mrdreamjeans | L'Chaim! (Reply)

This afternoon, I was immersed in the world of "Fiddler: A Miracle of Miracles", a PBS documentary. I found myself in tears while viewing it. This musical earmarked an important chapter in my performing career.

The section I was watching when I started writing this post was about Chava's marriage to Fyedka. One narrator posited that Chava didn't really understand she was walking through a door locked from the other side. This observation resonated on so many levels, I surrendered to it.

Each of my experiences with "A Fiddler On The Roof", in Houston in 1977 which was the second show I ever did for Theater Under The Stars and then in 1982, the national tour with Herschel Bernardi, left me with indelible memories.

With this show (and thanks to musical director/conductor Robert Linder) I had my first vocal solo in a professional musical. My confidence grew immeasurably with his belief in me. Fiddler offered me my first theater family - a cast that became so close the friendships endured for decades ... it introduced me to my best friend for decades in Dora Holtzman. Long after her death in 1997, I remain part of her real life family and that is so special to me. Many, if not most, of those beloved colleagues from 1977 are now deceased; yet, I still treasure the sense of belonging the Houston production provided me; the memories from 45 years ago remain fresh and cherished forever.

I joined the 1982 National Tour soon after it left Broadway. I've shared the set of circumstances that led to my replacement casting in previous posts; despite a different cast and changing locations, the tour of "Fiddler" was another step forward in an unplanned career.

In a unique turn of events, Herschel Bernardi became a believer in my talents; I learned much from Broadway veteran Paul Lipson (Lazar Wolfe) about an intensely personal matter and it was joyous working with Fyvush Finkel whose television career exploded after the tour when he was in his 70's.

Following this tour, I became brave enough to test the waters of living in New York City. But before I did, I experienced and cherish the memory of celebrating my 28th birthday with Fiddler mates on a beach in La Jolla, CA at midnight.

Thanks to Facebook, I remain in contact with several of the actors from both productions. Many of us are now retired or are contemplating it, but I still think of us as the fresh faces we were in our 20's. While I'm waxing nostalgic, I think it's time to put on the LP I purchased in 1971 of "A Fiddler on the Roof", listen to the glorious melodies once again and savor memories of important, exciting times with my colleagues from both productions. L'Chaim!