& # 39; Fiddler on the Roof & # 39; as he was supposed to be spoken

"To life, to life, to the chaim."

The words known to all lovers of musical theater, the message of inspiration of "Fiddler on the roof" sings hope, health and prosperity facing the imminent disaster. But when you hear them in Yiddish, "Zol zayn mit glik, Lechaim!" (It should be with happiness, to life) "people recognize humanity and the similarity of their past and relate to it," says Tony and Oscar Joel Gray, who directs the Yiddish musical in production current at Yiddish National Theater Folksbiene in South Manhattan, says: "You can not have fun with spoken Yiddish."

"It's the spoken language," says Jackie Hoffman, the actress at the Emmy-nominated Long Island roots (she attended high school in Great Neck), who plays the role of "The Greatest". adorable matchmaker Yente: "I think it does"

Associate Director Matthew "Motl" Didner is more direct on the effect of Yiddish on the public: "It will make them see it in a way that they have never seen it before. . . they will find in the show things that they did not know.

Gray, Hoffman and almost everyone else were attracted by the production by the allure of playing the Yiddish musical (supertites) translate for those in need. The language, a compilation of Hebrew, German and other Slavic languages, is the one that, as said lyricist Sheldon Harnick on the first day of rehearsal, a lot of music was made. among us know it because our grandparents used to say "when they did not want it"

Gray, whose father produced a Yiddish variety show called "The Borscht Capades", says that his mother would not allow the language is spoken at home. But Gray wanted to be on stage so his first exposure to the language came when his father wrote him a little song tracing his Jewish roots.

Hoffman, too, knew little Yiddish, although it was a "my mother begged all my life to learn so that we would have a secret language." Yet she considers Yiddish as "a source of Humor and a source of comfort for me … I've always had just a love, a flair for that, but unfortunately I've never studied it. "

"Fiddler" in Yiddish unfolds with majestic simplicity in the small Folksbiene Theater. Using the Yiddish translation of Shraga Friedman played in Israel 50 years ago, the play perpetuates the 104-year-old Folksbian tradition that links generations through new works and adaptations.

With Joel at the helm, the theater also attracted creative staff with major references to Broadway. Beowulf Boritt, ("Come From Away") made the game spare but stylish, and Ann Hould-Ward ("Sunday in Park with George") made costumes, an interesting mix of period and contemporary.

language so intrinsically to the history of the musical, of course, a more topical undercurrent strikes at home. "It speaks to those who feel marginalized," says Joel, noting how popular "Fiddler" is around the world. "I know what it's all about, and I know what it's all about," he adds, "this year, with immigration and people walking around the country. Earth … I think it could also remind us how much the times are similar … and how some things have never been diminished.It's sad but true. "

Steven Skybell who plays Tevye – and studied Yiddish with his brother while growing up in Lubbock, Texas – says that the musical, no matter the language, has "greater immediacy than I think it could …." "It's not a history lesson that goes back 100 or 150 years." It's happening right now. "

Hoffman returns to the power of language thinking about the impact of this" Fiddler "It's intense," she says, and "it's really glorious to hear in this language and to hear those young, beautiful people speaking and singing in that language." . It's just awesome. "And, she notes," people know the story by heart anyway, so you do not even have to think, you can not even look at the subtitles and know what that is happening. "

" Tog-ayn, Tog-oys "(Day in, Day out), sings the chorus in glorious harmony, but you do not need to read the overhead costs of translation In your heart, all you hear is" Sunrise, Sunset ".