George Pulinkala of the Delhi Music Theatre is known for his lavish musical productions and now he plans to recreate the quaint Jewish village of Anatevka in Russia with his one hour forty minute musical Fiddler on the Roof to be staged on October 31 at Jesus and Mary College (JMC). The 85 member cast has college students from Lady Shri Ram and JMC besides members of the Delhi Music Theatre and a handful of senior actors. “The first time it was staged was 1993, and the show ran for 10 days at the Kamani auditorium,” gushes the Delhi-based theatre personality, who has successfully produced other musicals like Peter Pan , Westside Story and The Music Man .

The Fiddler, set in 1905 Tsarist Russia tells the story of Tevye, a Russian Jew who is looking for husbands for his three eldest daughters from within his community. The three girls, Tzeital, Hodel and Chava reject the men chosen by the matchmaker and their father—breaking with tradition to marry the men they love.

When we catch Pulinkala during the boisterous rehearsals at the Sacred Heart Cathedral, we find Tarini Bawn, who plays Hodel singing a cheery Matchmaker, matchmaker with a mop in her hand as the matchmaker Yente, a wobbly old woman wags her finger threateningly and walks on the scene with a disastrous suitor. “I prefer working with youngsters and they relate to me very well,” says Pulinkala who just wrapped up a production High School Musical at the Aryan school in Dehradun. Meanwhile, 47-year-old Andrew Hoffland, who plays the lead character of Tevye, looks every bit the portly milkman, as he jigs along during the bottle dance.

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