FIDDLER ON THE ROOF To Conclude Contra Costa Civic Theatre Season

Contra Costa Civic Theatre (CCCT) will conclude its first full season in over five years with a timely revival of the classic "Fiddler on the Roof", playing at their venue from June 7th-22nd.

Executive Director Joel Roster helms the season closer, and while a great number of people share a special bond with the piece, his may be a bit more familial:

"It was the first play I ever saw, and made me realize I wanted to work in theatre for the rest of my life," says Roster, who has been working steadily in theatre since the age of 17. "My father played Tevye in a production at DVC, and it transformed me from the age of four."

Based on the stories of Sholem Aleichem, the play focuses on Tevye, a dairyman, who struggles to find balance while raising five daughters on the verge of womanhood in his small village of Anatevka. But an impending hostile invasion and a changing world threaten old traditions, and Tevye's family must decide between the comforts of holding tightly... and the freedoms of letting go.

Sharon Sobel Idul, founder of Black Diamond Ballet and Pittsburg Performing Arts Academy, joins the production as Choreographer, and Daniel Savio (SF Mime Troupe) joins the team as Musical Director.

While both Roster and Sobel are half-Jewish, Roster knew that more authenticity was required if this production were to be successful.

"We not only needed representation on the stage as well as on the team," Roster explained, "but with additional moments desired in Yiddish, we wanted to make sure everything was as authentic as possible."

When the company released its teaser trailer for the production, narrated in Yiddish by Tevye (Billy Raphael), it caught the attention of the Yiddish Theatre Company in Berkeley; particularly the co-artistic directors of the organization, Bruce Bierman and Laura Sheppard. Intrigued by the attention to authenticity, the two offered their dramaturgical help on the production. CCCT gratefully accepted, and Bierman and Sheppard have offered their cultural guidance with several aspects of the production, including movement. Bierman also, appropriately, joins the cast as the Rabbi in Anatevka.

While tragic events may strike the fictional village of Anatevka, Roster insists this is the furthest thing from a "tragic" musical: "It's about how these people react in the face of hardship-holding onto joy, humor, each other, and-for a time-traditions."

Billy Raphael and Maria Mikheyenko lead the cast as Tevye and his wife Golde, respectively. A smorgasbord of CCCT regulars and newcomers fill out the surprisingly small 20-person-cast, and Roster indicates the modus operandi behind their casting this year: "Talent's surely important, but what's even more so is that the people we work with are kind," Roster said, "Otherwise, what's the point in creating art together?"

Fiddler on the Roof runs June 7th-22nd, and tickets are on sale now at ccct.org, or by calling the Box Office Tuesday-Friday from 4pm-6pm at 510-524-9132.

Cast: Bruce Bierman (Rabbi), Jennifer Brookman (Fruma Sarah), Darrien Cabreana (Motel), Jim Carl (Rabbi, June 12th-14th), Jim Coniglio (Lazar Wolf), Nina Han (Fiddler), Zach Hansen (Perchik), Arsalan Khan (Fyedke), Maria Mikheyenko (Golde), Amber McCann (Chava), Sarah Menanix (Shaindel), Zoella Menanix (Shprintze, June 12th-22nd), Charlotte Klensch (Shprintze, June 7th-8th), Briel Pomerantz (Yente), Billy Raphael (Tevye), Ken Ray (Constable), Felizia Rubio (Hodel), Leonardo Sobel Idul (Nachum), Lilliana Sobel Idul (Bielke), Natalie Tichenor (Tzeitel).