REHEARSALS ARE currently in full swing for the Patrician Musical Society’s staging of classic musical Fiddler On The Roof which graces the Town Hall next week.
It promises to be a spectacular show full of memorable songs that will have audiences singing along and humming all the way home. Famous numbers from the show include; ‘If I Were A Rich Man’, ‘Tradition’ and ‘Sunrise, Sunset’.
Fiddler On The Roof is set in tsarist Russia in 1905. The story centres on Tevye, the father of five daughters, and his attempts to maintain his family and Jewish religious traditions while outside influences encroach upon their lives.
Tevye must cope both with the strong-willed actions of his eldest daughters and their contentious choices of husband and with the imperial edict of the tsar which expels the Jews from their village.
The show premiered on Broadway in 1964, with music by Jerry Bock, lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, and book by Joseph Stein. That production ran for more than 3,000 performances – the first musical ever to do so – and Fiddler On The Roof has proven to be one of the most enduringly popular of musicals.
For its eagerly-awaited production, The Patrician Musical Society has assembled a cast that is both hard working and extremely enthusiastic and all are looking forward to recreating the life and hardships of Tevye and his family in the village of Anatevka.
Fiddler On The Roof has a special place in the heart of PMS director/choreographer, Peter Kennedy, who also plays the roles of Tevye. Seeing his father, William, playing Tevye many years ago was what prompted him to want to make a full time career in musical theatre.
Down the years he has played the roles of Perchik, Motel, the Rabbi, and Tevye on several occasions, and he has promised himself that he will keep playing it until he believes he has come close to the standard set by his father.
Also featuring in the large cast is Ailbhe Slevin who plays the role of matchmaker Yente who describes something of the show’s great appeal.
“Fiddler On The Roof has terrific music and there’s also beautiful choral singing,” she says. “People sometimes think it’s a dark musical because it deals with things like pogroms, etc, but there is a lot of humour in it also, and it’s the kind of humour I think Irish people can really recognise and relate to. It’s also very colourful and there are some great dance sequences in it.”
She goes on to talk about the role of Yente and what it’s like being part of this PMS production.
“I’ve been involved with PMS for five years now,” she begins. “It was a great way for a blow-in like me to get to know people here! As for Yente it’s more of a character role than a singing one; she’s the village gossip. I’m enjoying playing her very much. The whole show is proving a great experience – it’s Peter Kennedy’s favourite musical and he’s really putting his heart and soul into it.”
Fiddler On The Roof is the PMS’s 59th production, with their first production starting way back in 1953. Since that hugely successful debut show (Maritana ) the PMS has gone on to become a much-loved Galway institution with a production at this time every year. It has nurtured many talents, and given much pleasure and enjoyment to many thousands.
Valerie Egan, who appears in the chorus of Fiddler and has served as society chairperson describes where the PMS finds itself today.
“We’re lucky in that we’re in a healthy position financially,” she says. “Putting on musicals can be very expensive and quite a few musical societies are finding it difficult to make ends meet, but we have great support from our patrons and sponsors and advertisers and that enables us to do shows like Fiddler On The Roof which has over 40 people working on it between cast and crew. We had a lot of younger people coming along to get involved in the show and that was great to see.”
As well as Peter Kennedy’s Tevye, other principal roles in PMS’s Fiddler include Katie Creaven (Tzeitel ), Iona Le Gros (Hodel ), and Michelle Glynn (Chava ) as Tevye’s daughters; Denise O’Regan plays Tevye’s wife Golde and the cast also features Shane O’Grady (Motel ), Joe Joyce (Perchik ), Andrew Gallagher (Lazar Wolf ), Emer Barrett (Fruma Sarah ), Margaret Martin (Grandma Tzeitel ), Fr Michael Byrnes (The Russian ), Frank Mullan (The Rabbi ), Frances Conneely (Mendel ), Karl O’Doherty (Avrahm ), Darcy Noel (Constable ), Richard Bell (Mordcha ), and Robert Browne (Fyedka ).
The musical direction is by John Roe, a music degree graduate of TCD and the Royal Irish Academy of Music who has worked extensively as musical director with numerous musical societies. The chorus mistress is Martha O’Toole.
This fantastic show runs from Tuesday March 8 to Saturday 12 at 8pm nightly in the Town Hall Theatre. The show is certain to be a sell-out so early booking is strongly advised.
Tickets are available from the Town Hall on 091 - 569777 and www.tht.ie
