By Jennifer R Jones | Posted on December 31, 2016 5:58 PM
Fiddler On The Roof Concluded The Run Of Its Fifth Revival On Broadway Starring Danny Burstein As Tevye In An Acclaimed Production.
Danny Burstein Played Out Broadway Run As Tevye
Tonight marks the final performance of Fiddler on the Roof, which has been in revival since November 20, 2015, followed by its opening night on December 20, 2015. Therefore, the show has run for just over a year, playing a total of 430 performances on top of 34 preview performances at the time of closing.
Fiddler on the Roof is a classic of American musical theatre, and specifically Jewish American musical theatre, chronicling the story of a Jewish family in Imperial Russia in 1905.
Original Production Began In 1964
Tevye, his wife Golde, and his five daughters Tzeitel, Hodel, Chava, Shprintze, and Bielke are the beloved characters at the heart of this story, along with Tzeitel’s beloved Motel, the poor tailor, Hodel’s beloved Perchik, and Chava’s beloved Fyedka. This musical has a book by Joseph Stein, music by Jerry Bock, and lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, and it has been produced on Broadway a total of six times.
The original production of the play, which began in 1964, won nine Tony Awards including Best Musical, and is currently the sixteenth-longest running production in Broadway history. As for this recent revival, it was extremely well received but by no means was its success as revolutionary.
Burstein Praised For His Performance
The show was nominated for three Tony Awards and did not win any. Nevertheless, Danny Burstein was greatly praised for his turn as Tevye, which he played throughout the entire run. Starring opposite Burstein was Jessica Hecht as Golde, who performed the role for an entire year, and then Judy Kuhn took over from November 22, 2016 through to the end of the run.
A Successful Run With Moderate Box Office Throughout
While this revival of Fiddler on the Roof may not go down in history as a groundbreaking, sell-out production, it certainly succeeded in delighting innumerable audience members throughout its run of over a year.
Around New Years 2016, when the show had only recently opened, it performed at its peak. In the week ending January 3, 2016, the production brought in a weekly gross of $1,725,264, which represented 99.06% of its gross potential.
Bartlett Sher's Impressive Career
Throughout much of the run, however, the box office was more lukewarm. Over the course of the run, the average percentage reached of gross potential (not including the final week, whose numbers are not yet reported) was 53.51%. The lowest week of the run was the week ending October 2, 2016, when the weekly gross was $497,107, representing 32.395% of its gross potential. Therefore, the show fluctuated throughout the run, but mostly was able to bring in between 40 to 60% of its gross potential for the past year.
This production was directed by Bartlett Sher, whose previous credits include The King and I, The Bridges of Madison County, Golden Boy, Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, and South Pacific. The choreography was done by Hofesh Schechter, based on the original concept by Jerome Robbins. The next show to enter the Broadway Theatre will be the first revival of Miss Saigon, which will begin previews on March 1, 2017 ahead of an opening night on March 23, 2017.
