'Fiddler On The Roof' To Feature Actors Of All Ages In Northbrook

NORTHBROOK, IL — With more than 30 actors set to stage, the Northbrook Community Theatre's upcoming production of "Fiddler on the Roof" will be the largest in scale since before the pandemic. According to the Northbrook Park District, the cast will range in age from children to older adults.

"Fiddler on the Roof" will be performed at 7 p.m. May 17 and May 18, and 2 p.m. May 19, at Northbrook Theatre, 3323 Walters Ave., Northbrook. Tickets are $25 each.

"'Fiddler on the Roof' is a beautiful, timely show with a rich history, and we cannot wait to share this story with the Northbrook community," said Melody DeRogatis, performing arts supervisor for the Northbrook Park District.

The original Broadway production of "Fiddler on the Roof" opened in 1964. It tells the tale of Tevye, a poor milkman, and the five daughters he tries to protect in the face of changing customs and growing anti-Semitism in Czarist Russia. According to NPD, the story has a great deal of personal significance for Michael Pekay, who plays the Rabbi. His grandparents were born and raised in current-day Lithuania and were in an arranged marriage, just like the couple in the play.

"It means a lot because we are Jewish, and everything about the play deals with some of our heritage," Pekay said. "It's a way for my granddaughter to see a little bit of the history of her family."

Pekay's granddaughter, Brielle, 10, plays Shprintze, one of the milkman's daughters. It was Brielle who persuaded her grandfather to take on a role in the play alongside her, just like her older sister did 10 years ago, when Pekay performed in his first play with Northbrook Community Theatre, according to NPD.

For tickets and more information, visit nbparks.org/events/fiddler-on-the-roof or call 847-291-2993.