Mr. Robert Sandler shares that his Jewish History class went to go see the Yiddish production of Fiddler on the Roof on Wednesday, November 16. The students had just read some of Sholem Aleichem‘s Short stories of Tevya the Dairyman and studied shtetl Jewish life under Czarist Russian rule, so they were able to fully appreciate this legendary musical. Before their trip, Mr. Sandler invited Motl Didner, the Associate Artistic Director of the National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene to the class via zoom to share how Ashkenazi Jews mingled French, High German, and Slavic languages to develop a rich Yiddish language. Motl also taught the class about the show’s unlikely success on Broadway in 1964, followed by the 1971 film and how the Yiddish production came into existence. Finally, they had a talkback with the cast! The students LOVED asking the actors about their craft, learning Yiddish and the choreography. The actors explained that with the rise in anti-Semitism, they felt the musical with its focus on pogroms and bigotry was extremely relevant. It was a great experience! (photos courtesy of Mr. Sandler)
