Middle School Musical: Fiddler on the Roof

Last month our middle school put on it's yearly musical. This year it was Fiddler on the Roof. Derek, Dylan and Nathan were all in it, and Nathan got the part of Tevye!

Nathan was amazing! Really!

Actually, the whole play was amazing. Really, for a middle school play, it seemed much more like a high school production. I was really surprised at how good the music was. It was really much more polished than I thought it would be.

Of course, there was an all-star cast. We knew a lot of the kids in the play - nine were from our church. That just made it more fun to see everyone do their thing!

Everyone knows that the star in Fiddler is Tevye, the Jewish milkman and father of 5 daughters. But in this case, there were two stars, Tevye and the fiddler himself. Our friend Dallin Frank played the fiddler, and he was really, really amazing! Such a talented kid! His fiddling really made that show! It was so perfect that they chose to do this musical this year. Dallin and Nathan are both 8th graders, and it was the perfect fit to show off both of their talents! (I don't think it was coincidence, actually.)

But Derek and Dylan both had their chance to shine as well. Dylan played Avram the bookseller and Derek played Mendal the rabbi's son (who the girls in the play refer to as being so handsome!) They each had a few speaking lines, as well as a few singing lines. But most of all they got to do some cool Russian dancing!

Nathan did great! He had SO many lines and songs to memorize. I really don't know how he did it! I never saw him practicing before hand, and I kept asking if he needed help with his lines. "Naw. I got it." It made me nervous. But I guess he was right, because he had his lines down. And he had a LOT of lines!

The amazing thing about Nathan is that he really gets in character and stays in character the whole time. He has a lot of stage presence and really uses his hands as well as his voice, and he has been blessed with a voice that really carries (that he gets from me!).

My favorite of his lines were the ones where he talks to the Lord with his prayers. Monologues, I think, are the hardest when it comes to acting - because it is all you up there. Nate made it look easy.

But this is a musical, and that means singing. Nathan did a great job! He had to do a lot of solo work up there, and he really held his own (which is never easy when you are a 13 year old boy and your voice can't ever decide if it going high or low until you open your mouth.) A lot of Tevye's songs are quite low, but Nathan pulled it off!

But of course, everyone knows that the best part of the Fiddler on the Roof is Tevye's famous wiggle in "If I were a Rich Man." Everybody comes to see the wiggle.

Nathan NAILED IT!!! Wiggle it, NATE!

But for the boys, their favorite number, by far, was the one in the bar scene "To Life!" We heard lots and lots and lots of that song in the car driving around town- belting it out at the top of their lungs.

Fiddler is such a great play. So much great music and fun dancing.

Dylan practiced and practiced until he was able to do the Russian sitting/kicking dance thing that looks impossible. I don't know how he does it (but I have learned a long time ago that that kid can do anything!) He got to do it during the dancing in the wedding scene.

I mean, really. How do you do that without falling on your kiester?

(My friend Jen Frank - mother of said Fiddler - took some of these great pictures. Thanks Jen!)

But maybe the favorite dance of all was the bottle dance. Derek and Dylan and a few others danced while balancing bottles on their heads! Yes, they were plastic bottles, of course, but they really balanced them on their heads while doing a slow dance where they got lower and lower (like the pic of Derek on the bottom!) Really impressive!

(Unfortunately, my video camera battery died just as this dance was starting, so I missed taping the whole thing! Happily, my sister got it taped with her iPhone, but so far we haven't be able to get it transferred to my computer. That is why it has taking me so long to blog about the play. I promise to post it as soon as I can.)

Fiddler was really great. I saw every performance and I have to admit, it brought tears to my eyes on a few occasions. The kids did such a good job that I really got drawn into the story and the amazing, touching music.

There were a lot of talented singers on that stage. Totally impressive.

The cast.
Signing autographs for some adoring fans after a performance.

So proud of my singing, dancing Thespians!

Mrs. Thomas, the drama teacher, did an amazing job with those kids, and we will be forever grateful for her efforts and her trust in Nathan. She told me that she really, really enjoyed working with my boys and is really going to miss Nathan next year.

We are so grateful for ALL the friends and family who took the time to come watch the show. At one performance I think our faithful fans took up the whole first two rows! My boys will never forget your love and support after they worked so hard. I know I will never forget.

The whole experience was unforgettable!