was straddling a ladder)!  In the Glenwood production the director had me pretend to play the opening lines too fast and then shake out my violin and do it again at the right tempo.  The opening scene includes a long song about the traditions of the Russian Jewish people in the story.  The song is called Tradition.  At the end of the scene the spotlight zooms in on me as the main character raises his arm to me and declares, "Without tradition, our lives would be as shaky as... as a fiddler on the roof!"  I got to play the final few notes (just me and the spotlight) and then hold my bow in the air very dramatically in a frozen position until the light went out.  It was quite exhilerating!  I loved doing that scene.  But, I didn't love climbing down the ladder with my violin in the dark afterwards.  Thankfully, I never got hurt!

     In both productions I was also in the final scene.  As the main character and his family are leaving their home, I appeared and led the way as they began their long walk.  I played a very haunting melody about their hometown (called Anatefka).  The family followed me as I played and led them off the stage.  In the high school production, I led the family off on stage right and the production was over.  In the Glenwood production I played the song for a long time as I led the family and most of the cast around in a circle on the large stage and then down the aisle beside the audience.  I actually led them right out the back exit door.

     In both productions, I got to be in the scene where all the men sing L'Chayim (To Life) in a pub.  I mingled with the men and played the melody to If I Were a Rich Man while they lifted their glasses to me and drank.  Again, I was somber in one and jolly in the other.
     The Glenwood production added an extra scene.  After the lively L'Chayim song was done and the scene was over, I went back on stage in front of the curtain with the main character and played the theme of If I Were a Rich Man again.  We danced around together as I played.  Then he held the curtain open for me as I danced off.  It was a very challenging scene for me because I had to dance around while actually playing.  I had never done anything like that before.  I had to have a big toothy grin and raised eyebrows through the whole scene too!  Part of what made that scene so exciting was because I was actually performing with Bob Bergman who was a professional actor!  He had been Badlands Bob in the Medora Musical in Medora, North Dakota for many, many years and had only recently retired to Glenwood.  I was a big fan!  It was such a thrill to perform with him!  

     Besides the excitement of being on stage, I absolutely loved my role as violinist in the pit orchestra.  The music of Fiddler On The Roof is wonderful!  There are haunting melodies, lively dance tunes, and fabulous word pictures being created with our music.  One of my favorite parts was when the main character sang about how if he were rich he would have, "One long staircase just going up and one even longer going down!"  The violin slowly ascends up the scale and then quickly descends back down to the bottom.  Another favorite part is playing the melody to Chavala's song.  It just soars so beautifully as a short ballet is being performed.  I love how bouncy Miracle of Miracles is and The Dream scene is just plain fun to play!  And, who hasn't heard of Sunrise, Sunset or Matchmaker, Matchmaker?  Great songs!  I've always loved Far From the Home I Love too.  I wished I could be the character who sings that song.  It's so beautiful!  It's a good thing I enjoyed the songs of Fiddler On The Roof so much, because sitting through rehearsals and performances for two productions of the same show requires a LOT of hours!

     I will never forget the feeling of getting my own bow during the ending applause.  Somtimes the applause would even swell.  I felt like I was floating.  It was one of those moments that a person never ever forgets.

     Now if you haven't seen a production of Fiddler On The Roof, I highly encourage you to seek one out!  Watch the movie starring Topol (and the violinist is Isaac Stern.... amazing), or go to Chanhassen Dinner Theater or find somewhere that is performing it.  You'll be glad you did!