In a world that often appears fractured, confused, confounded and troubled, I look towards my family (whether natural or chosen) to help keep me grounded.
My unashamed family story fix is Fiddler on the Roof. Tevye, the milkman; his wife, Golde; and their five daughters, living in Anatevka, a tiny village in Tsarist Russia on the brink of the country’s revolution, remind me that families can weather the storms of what has passed and what is to come, as long as we have each other, love, persistence, strength, a bit of chutzpah, and a little reminder of our faith, whether it be in God or in others.
The recent New York production, directed by Joel Grey, earned three awards: the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Revival of a Musical; the Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Lead Actor for Steven Skybell’s performance as Tevye, and the New York Drama Critics’ Circle Award Special Citation.
When I heard there would be a Canadian production (in Yiddish) again directed by Mr. Grey, featuring Award Winner Steven Skybell returning as Tevye, I had to keep an eye out for when it would play.
Set to open May 25 at Toronto’s Yonge Street Elgin Theatre, this Fiddler features Canadians from across the country in various roles. I’ve been told it will still bring a tear to the eye and a smile to the faces of audiences as they leave the Elgin.
George Masswohl and Tracy Michailidis could take a few minutes during their rehearsal break to speak with me via Zoom. George plays Lazar Wolf (Leyzer-Volf in Yiddish), and Tracy plays Golde. They’re easygoing and wonderful to talk to, and within the first few minutes, George’s comment on my blue ‘peeper’ (glasses) had me smiling.
I saw Masswohl and Michailidis perform in Fiddler at the Stratford Festival in 2000, where the late Brent Carver delivered a poignant performance as Tevye. Masswohl played Lazar, and Michailidis played the second-oldest daughter, Hodel.
According to both of them, rehearsals are going well in this full-circle show for Tracy. She is grateful to play Golde at this different point in her life, amid a world that has changed significantly over the past two and a half decades. The well feels a little deeper, as she has more life experience to draw on in this ensemble.
It’s a company-driven ensemble show for Tracy, and George agrees. That was most evident for him years ago at Stratford, when they linked hands during the opening number, “Tradition”. This time, it’s still powerful in their community to connect during rehearsal, linking hands for the opening number, now called “Traditsye”, even before they begin to tell the story.
Both praise their director as a special man.
Tracy comments on Grey’s “attention and specificity to detail.” George says that Joel’s “heart is so in this, and we can see it every day through Steven [Skybell, who plays Tevye], who really carries the directorial vision along with the creative team.”
Joel isn’t present physically during rehearsals. He’s in his Senior years and living on the California West Coast, but is present in video. There are a couple of directors, one focusing on scene work and one on choreography, and they’re upholding Grey’s vision.
Nevertheless, Joel is very present with some people during private sessions on scene work:
“When we began, we had a communion with [Joel] that allowed us to share how we felt about working with him.
George was “childlike in [Joel’s] presence.” Masswohl remembers sitting in his father’s den many years ago (when he wasn’t supposed to), watching Grey’s Emcee [from Cabaret] and being mesmerized by that image.” For Tracy, the specificity and attention to detail “really is superhelpful in terms of grounding oneself in the world of a play, that is over a century ago.”
Tracy also recounts working with Steven on the song ‘Do You Love Me?” and they were on Zoom with Joel for half an hour. Tracy said it was really fun as Joel was giving lots of little details. They’d sing the song, and Joel would shout out a direction. While the musical has some heavy moments, Tracy loves the sense of play created during that moment in rehearsal. When she and Steven sang it the other day, Tracy felt quite confident in delivering it thanks to that ‘ playful’ moment of discovery with Joel.
According to George, there’s a sense of consistency in this upcoming production because many in the cast have performed it before. He says that’s on account of Joel. As the son of a Yiddish performer, Joel is “pretty connected to the people [the cast] is playing. His sense of humour and playfulness are evident throughout.”
How goes the process of learning the dialogue and singing the songs in Yiddish?
“The cast was given audio tracks a couple of months before they began rehearsals and a couple of tutorials, which have been super helpful in learning the music,” says Tracy, who is of Greek background and says some Greek sounds are similar to Yiddish. It’s challenging, but she welcomes the task.
George made me laugh out loud with ‘Focockta’. He then said it’s going fine yet challenging. Everyone has different ways and processes for learning another language, and the company has varied backgrounds. As a child, George knew German, which has helped him. Now that he’s older, he jokingly said things don’t go in as quickly.
Fiddler’s story still speaks to a twenty-first-century audience. We all agreed that Fiddler will never become irrelevant because it still speaks to the heart and gut on an emotional level, especially on a musical level. The microcosmic look of the family also resonates with how one makes something work in a household:
“It’s always been relatable”, says George, “but nowadays we’re at such a height of tension globally and culturally and ethnically, it resonates in a lot of different ways…through its gravity, power and weight of it, and [as a cast] we’ve discussed how it’s going to land with an audience.”
Seeing and hearing it in Yiddish is another reason Fiddler speaks to a twenty-first-century audience, inviting them to open their minds.
Once the Elgin Theatre run concludes, what’s next for Tracy and George?
Tracy goes to the Twin Cities (Minneapolis and St. Paul) for three weeks to the Wesley Balk Institute. It’s a training program for artists. She’s been doing that for the last three years and loves attending. George returns to St. John’s, Newfoundland, to continue running his tour company as the season is in full swing. This is his first time being away from it. When he returns after Fiddler closes, it’s full steam ahead to mid/end late October.
Fiddler on the Roof in Yiddish (with English surtitles) runs May 25 – June 7 at Toronto’s Elgin Theatre, 189 Yonge Street.
To learn more about the show, the cast, purchase tickets and/or a subscription to the Harold Green Jewish Theatre, click here: https://hgjewishtheatre.com/2025-2026-Fiddler-on-the-Roof.html.
Presented by Harold Green Jewish Theatre Company.
