“Before Fiddler”

[rating=5] ” A Fiddler on the Roof”! As many of you know, one of my favorite plays and of course, having played Tevye, the Milkman several times, my favorite role as well. For those of you unaware of the origin of this famous character, it is from the writings of Sholem Alechem. Alechem was a story-teller some fifty years before the world truly got to know Tevye, and who better to tell HIS story than Hershey Felder.

Over the years I have been witness to the masterful work of Felder and his one-man shows about the likes of Gershwin, Bernstein, Chopin, Liszt, Tchaikovsky and more. He is a master of taking on the personality of the person he is portraying and with his look and his playing he pulls us into the life and history of each one as if we are in a one-on-one history lesson. When I first became aware that he was doing some special productions from Florence Italy, I could only imagine the quality of what he might bring to film. His live stage productions have always been top notch with no little detail spared.

Last night’s premiere of “Hershey Felder Presents- Live From Florence” was 90 unbelievable minutes of pure majesty and story-telling. Both the writer that is told about in “Before Fiddler” and the writer who put this entire production together. A magical moment in theater!

We are used to Felder doing one man shows, but in this production, there is indeed a cast. Looking very closely, you will note that Felder takes on the role of Alechem, but also several others ( look at some of the main characters,-surprise). The added touch of the Klezmerata Fiorentina for some truly amazing music to highlight his story-telling makes this production one that will be very memorable.

I do not want to give away the entire experience, but do want you to know that if you are lover of the musical “Fiddler” and the characters of this story, then you will be in heaven watching this. Again, the music of the Klezmers and the story-telling of Felder, you feel the roots of European culture as Felder tells us the stories of Alechem and the “old World”. The characters are wonderful and so is the music. Alechem, known as the Jewish Mark Twain had many stories to tell before Tevye became a well known character. In this we watch some of the early stories and get a flavor for why this man’s stories were ( and still are) as powerful as they were

You can watch this production thru February 14th thru Porchlight Music Theatre  www.PorchlightMusicTheatre.org/events/fiddler at $55

( the money is to benefit National US Theatres and arts organizations)

.This is indeed a love story.

Ninety minutes of pure artistry of both the original writer and his characters and the way that Hershey Felder tells us the story.

Find a way to watch.

You will not regret it!