Has it really been fifteen years?

A fiddler on the roof. Sounds crazy, no? But here, in our little village of Anatevka, you might say every one of us is a fiddler on the roof - trying to scratch out a pleasant, simple tune without breaking his neck. It isn't easy. You may ask 'Why do we stay up there if it's so dangerous?' Well, we stay because Anatevka is our home. And how do we keep our balance? That I can tell you in one word: tradition!

"Fiddler on the Roof" cast photo

Bethany Church

Long Beach, California

June 14, 15, 21, 22, 1991

(that's me, second row seated, third from the right, with the divine Ms. KMJ to my right).

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The flyer that started it all.

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My callback letter. I didn't get the part I auditioned for (I shot for the stars and went for Motel, the tailor, but that role went to the infinitely more talented Andy Chidwick). Still, a bookseller ain't nothin' to sneeze at.

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Dressing room sign door. (I didn't get my own - if I recall correctly, I shared it with the Rabbi - Paul Karnafel- and his son- Dave Beatty- billing himself as David Alan to distance himself from the fact his father was senior pastor).Program, front.Program, inside first page. (The show was actually a community outreach).Cast listing, inside of program, left side. (An interesting note: our original Tevye, Jasper Kump, now a professional singer in New York City, lists on his professional resume' on his website that he performed Tevye with this production, when the truth is he had to bow out due to personal considerations with only a few short weeks before opening night. I don't want to begrudge the guy a plum role listing, but it seems to me it is a bit disrespectful to our replacement Tevye, the incomparable Larry Spence, who had to learn all his lines, songs and choreography in something like a month, and did a marvelous job, making what might have been a disaster a real blessing).Cast and crew listing, center page of program.Cast listing, inside of program, right side. (There I am, on the bottom left!)This definitely falls into the category of "minutia." Final week before opening night reminder sheet.

Myself and Ken Thomas (Fyedka, the Russian soldier who marries Tevye's daughter Chava) backstage during dress rehearsal week. Post-makeup, pre-costume.

No, let's just pretend you never saw this. Yeah. That'd be better.

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Ken and I, posing with prop bottles filled with...water? Vodka? Only the prop crew knew for sure from night to night. Sherry, we still never got you back for pranking us. During the drinking scene (the number "To Life"), the principal Jews and Russians, wary of each other at first, eventually get into a gigantic drunken party with dancing and drinking. Opening night, our decanters had tap water in them. No problem, except for the film from the spray paint used to color the mugs floating on the surface of the water. The second night, we had creme soda. Not a mug was empty by the end of the scene, paint film or no paint film. Later in the run, I don't recall which night, our mugs were filled with salt water. Each of us, used to the creme soda we'd had before, managed to pull down a single gulp of the briny mix before realizing we'd been had... while having to remain in character and pretend we liked the stuff. Truth be told, we all feigned drinking, which was fine until the end of the number, where we all would shout "TO LIFE!" and thrust forward our decanters... thereby spraying the entire first three rows with salty water. (And, yes, that's a very young Beth Beatty to the right).

The bottle dance from the wedding scene. It's John Banoczi, Jeff Turner, Dave Beatty and myself. Despite losing at least one bottle every single rehearsal, we managed to make it through the entire run of the show without dropping one bottle. The bottles were Cook's Champagne bottles - heavy affairs, with the indent on the bottom that just seemed to fit our pointy heads.

Avrahm wedding costume.

Funny... I don't look Jewish.

Fiddler on the Roof was for me one of the single most fulfilling experiences I've ever had. The professionalism of the production and the people I was privileged to work with placed it far above your average church drama production. Read the cast listings - there were quite a few folks with some real acting experience under their belts. And, beyond all that, there was the sad, sweet story of the people of Anatevka - Tevye, especially, who addresses God as his Friend - who, Abraham or Moses-like, argues with God at times, not sparing his frustration at what is happening to him and his family and his people (I know, I know. We are Your chosen people. But, once in a while, can't You choose someone else?), yet never loses faith, even in the face of insurmountable evil. It is a truly beautiful and heartbreaking story, but one that ultimately speaks of hope.

Because of our traditions, we've kept our balance for many, many years. Here in Anatevka, we have traditions for everything... How to sleep, how to eat... how to work... how to wear clothes. For instance, we always keep our heads covered and always wear a little prayer shawl. This shows our constant devotion to God. You may ask, "How did this tradition get started?" I'll tell you. [thinks] I don't know. But it's a tradition... and because of our traditions... Every one of us knows who he is and what God expects him to do.

Shalom, friends.