Fiddler on the Roof fans, here's a great read about folks who've been in the show over the years, including Liz ("Ragtime Romeo") Larsen:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/theater_dance/50th-anniversary-of-fiddler-on-the-roof-reunites-tevyes-many-daughters/2014/06/12/cd909860-f122-11e3-bf76-447a5df6411f_story.html
Thanks for posting this! I was on that tour with Liz Larsen and Fyvush Finkel and the girls mentioned in this quote:
"Several groups of women who’d played sisters had plans to catch up over dinner the next night, and Lori Ada Jaroslow and Donalyn Petrucci Shreve hoped to see Liz Larsen, their sib from the 1981 revival, in her current role in “Beautiful.”"
That's pretty cool, Ryacko! And a nice article, John. Thanks for posting.
So, DR Ryacko, what stories about the tour do you have to share? About three years later was when I discovered Liz, who did a few shows at the Cohoes Music Hall. Great performer.
Oh, dear. The stories are endless. We rehearsed the first two weeks with Ruth Mitchell staging and Tommy Abbot setting Mr. Robbins' choreography. Then Jerome joined us and stayed through our opening in Baltimore, which kept us all on our toes. We let loose after that.
We ended up touring for about 7 months when the producers (one of whom was Mitch Leigh, of all people) had a fight and closed the tour. But we re-opened months later and played the NY State Theater for our B'way run, which Maria Karnilova returned to do. Then it was another year on the road. I was a double understudy for Perchik and Fyedka, later taking over both roles in different productions. Lizzie, of course, played Chava throughout, and beautifully so.
I did a third tour without Liz, but with many of our former cast mates. I ended up playing Perchik again and again over a span of 14 years, because the Tevye's just got older, so the kids had to be as well, so as not to look like grandkids. My last Fiddler was with Theo Bikel (at age 72) and Lainie Kazan.
Anyway, that's just background on the tours we did together. I'm sure I'll think of some crazy road stories to share.
Here are a couple of pics:
Me, getting to shake Jimmy Carter's hand backstage at the Warner Theater in DC, with Herschel and a couple of cast mates looking on.
And Lizzie and I posing with the wonderful Fyvuush Finkel and his wife Trudy at the B'way Opening Night Party at Sardi's.
