A Texan-born actor is the unlikely star of an unlikely Toronto stage event — a Yiddish-language production of Fiddler on the Roof, directed by Broadway legend Joel Grey. Stage veteran Steven Skybell reprises his role as Tevye this month, from the long-running Yiddish-language production in New York City. What began as a planned six-week engagement in New York in 2018 turned into an 18-month sensation, performed more than 500 times.
“It’s a perfect musical,” Skybell says of Fiddler on the Roof. “It’s very funny, very light, but also very meaningful.”
A Story of Tradition and Change
Set in the fictional shtetl of Anatevka in the early 1900s, Fiddler on the Roof follows Tevye, a milkman, against the backdrop of the looming threat of Tsarist oppression. He is challenged by his daughters who follow their hearts over tradition. Based on Sholem Aleichem’s 1914 novella Tevye and His Daughters, it became an off-Broadway musical in 1957. The Broadway version launched in 1964 and won nine Tony Awards in 1965, including best musical, score, direction, and choreography.
Sixty years later, the story has reverberated through the halls of international theatres in countless productions. Canadian director Norman Jewison directed the film version in 1971, with Israeli actor Chaim Topol playing the lead.
The Yiddish Revival
Presented by the Harold Green Jewish Theatre Company, the newest production with English subtitles, at Toronto’s Elgin Theatre from May 25 to June 7, is directed by Tony and Academy Award winner Joel Grey. “There is something profoundly moving about hearing Fiddler in Yiddish,” Grey noted in a statement. “The language carries history, humour, sorrow and resilience all at once. Like hearing opera in its original tongue, it deepens every moment. It allows the story to breathe with emotional truth.”
Skybell, who originally performed the role in New York, shared his journey learning Yiddish for the part. “My grandparents would speak it, but so we wouldn’t understand. So they did us a real disservice, you know, because I heard the Yiddish, but I didn’t know how to speak it from them.” He studied seriously online through YIVO (the Institute for Jewish Research) over Zoom for three semesters.
Skybell likened playing Tevye in Yiddish to Shakespeare roles he has done. “Shakespeare is not a familiar vernacular, but as an actor, you have to really understand how the language is operating in Shakespeare, and knowing everything you’re saying. When we first did (the stage show), we had three Yiddish coaches at the same time. And so they would whip us into shape. And with their help, I came to know exactly what I’m saying. And then it was a slow dawning on me as I’m trying to learn the role of Tevye in Yiddish that also I have to know what everyone else is saying to me! I had to learn the whole script, and we all did. Even this new, incredibly great Canadian cast – on the first day, their Yiddish was already through the roof. Otherwise, it’s not going to be successful to the audience.”
The production brings a unique blend of history, humour, sorrow, and resilience to Toronto audiences, offering a fresh perspective on a beloved classic.
