Seniors Begin Rehearsing for Hebrew Musical

by Rebecca Bazini, SSLI '26

Today, the senior class held their first rehearsal for Fiddler on the Roof. The annual senior musical, directed by Mr. Baumvoll, is entirely in Hebrew and has tons of singing and dancing performed by the 12th grade class.

Fiddler on the Roof, inspired by Shalom Alechem’s stories, is a Jewish cult-classic musical set in 1905 in a small Ukrainian village called Anatevka. The story centers around milkman Tevye and his family, including three daughters of marrying age. It explores Jewish identity, antisemitism in the time of the Russian pogroms, and, of course, the value of Jewish tradition.

The cast sings the song "Tradition" for the first time. (E. Roth)

The main cast of the senior show comprises of Mikey Benlevi as Tevye, Layna Botwinick as Golda, Shay Ginzburg as Citel, Mia Bachrach as Hodel, Aviva Wolf as Chava, Micah Bidner as Motel, Joshua Jurmann as Pertchik, and Jonah Resnick as Lazar Wolfe. Botwinick stated, “So far, I am truly so excited to play this role!" She continued, “Golda has some great duets, and I love her character. She wants what’s best for her daughters.”

The show will be directed by Jordan Bitton (also playing in the ensemble) and Rebecca Bazini (playing Shprintze). Bitton noted, “As one of the directors, I will be helping to make sure that everything looks smooth and all the pieces come together well.”

The choreographers of the musical are Layna Botwinick and Eden Greenfeld. “Eden and I have plans to highlight each character,” Botwinick remarked. She further explained, “We want every number to have a variety of different dances and to just make it overall very fun and nice to watch! I honestly think the song “Tradition” will be the most fun to choreograph. Everyone is in this song, therefore we need to start off the show with a good impression.”

Today's rehearsal was simple: The cast gathered in the Hebrew room and began to rehearse the opening number of the musical, “מָסוֹרֶת [Masoret],” or “Tradition.” “I think the first rehearsal was a bit challenging because we were first learning the Hebrew version of the song and how the different parts mesh together,” remarked Bitton. 

Botwinick shared, “It was really fun to sing together, and I felt that our grade was really connected at that moment."

Rebecca Bazini is a staff writer for Paw Print Now and has been published on the site since January 2023. Rebecca is currently a senior at the Schechter School of Long Island and can be reached at the following email address: rbazini26@schechterli.org.