Fierstein "Thrilled" to Accept Fiddler Offer; Starts Perfs As Tevye Jan. 4
"I'm thrilled," Fierstein said. "Tevye for a musical character actor like me is like Lear is for a classical actor. How could I not take the part? I'm humbled beyond words to even have been offered it." Fierstein added that when the offer first came, he bounced the idea off Hairspray director Jack O'Brien, who summed it up by saying: "This is one of those moments where you either do it and take the challenge or you spend the rest of your life telling people you were asked to Fiddler and said 'no' and they nod and say, 'Yeah, right.'" "Once you put it in those terms," Fierstein laughed. "There's no further discussion! How do you not take the challenge and then look yourself in the mirror in the morning."
Fiddler played a big part of Fierstein's childhood, growing up a young Jewish boy in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn. "We had three things to be proud of in popular culture," he said. "Jackie Mason on Ed Sullivan every now and then, Barbra Streisand back when they'd talk about how she should get a nose job or shorten her name if she ever wanted to see it up in lights and Fiddler on the Roof. Culturally, this show is so iconic to a Brooklyn kid. There was not a bar mitzvah, wedding or any social event that you'd attend where 'Sunrise, Sunset' was not the song. It was like our 'Theme to The Godfather'!"
Fierstein won a Tony Award for Hairspray, his only other Broadway musical acting credit. He additionally appeared on the Great White Way in his own plays, Torch Song Trilogy which won him Best Actor and Best Play Tonys and Safe Sex. In addition, Fierstein wrote the books for the tuners Legs Diamond and La Cage aux Folles for which he won a Best Book of a Musical Tony and has performed the Fiddler on the Roof song "Do You Love Me? at numerous benefits singing the role of Tevye's wife Golde.
Fiddler on the Roof features book by Joseph Stein, lyrics by Sheldon Harnick and music by Jerry Bock. The story of the show--inspired by the stories of Sholom Aleichem--concerns Tevye and his daughters, who are yearning for something new as great changes are happening in the world outside their village of Anatevka. The score includes such songs as "If I Were a Rich Man," "Matchmaker, Matchmaker," "Sunrise, Sunset" and "To Life." Tevyes in past Broadway productions of Fiddler include Zero Mostel and Topol who also played the role in the acclaimed 1971 film version of the musical.
This revival, directed by David Leveaux, opened with Molina in the lead on February 26, 2004.