For Broadway fans weary of Topol’s celluloid take on Tevye, one Walnut Creek theater is about to offer up something completely different: a kid’s “Fiddler.”
The Belasco Theatre Company’s new production of Bock and Harnick’s “Fiddler on the Roof” features an all-youth cast (ranging in age from 7 to 19). That’s always been the modus operandi of the Belasco. The company prides itself on high quality productions, even though most of its actors aren’t old enough to drive.
Many of the youthful performers are actually Belasco veterans, including Gina Ricci, who plays Tevye’s wife Golda in “Fiddler.” Ricci, 17, has been acting with the Belasco Theatre Company since appearing in the chorus of “Annie” when she was 5. She went on to co-star in musicals like “Grease,” “Flower Drum Song,” “Oklahoma” and “Oliver.”
This time around, however, her Jewish roots came in handy. “Our Tevye isn’t Jewish,” says Ricci. “I had to teach him how to act during the prayers.”
Ricci has known and loved “Fiddler on the Roof” since she was a child. The film was a staple in her household growing up in Alamo, and she saw a revival of the show on Broadway.
“I think it’s one of the best musicals out there,” she says. “It’s all about tradition and how the world is evolving. When I started doing the play I realized how in depth each character is.”
For her own character, Ricci has to age several decades, not something the average teenage girl wants to do. But Ricci took a page from the Stanislavski book. “We did a lot of character work,” she says. “I watched a lot of older people, and how they walk. It’s difficult, but I’m getting the hang of it.”
And what does she think of the long-suffering shtetl wife Golda? “She’s a very hard person,” adds Ricci. “She knows what she wants. She’s constantly making jokes and being sarcastic, but deep down she adores her family and doesn’t want change.”
Mike Boyer, 14, is another one of the Jewish kids in the musical and a Belasco veteran as well. “Fiddler” is his fifth musical for the company. In the current production he plays Motl, the nebbishy tailor who marries Tevye’s daughter Tzeitl.
“He’s really shy,” says Boyer of his character, “but I’m not shy. So it’s definitely a stretch.”
The Moraga resident was apparently born with congenital hamminess. His first-grade teacher was the one to suggest that Boyer direct his energy to the stage. Since then he’s appeared in such shows as “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying” and “Guys and Dolls.”
As with Ricci, Boyer says being Jewish helped him ease into his role and the show. “My grandfather and uncle are both rabbis,” he says. “I definitely can relate to the show more than most other cast members. Many of my family members were in the Holocaust, deported and exiled.”
Currently a sophomore at Moraga’s Campolindo High School, Boyer looks forward to acting in school plays as well as future Belasco productions. Ricci is a junior at the Bentley School in Lafayette, and also plans to continue acting.
For now, their focus is entirely on the next “Sunrise, Sunset.” Says Ricci, “I strongly and firmly believe in Judaism. We practice it and appreciate it, especially doing this show now. It’s fun to incorporate something I have done my whole life.”
The Belasco Theatre Company’s production of “Fiddler on the Roof” plays Friday and Saturday evenings at 8 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday matinees at 2 p.m., Jan. 20 through Feb. 12, at the Del Valle Theatre, 1963 Tice Valley Blvd., Walnut Creek. Tickets: $15. Information: (925) 943-7469.