“‘Fiddler on the Roof’ far exceeded our expectations and this has now left us with the pleasant headache of what’s in store for next year,” according to the production’s Music Director/Conductor, Jessel Murray, as he gave an overview of the world-acclaimed Broadway musical presented by the UWI Festival Arts Chorale in association with the Faculty of Humanities and Education from June 29 to July 1, 2006, at Queen’s Hall, Port-of-Spain.

He described as “truly heartening,” the comments received by patrons and this, according to Murray, had simply spurred the team to do even better next year when the Centre for Creative and Festival Arts celebrates its 20th Anniversary.

“Many said they were touched with the performances which they felt were delivered convincingly and this I felt was indeed a very good sign. The production also fitted well with the very ethos of the Creative Arts Centre. We have not been short of people asking for more in 2007, and there are also those seeking to be part of next year’s production,” said Murray, adding many persons have already started submitting ideas for next year’s production through the Chorale’s Vice President, Yolande Nicholas-Joseph and Historian, Jenise Monsegue.

“Fiddler on the Roof” is Broadway musical loosely based on the Sholem Aleichem’s Yiddish stories Tevye, the Dairyman and other stories.

First appearing in 1894 in a Russian magazine, the stories about Tevye continued for the next 20 years in a serialised fashion. Among the people who speak Yiddish (the hybrid language of European Jews), Tevye, the central character of Fiddler has become a literary character as well known as Mr Biswas; Jeeves...and Shylock.

The play is set in the tiny Jewish Village of Anatevka in Tsarist Russia in 1905 and focuses on Tevye’s attempts to maintain his family and religious traditions while adapting to new pressures at a time preceding the Russian Revolution.

With a production team of 109, including a cast of 43, the production which featured a combination of dance and music perfectly choreographed, was directed by Louis Mc Williams; choreographers were Hazel Franco and Adele Bynoe; stage managers included Donna-Marie Bertrand and Asha Stewart; costuming by Paulette Alfred; sound and set designers by Steve Neaves and Kwynn Johnson respectively, with music by The National Sinfonia.

Some of the key roles were played by Marlon David, as the protagonist Tevye the Milkman; Anne Margot Spears as his wife Golde; Lurelia M Reid as Yente, the Matchmaker and Elliot Francois as Perchik, the student revolutionary.

According to Murray, from the onset of rehearsals until the fall of the curtain on the final night, it was a production which not only bonded everyone like family, but called for overcoming challenges.

“With so many persons coming together for three-hour rehearsals, four times a week, we had to ensure that checks and balances were put in place to ensure that the production flowed smoothly.

“We had attendance sheets and those coming in late were asked to call in advance. We made sure that the roles of the production team were well defined and this minimised misunderstandings,” said Murray, adding that there were the times when some cast members had to be disciplined, but even so it was done professionally.

He recalled, laughingly, when even the make-up paraphernalia went missing at one point during the rehearsal and no one knew where it had disappeared to.

After more than six weeks of rehearsals, a Wednesday matinee was held for students before the feature presentations. This matinee was organised to ascertain how the production would be accepted by the more mature audiences.

“By this time the cast was exhausted since rehearsals had concluded late the previous night. But there was still an air of expectation among the cast and their antennas were up. There comes a time in theatre when young people can validate a production before it goes to the wider public and this was the make or break after weeks of intense work. Suffice it to say that we all left the matinee totally energised. It was well accepted by the students,” said Murray.

Bolstered by that initial offering, the team’s euphoric feeling continued to be buoyed throughout the feature nights of the production, with the audiences leaving the Queen’s Hall totally satisfied.

But while still elated with the rave reviews, Murray admitted that the production was an expensive undertaking.

He said that much work started back in September 2006 by the UWI Festival Arts Chorale Coordinating Team in sourcing the much needed sponsorship for the production, especially with the $30,000 needed for payment of licensing fees.

But with such an excellent showing, Murray said many had asked about moving the production regionally but this, he said, called for major financial sponsorship.

“The difficulty comes in moving all the human elements from one location to next and this is an expensive undertaking and a great deal of communication between the host country and the production team,” said Murray.