It was the anthem, the rallying cry, the passionate need and desire of Tevye the Milkman in “Fiddler on the Roof.”
By Sally Friedman, Main Line Life Correspondent
Tradition!
It was the anthem, the rallying cry, the passionate need and desire of Tevye the Milkman in “Fiddler on the Roof.”
How fitting that a full-scale production of “Fiddler” is being produced by a Main Line synagogue with its own tradition of creating standout musicals. Adath Israel Synagogue’s Adath Israel Players’ annual production has become something of a local institution, and for the past seven years, also a sellout.
“It’s so gratifying to see a community come together and create this kind of magic,” said director Lisa Litman of Bala Cynwyd, who has shepherded the Adath Israel theater program as a labor of love – but definitely a labor.
Litman, whose own passion for theater began in childhood when she was a regular performer of “The Gene London Show” and continued into adulthood when she appeared with the Wilma Theater, the Pocono playhouse and others, has another consuming interest. A professional Jewish educator, Litman serves both Adath Israel and Beth Hillel-Beth El as a specialist in music and Judaic studies.
For Litman, Fiddler on the Roof provides the perfect synthesis of the best of musical theater, and as a true touchstone to Jewish history. It also taps into her varied talents as teacher/director/actress.
“Doing Fiddler in the year 2000 seemed right,” said this indefatigable woman who knew that the core of actors and dancers she has nurtured over the years, drawn from the entire Main Line community, was ready for the challenge of this play based on Jewish Eastern European folk history.
With musicals like “You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown,” “Music Man” and “Bye Bye Birdie” under her belt, Litman, who also produced a musical version of “I Love Lucy” for Adath Israel, committed to this large-scale production.
She is dealing with a cast of 90 – yes 90 – enthusiastic men, women and children. “Frankly, I won’t do a play without kids, because I think they add so much – and get so much from the experience,” said Litman.
Hardly a kid – but definitely someone who shares Litman’s passion – is the star of “Fiddler,” attorney Robert Simmons of Bryn Mawr. This busy labor lawyer admits to a magnificent obsession with theater, and has been involved in several Adath Israel productions. But this one is special.
“There are issues in this play,” said Simmons, “that are timeless and universal – issues about change and how it affects families, and about families in general.”
So Simmons, who has shifted gears from his former major role in Adath Israel’s 1998 rendition of Gilbert & Sullivan’s “Pirates of Penzance,” is leading a double-life, devoting his waking hours to law – and countless additional hours to his “other life” as an actor. He is encouraged by his wife, Doreen Davis, the newly installed chancellor of the Philadelphia Bar Association.
“Recently, I was rehearsing a skit for Doreen’s inaugural as chancellor and rehearsing for ‘Fiddler.’ Life has not been dull!”
Nor has life been dull for the extended Schulman family of Bala Cynwyd.
Marcia Schulman, another Adath Israel veteran, plays the pivotal role of Tevye’s wife, Golda, while her own daughter Carly is appropriately cast as her stage daughter Tzeitel. And Carly Schulman’s on-stage fiance is also her off-stage fiance, Ben Ovadia, in a rare instance of life imitating art imitating life.
Not to be outdone, husband/father Peter Schulman is playing a rabbi in the sprawling production, which features the beloved songs “Tradition,” “If I Were A Rich Man,” and “Sunrise, Sunset.”
“Ben and Peter are both new to acting, but they’re as enthusiastic about it as Carly and I are – and we’ve been doing it for a while,” said Marcia Schulman, who admits that she has to fight choking up when she sings to her real-life/stage daughter. “It’s just such a joy to be doing this together, and to be working with our future son-in-law, too, in this special way.”
The notion of bringing families together through theater is one of Lisa Litman’s particular pleasures. “There’s nothing quite like the experience of creating something, sharing it, nurturing it and seeing it to opening day,” said
Litman, who knows the incredible satisfaction such experiences can bring. Her own husband, Barry Polis, has been drawn into the fold by his wife, and has participated with Litman in nearly every production. In “Fiddler,” Polis plays the town’s innkeeper.
“Barry has done everything from working the lights to being a character actor. He’s the only member of the cast who doesn’t listen to me,” said the director. “But he does learn his lines right away. He knows that he’d better at least do that!”
Litman’s two daughters, Chesney and Dorrie, are also in mom’s productions, and have quite literally grown up around stages.
The challenge of a huge musical like “Fiddler on the Roof” is always collaborative, and one element that has presented unique challenges is that of costuming a cast of 90. Some of that responsibility has fallen to volunteer costumer Olivia Lehman, working with co-costumers Hillary Oser and Corey Vallet.
Lehman, who has been sewing for most of her adult life, has lately been combing thrift shops in the area for vintage clothing that fits with the production’s needs. She hit pay dirt at the Junior League Thrift Shop in Bryn Mawr, where staffer Chris Latley has been invaluable.
“Chris knows so much about costuming and period clothing, and he’s provided not just many of the costumes themselves, but also wonderful ideas. He even taught us how to make faux boots,” said Lehman, who has also made odysseys to Philadelphia’s fabled garment district in South Philadelphia for prized specimens.
In one scene, the girls in the cast will be wearing lacy prayer shawls, all of which are being hand-made by Lehman, Oser and Vallet. A bit easier are the sheets that will become part of the “haunting” scene in “Fiddler,” along with some Day-Glo face paint.
The most daunting task has actually been locating prayer coats for men in the cast, and after checking with every source they could find, the Adath Israel Players’ costumers will be renting them.
Olivia Lehman herself has gone beyond the call of duty for the production, and is even helping to provide materials for the set.
“Everything from our farm table to some of our decorative bowls will be used. Lisa Litman walked into our home,” said the Narberth resident, “and the next thing I knew, our possessions became stage sets.”
Lehman’s not complaining. “The cause is wonderful, and worth everything!”
“The common denominator in all of this is a love and respect for community theater,” professed director Litman. “Ordinary people do amazing things when they get together on a project, and we’re very proud of this effort. We hope our neighbors come out and see what a group of committed people can do when they care.”
“Fiddler on the Roof” will be performed at Adath Israel Synagogue, Old Lancaster Road and Highland Avenue, Merion at 7:30 p.m. March 11 and 18 and 1:30 p.m. March 12 and 19. All seats are reserved, and ticket prices are $10, $18 and $25.
For ticket information, phone 610-664-5150.
