SANDY SPRINGS, Ga. — Around 900 students from Metro Atlanta public and private schools packed the Byers Theatre at the Sandy Springs Performing Arts Center Oct. 18 for a matinee of “Fiddler on the Roof.”
High school students from Barrow, Cobb, Gwinnett, Forsyth and Fulton counties took buses to see the City Springs Theatre Company’s full-scale Broadway musical at a 10 a.m. performance.
About 3,500 students from across Metro Atlanta attended four matinees of “Fiddler on the Roof” spread out over the final two weeks of the production’s run.
“Fiddler on the Roof” launched the sixth season of productions at City Springs on Oct. 6.
The musical production concluded Oct. 22.
The company ensures students get the full production at their matinees. That includes an orchestra, every act of the play and memorable performances from thespians.
“The different ‘oohs’ and ‘ahs’ that you heard when Perchik reached over to get Hodel to dance with him doesn’t happen in public performances,” CSTC’s Education Director Jenna Gamerl said. “But the students are audibly reacting to what they’re seeing on stage, so they make for a really fun audience.”
The Davis Academy sent over 300 people to the Oct. 18 student matinee for “Fiddler on the Roof” at the Sandy Springs Performing Arts Center’s Byers Theatre.
The City Springs Theatre Conservatory, the arts education training arm of the City Springs Theatre Company, is designed to equip the next generation with the tools to succeed in the performing arts.
The Conservatory includes an educational guide for teachers to be able to connect musicals to classroom studies after students attend a matinee.
Sandy Springs Mayor Rusty Paul wrote a note for educators who take their classes to a student matinee.
“Without question, art enhances a city’s economic health and enriches its quality of life,” Paul said. “More importantly, it unites and brings communities together.”
Connecting students to ‘Fiddler’
Winner of nine Tony Awards when it debuted in 1964, “Fiddler on the Roof” tells the story of a tight-knit Jewish community in Czarist Russia at the beginning of the 20th century.
Tevye, the musical’s protagonist, tries to protect his daughters and instill them with traditional values in the face of changing social norms and growing antisemitism.
Broadway’s Jacob Fishel, who plays Tevye in the City Springs production, said watching “Fiddler” as a student had a profound impact on his decision to pursue a performing arts career.
Tevye, played by Broadway’s Jacob Fischel, gives a monologue during the City Springs Production Company’s production of “Fiddler on the Roof” from Oct. 6-22.
“That’s what I thought about this morning when I didn’t want to get out of bed,” Fishel said. “There’s going to be a little Jacob there, and what I do on stage might change things.”
The Davis Academy, the largest Reform Jewish Day School in the country, sent a 275 fourth through eighth grade students, 47 faculty and staff members and 38 supportive parents to the matinee Oct. 18.
“The sizable turnout demonstrates the enthusiasm and commitment of the school to embrace the powerful learning that live theatre affords,” Principal Drew Frank said.
Students at the Davis Academy participated in a series of classroom activities designed to deepen the connection to the themes explored in the musical, such as community, family and traditions.
“‘Fiddler on the Roof’, more relevant than ever, serves as a poignant mirror to life, and witnessing it live allowed our students to deeply connect with the narrative,” Performing Arts Director Kendrick Phillips said.
Students are the focus
Led by Executive Director Natalie DeLancey and Tony Award winner and Atlanta native Shuler Hensley as Artistic Director, the City Springs Theatre Company has served over 158,000 patrons and 124,000 students through musicals and educational program offerings since 2017.
“We’re serving Metro Atlanta, and that’s the goal,” DeLancey said. “We certainly want to make sure that we’re always serving here in Sandy Springs… but the more we can do, the better it is for the community.”
The theater company hosted a matinee Oct. 12 for Houston County students who traveled more than two hours by bus.
Jacob Fishel discusses his portrayal of Tevye, and the profound impact “Fiddler on the Roof” had on him as a young student at a Temple Sinai forum Oct. 11.
Student matinees are scheduled to resume in March 2024 for the City Springs Theatre Company’s production of “Beauty and the Beast.”
Over 4,000 tickets to the four student matinees for “Beauty and the Beast” have already been sold, Delancey said.
“Our goal is to do this a couple times a year, so we want to serve roughly 10,000 kids a year through all of the efforts we do,” Delancey said.
She estimates 300 students receive the Conservancy’s weekly educational programming and theater training at their Northridge facility.
The new Marietta facility is used as a production shop for building sets, like the original design of the City Springs Production Company’s “Fiddler on the Roof.”
Henry Faal, a senior at Lanier High School and Conservatory student, wants to pursue a career in the performing arts following graduation and has already started auditioning for colleges.
“This is my first time seeing ‘Fiddler’ actually, and I loved it,” Faal said. “This is definitely what I want to do for the rest of my life.”
