Joe Urbaitis and Bill Turner in Quad City Music Guild's “Fiddler on the Roof" at the Prospect Park Auditorium -- August 2 through 11.
Friday, August 2, through Sunday, August 11
Prospect Park Auditorium, 1584 34th Avenue, Moline IL
From August 2 through 11, audiences at Moline's Prospect Park Auditorium are invited to cheer a rousing “L'chaim!” when the talents at Quad City Music Guild present Fiddler on the Roof, a new staging of the beloved theatrical masterpiece from Tony winner Joseph Stein and Pulitzer Prize winners Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnick.
Based on Sholom Aleichem’s Tevye & his Daughters, Fiddler on the Roof is the story of the small, tradition-steeped town of Anatevka, Russia, where Jews and Russians live in delicate balance. During the course of the show, the time honored traditions of Anatevka are both embraced and challenged by the town milkman Tevye, his wife Golde, and their colorful community as they witness the family's daughters – Tzeitel, Hodel and Chava – growing up and falling in love in a time of extraordinary change. As Tevye discovers that his daughters' choices of husbands are becoming successively less palatable, Fiddler on the Roof grows into a sprawling and beautiful musical saga that captures the essential human longings for love, community, success, freedom, family, and meaning. And through its unforgettable score by composer Jerry Bock and lyricist Sheldon Harnick, audiences are treated to such iconic songs as the beautiful “Sunrise, Sunset,” the boisterous “If I Were a Rich Man,” the heartbreaking yet funny marital duet “Do You Love Me?”, and the classic “Matchmaker, Matchmaker.”
The original Broadway presentation of the show, which opened in 1964, had the first musical-theatre run in history to surpass 3,000 performances, ultimately playing for 3,242 performances. Fiddler on the Roof held the record for the longest-running Broadway musical for almost 10 years until Grease surpassed its run. Extraordinarily profitable and highly acclaimed, Fiddler's first Broadway engagement received nine Tonys including Best Musical, Score, Book, Direction, and Choreography, and in 1972, the production also won a special Tony for becoming the longest-running musical in Broadway history. To date, the show has spawned five Broadway revivals, as well as a highly successful 1971 film adaptation that was nominated for eight Academy Awards (including Best Picture) and won three.
Directing and set designing Fiddler on the Roof for Quad City Music Guild is Jake Ladd, whose recent area credits including helming this past February's Harvey for the Playcrafters Barn Theatre and appearing in that venue's 2023 production of Barefoot in the Park. Patricia Rogers acts as Ladd's assistant director and Chad Schmertmann is the show's music director, with additional members of the creative team including: assistant music director Ariane Call; stage manager Patricia Rogers; choreographer Christina Myatt; assistant set designer Mike Turczynski; costume designer Deb Holmes; lighting designer Ryan Mandle; sound designer Gio Macias; props designer Kathie Burnett; and producer David Blakey.
Music Guild veteran Joe Urbaitis (Sweeney Todd, The Producers, Jeckyl & Hyde) takes on the jovial yet challenging role of Tevye, with the show's principal cast also featuring: Tommy Ratkiewicz-Stierwalt; Zach Zelnio; Thayne Lamb; Penelope O’Connor; Sydney Greer; Keira Bowman; Wrigley Mancha; Isla Bybee; Reese Pettersen; Alexa Florence; Bill Turner; Kendall Burnett; Harold Truitt; and Greg O’Neill. Composing the musical's gifted ensemble are: Storm Baca; Daniel Healy; Haylee Tromblee; Eli Schroeder; Emma Tulley; Mark Holmes; Lucy Dlamini; Karen Lefebvre; John Walston; Becky Lee Hinton; John Collazo; Erin Bowman; Keegan Walker; Anya Giordano; Brian McKenrick; Drew DeKeyrel; John Walston; Sophia Wollan; and Josiah Wollan.
More than a dozen talented area musicians, meanwhile, perform in Fiddler on the Roof's live orchestra: Ariane Call; Mark McGinn; Claire Shaecher; Kendall Hengst; Emma Thompson; Spencer Mason; Phoebe Joy; Madyline Fox; Joe Drahozal; Ben McKay; Ethan Peterson; Claudia Dlugosz; Fletcher Dupree; Sam Huffaker; Grant McBride; Miles Ethridge; and Pamela Swanson.
Quad City Music Guild's Fiddler on the Roof will be staged at the Prospect Park Auditorium from August 2 through 11, with performances Thursdays through Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. Admission is $15-20, and more information and tickets are available by calling (309)762-6610 and visiting QCMusicGuild.com.
