Dutch Apple Hosts National Tour of FIDDLER, Now thru 9/22

Award-winning musical Fiddler on the Roof began its national tour at the Dutch Apple Dinner Theatre on August 9 and runs through September 22. The cast and crew will then leave to perform the show across the United States through April 2013. Based on the stories of Sholem Aleichem, Fiddler on the Roof  has captured the hearts of people all over the world with its humor, warmth and honesty.

Fiddler on the Roof is filled with a rousing, heartwarming score, including "Tradition," "Matchmaker, Matchmaker," "If I Were A Rich Man" and "Sunrise, Sunset."   No other musical has so magically woven music, dance, poignancy and laughter into such an electrifying and unforgettable experience.

Real life married couple Jimmy Ferraro and Dee Etta Rowe star in this unforgettable production as husband and wife Tevye and Golde. Ferraro and Rowe’s chemistry on stage comes naturally, never having to ask “Do You Love Me?” Rowe refers to her husband as a “constant inspiration” as Ferraro proclaims her the “love of his life.”

Ferraro is a native New Yorker who gained early recognition at age 16 when he starred at New York’s Top Hat Nightclub. Early in his career he was hand chosen by Jerome Robbins to make his Broadway debut in Fiddler on the Roof. He performed in national and international tours of Fiddler on the Roof  with Fyvush Finkel, Paul Lipson, Georgio Tozzi and Michael O. Smith. Other New York credits include Chicago, Guys & Dolls, Applause, Hello Dolly, Oliver, Man of La Mancha and Jesus Christ Superstar.

Ferraro has received numerous awards and recognition in the performing arts both as a performer and for his charitable community work including The National Philanthropy Day Award. He was a theatre arts and voice major at the University of South Florida.

Dee Etta Rowe studied opera at the University of Hartford. At a young age, she made her Broadway debut in Most Happy Fella with Georgio Tozzi and was featured in the show’s PBS telecast. For the last few years, Rowe has been appearing throughout the United States as the Iowa Housewife and Earth Mother in Menopause, the Musical. Other regional credits include Nunsense, Miss Mona in Best Little Whorehouse In Texas, Miss Hannigan in Annie, Mother Abbess in The Sound of Music, Mrs. Brice in Funny Girl,  La Carlotta in Phantom of the Opera, Ethel Banks in Barefoot in the Park  and Essie Rubin in Majority of One.

Colleen Johnson will be making her national tour debut as Tevye’s oldest daughter Tzeitel. Johnson’s credits include Eva Perón in Evita, Maria in West Side Story, and The Last 5 Years.

Elizabeth McMonagle will play Tevye’s second oldest daughter, Hodel. McMonagle’s regional credits include Olive in The 25^th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee including here at the Dutch Apple andLizzie Fields in Baby. McMonagle is a proud graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point.

Allison Fund will be making her national tour debut as Tevye’s third daughter, Chava. A native to Lititz, Fund has a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Montclair State University. Some of her favorite credits include I Love a Piano, Wendy in Peter Pan, and George M!

Donnalynn Waller will be playing the matchmaker, Yente. Waller holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Musical Theatre from Emerson College. Some of her favorite credits include Sr. Mary Amnesia and Hubert in Nunsense, Saraghina in Nine, Emma Goldman in Ragtime, Nellie in Jekyll & Hyde, Madame de la Grande Bouche in Disney’s Beauty & the Beast and Mama Noah in Children of Eden.

Fiddler on the Roof  at Dutch Apple Dinner Theatre runs now through September 22, 2012. Performances are Tuesday through Saturday evenings with selected matinees and Sunday twilights. Ticket prices for dinner and show tickets are $48 - $54; limited show only seats are $28 and children 13-18 are just $22  and $18 for ages 3 -12 for dinner and show. Group tickets are available for parties of 16 or more. Tickets are now on sale and can be reserved by calling (717) 898-1900, by visiting www.DutchApple.com or by stopping by the box office at 510 Centerville Road in Lancaster.

America's most uncoordinated childhood ballet and tap student before discovering that her talents were music and writing, Marakay Rogers finally traded in her violin for law school when she realized that she might make more money in law than she did performing with the Potomac Symphony and in orchestra pits around the mid-Atlantic. She has never recovered from being chewed out by Terrence Mann in public for hanging up her bow. A graduate of Wilson College (PA), Marakay is also a writer, film reviewer and interviewer for the Wilkes-Barre (PA) Independent Gazette, science-fiction publications, and other news outlets. She's also taught college-level communications, writing, and English literature classes, has received multiple writing awards, and is listed in Marquis' "Who's Who in America". In her free time, Marakay practices law and often gets it right.

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