Fiddler! A Musical

“Fiddler! A Musical” presents musical theater as an experimental tradition. Paying a loose homage to “Fiddler on the Roof”, a Broadway smash that brought Yiddish art to the masses and reshaped Jewish representation in popular culture, the show explores the traditions of 20th-century Jewish performative crafts – from Russia, through Berlin to New York – and their relations to exile, expulsion, and state violence. The show, which has been two years in the making, indulges in the underworlds of Jewish mysticism and its kaleidoscopes of demons, witches and ghosts, while cabaret, Vaudeville, expressionist dance, stand-up, and ultimately, the Broadway musical animate the scene. On the occasion of 10 years of Ariel Efraim Ashbel and friends, the show is an intoxicating and disorienting ride where the music of composer Ethan Braun, light and objects take center stage. They are joined by the group’s rotating roster of performers, with special guests like the musician Peaches and Solistenensemble Kaleidoskop. 
 
What began as a jubilant celebration took a somber turn in the final stages of rehearsal. We are all devastated by the unspeakable brutality in Israel and Palestine, and the unfolding dehumanization, insidious discourse and bigotry. As we were impacted by the escalating horrors, our studio became a room for mourning, radical empathy, humanity and compassion. As despair looms, we hope that the show can potentially offer others an inclusive space for solace, grief and togetherness.