Tzeitel and shtetl -- perfect together? On the one hand, the role of eldest daughter has done pretty well by a number of actresses -- Bette Midler, Sharon Lawrence -- in the 46 years since the original of "Fiddler on the Roof" first scratched out its timeless tune.

On the other hand ... there is no other hand.

And Rita Markova can only hope the tradition continues.

In a way, Tzeitel of Anatevka is an avatar for the actress, herself Ukraine-born and her family facing the anti-Semitic programs if not pogroms met head-on by Tevye's most-eligible darling daughter.

Coincidence, sounds crazy no? Nyet: Conditions for Jews -- whether those faced by Tzeitel in the early 1900s of ambushed Anatevka or late 1900s by Markova's family -- have long been problematic, whether it be tzarist Russia or sorrowful Russia, acknowledges the actress as she prepares to step on stage at the Walnut Street Theatre, where "Fiddler" just opened for a long run.

Not that Markova remembers the problems personally. "I was very little," she says of her arrival in this country with her family in 1989, accompanying her parents and the maternal side of the family; the paternal side arrived five years later.

But she does know that that universal dread that comes with being scapegoated extended to the universities. "There was more anti-Semitism in the Ukraine than in, let's say, Moscow," she notes.

"Getting into universities for my father was hard when they found out he was Jewish. So it was a matter of 'Let's go to a less anti-Semitic city' to go to school."

Miracle of miracles -- they all got out. Which is also a pretty good description of how the actress with a number of off-Broadway and regional credits feels about standing on stage here as Tzeitel, a role seemingly tailored to her talents. (It doesn't hurt that Tzeitel marries Motel the tailor by musical's end).

Homing in on Part

The actress who once starred in "Homer's Odyssey" feels her stage sojourn has hit home with this production. "This part has always been at the top of my list," claims Markova. "Especially after playing a cat ('Cats') and a nun ('Nunsense'). It's nice to play a Russian Jewish person."

Such a match! "I could say that the anti-Semitism Tzeitel and her family face is not relevant these days, but, unfortunately, I can't. It is very relevant today."

While she revels in her role, it is not one Markova always knew about. "I didn't know 'Fiddler' existed before we moved," since the Sholom Aleichem tale wasn't exactly mandatory reading in Russia.

But, the music of the nyet eventually became familiar to her. "I did see the [1971] movie and my mom plays the piano and would play the music from the show as I sang along."

Is this the little girl who carried the tune? Yes, and, of course, she notes, her brother wasn't immune. "At my brother's wedding, they played 'Sunrise, Sunset.' "

If the accent is on memories, it was also on helpfulness during rehearsal: "Since I speak Russian, director Bruce Lumpkin asked me for proper diction" for the other characters as well.

And as she leaves Anatevka every night for her post-performance digs in Philadelphia, well, Markova's not exactly far from the home she loves; Philadelphia is actually her city of brotherly love.

"My brother and his wife now live here," she notes.

And in a way, "Fiddler" lives in the hearts of the entire Markova family. In her Playbill bio, Rita dedicates the performance "in loving memory to Grandmother Mina."

And she thinks of the role she has played in the family's dedication to survival, "going from the camps" -- her great-great grandparents died in the Holocaust -- "to my being able to be in this show today."

This engaging entertainer is engaged to more than the stage these days. Does that mean she has a real Motel the tailor in her life?

"I just got engaged," she says happily. "And while he's not a tailor, he is in the costume jewelry line."

And, no, his name isn't Singer.

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Tony Award nominee Mark Jacoby, of Show Boat, Ragtime and the most recent Sweeney Todd, will play Tevye in Walnut Street Theatre's new production of Fiddler on the Roof May 18-July 18 in Philadelphia. Opening is May 26. The Jerry Bock-Sheldon Harnick-Joseph Stein musical about changing traditions in a Jewish community in pre-Revolution Russia will be directed by Barrymore Award-winning director Bruce Lumpkin and feature Walnut vets Jacoby and Barrymore Award winner Mary Martello (as Golde). The Fiddler troupe includes Ben Dibble (Mordcha), Jennie Eisenhower (Frumah Sarah), Lee Golden (Rabbi), Fran Prisco (Avram), Bill Van Horn (Lazar Wolf), Denise Whelan (Yente) and Michael Philip O'Brien. Other local actors/Walnut vets include Joey Abramowicz, Arin Edelstein, Isaiah Ellis, Jacob Horner, Julie Czarnecki, Josie Andrews, Dan Olmstead, Nicholas Park, Danny Rapuano, Jennifer Hallie Rosen, Michaela Shuchman, Eadie Scott, Benjamin Michael, Amadea Smith Martino, Marcus Stevens and Sami Zindel. Newcomers to the Walnut include Jim Becker, Jamison Foreman, Colby Q. Lindeman, Rita Markova (Tzeitel), Mackenzie Maula, Dave Mussen, Chad Parsons, Dillon Rebock, Alexander Sovronsky, Matthew Steffens, Jordi Wallen, Christopher Brian Williams and Gianna Yanelli. The creative team includes choreographer Michelle Gaudette, musical director Douglass G. Lutz, scenic designer John Farrell, lighting designer Jack Jacobs, sound designer Nick Kourtides and costume designer Colleen Grady.

But for emotional impact, it was hard to beat the show's finale when scores of cast members from shows currently on Broadway marched down the aisles and onto the stage while singing "Sunday," the affecting closing number from "Sunday in the Park With George."

Prospect Theater Company has announced casting for the New York premiere of The Hidden Sky, a new musical based on the Ursula K. Le Guin short story "The Masters." The show features music and lyrics by Peter Foley and book by Kate Chisholm, who also directs. It will be presented at the West End Theatre, January 30 - February 28.

As the show begins, an apocalypse, brought on by the misuse of technology, has ravaged the earth. The musical follows Ganil, a young woman whose longing for knowledge leads her on a passionate journey of discovery.

Victoria Huston-Elem will star as Ganil, with Mark Mozingo as Lani, Gordon Stanley as Lee, Ben Gunderson as Mede, and Joy Lynn Matthews as Yin. Also in the ensemble are Jane R. Bunting, Jose Candelaria, Robbie Fowler, Nadine Malouf, Jesse Manocherian, Rita Markova, Hannah Jane McMurray, and Lawrence E. Street.

The production team will include Darren Lee (choreography), Remy Kurs (music direction and orchestrations), Jon Russ (additional orchestrations), Sarah Pearline (set), Sidney Shannon (costumes), Jorge Arroyo (lighting), and Asa Wember (sound).

In conjunction with the Saturday, February 20 performance, Prospect will host an afternoon symposium featuring scholars and artists, including the show's creators, in discussion about the relationship between mathematics and music, the historical conflict between science and religion, and other ideas explored in The Hidden Sky. Admission to this special event, to begin at 1pm at the West End Theatre, is free; reservations are encouraged by emailing rsvp@ProspectTheater.org.

For more information, visit www.ProspectTheater.org.
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After a decade spent fighting in Troy, the mythical hero Odysseus faces ten more years of peril and privation before he can reunite with those he loves. Building on Simon Armitage’s masterful and accessible treatment of the ancient epic, Handcart Ensemble’s production will incorporate acrobatics, shadow puppetry, and other uniquely theatrical means to summon Homer’s tale of the human heart and its capacity to endure all for the sake of family and homeland.

Originally performed for BBC Radio in 2004, this adaptation by one of the world’s greatest living poets appears onstage for the first time.

“Bursting with adventure and passion ... this adaptation, written by Simon Armitage and presented by Handcart Ensemble, is so superb that you may find yourself wishing that the playwright would step onstage and take a bow at the curtain call.” —
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The musical adaptation of the Jane Austen novel is directed by Mary Catherine Burke with musical direction by Matt Castle (Company). The presentation is at the McGinn Cazale at 2162 Broadway (at 76th Street) 4th Floor. Tickets are free but reservations must be made in advance. For tickets and more information, industry members may call Lawrence Rush at (917) 697-7673 or email prideandprejudicereading@gmail.com.

Featured in the cast are Jessica Rush (Gypsy, A Tale of Two Cities, Cinderella), Ron Bohmer (The Scarlet Pimpernel, The Woman in White, Sunset Blvd.), Nora Mae Lyng (Les Miserables, Amour, Cabaret), Gordon Stanley (Beauty and the Beast, Joseph...Dreamcoat, Ragtime), Allison Spratt (Enter Laughing, Cry Baby, Good Vibrations), Billy Wheelan (The Road to Ruin, Our Leading Lady, It's a Hit!), Lucy Sorensen (Sarah, Plain and Tall, Sympathy Jones, The Tutor), Brian Norris (Forever Plaid), Gretchen Goldsworthy (Cats, Beehive), Catherine Carpenter Cox (Evita, Hello, Dolly, The Who's Tommy), Rita Markova (Guys and Dolls, West Side Story, Into the Woods), Susan Lewis (Cats, Swingtime Canteen, The Producers), Adam Halpin (Glory Days, Forever Plaid), Joan Porter (Murderers), Bill Bateman (Gypsy, Peter Pan), Doug Shapiro (Talk of the Town, Iron Curtain, The The High Life), Amanda Johnson (Sweeney Todd, Annie), Mary Workman (The Guest Lecturer, Assassins, My Fair Lady), Matthew Deming (The Visit).
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