A fine 'Fiddler' for all

Arts communities share production resources

By Lynn Taylor Rick, Journal staff | Friday, May 23, 2008

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Lead Opera House’s upcoming production of “Fiddler on the Roof” may be a Black Hills show, but its connections reach across the state.

For starters, the set’s facade, designed by University of South Dakota professor Tim Case, debuted in 2006 at the Black Hills Playhouse. From there, it was used in a Flandreau production of “Fiddler.”

Last year, the Pierre Players community theater and the Riggs High School theater department in Pierre used the set piece.

When the Lead Opera House decided to do “Fiddler” for its first show in 25 years, a member of the show drove to Pierre with a flatbed truck and borrowed the set. Another community East River has asked to use the set next.

“That’s your arts dollars at work,” said Donna Fjelstad, director of the Lead Opera House “Fiddler” production. “I get juiced about people in the arts community sharing their limited resources. It warms my heart.”

But the sharing doesn’t stop with the set.

The Flandreau theater company and the Pierre Players provided costumes for the Lead Opera House show, as has Black Hills Playhouse.

As a director, Fjelstad has statewide connections, too. Though she lives in Pierre, she directed the Flandreau “Fiddler” show, as well as the 2007 Pierre production.

Overall, she has directed “Fiddler on the Roof” five times.  

Her friends tease her that she should get a truck with a sign on the side that reads, “Have Fiddler Set, Will Direct.”

Fjelstad has been living temporarily in Lead since early March, auditioning and rehearsing “Fiddler.”

The production features 50 cast members ranging in age from 5 to early 80s, including piano player Zarah Mattox, whose great-grandmother once played for the silent movies at the opera house.

The cast and crew, including a live orchestra, come from seven Black Hills communities. Some have had professional experience, while others are making their stage debuts, Fjelstad said.

David Scherer of Deadwood stars as the beleaguered father Tevye.  

“Fiddler on the Roof,” which opened on Broadway in 1964, visits the traditional Jewish village of Anateyka. A poor dairyman (Tevye) tries to instill tradition to his five daughters in the face of growing anti-Semitism and changing times.

The show produced such classic songs as “If I Were a Rich Man” and “Matchmaker” and ran for nearly eight years on Broadway.

Despite the challenges of a big cast and the pressures of recreating such a popular show, Fjelstad said the most difficult thing for both cast and crew has been the weather. “I’ve never seen so much snow in my life. I’m a flatlander from Pierre,” Fjelstad said.

The opera house also lacks heating, which means that auditions and rehearsals have been a chilly affair. On audition day, it was 9 degrees inside and out. “And people came anyway,” Fjelstad said.

As the days push further into spring, rehearsals have become more comfortable. “You have to dress warm … but with each passing day, it gets a little nicer,” Fjelstad said.

Despite the challenges of weather, a partially renovated theater and a huge cast, Fjelstad said neither she nor her company has been deterred. In fact, the pressures they’ve faced have merely added another layer of understanding and commitment to the well-loved “Fiddler.”

“One of the things I have said about this show is … it is a show about a community that overcomes all sorts of struggles and challenges and survives. And so it sort of fits,” she said.

History of the opera house

The Lead Opera House was built in 1914 at the urging of Phoebe Hearst, wife of then-Homestake Mine owner George Hearst. It featured a 1,000-seat theater, a library, a swimming pool, a billiards room, a gym, a six-lane bowling alley, a fencing room and a pistol range.

Eventually, the building became a YMCA.

On April 2, 1984, a fire broke out on the theater’s stage. By evening, the roof had collapsed. To prevent further damage to the building, the roof was replaced, but the building remained virtually unused until 1997. That year, the Opera House Society formed and pushed forward with renovation work.

The Opera House Society has raised and spent about $2.5 million on renovations and members expect they will need about $4 million more to complete the building. Currently, the building houses meeting places, several businesses and the under-construction theater.

For find out more about the theater, go to www.leadoperahouse.org or call 584-2067. Tours are available.

If you go

What: Lead Opera House presents “Fiddler on the Roof”

When: 7:30 p.m. today and Saturday, May 3, and May 9-10; 2 p.m. Sunday, May 4, and Sunday, May 11.

Where: Lead Opera House, 309 Main St. in Lead

Admission: Advance tickets are $12 for adults and $10 for students, seniors and members. Call Black Hills Central Reservations at 578-7702. Tickets are also available at the door for $15.

Contact Lynn Taylor Rick at 394-8414 or lynn.taylorrick@rapidcityjournal.com.