Why the Lexington Theatre Company decided to show a classic ‘while the world on fire’

Last year, when Lyndy Franklin Smith and Jeromy Smith were thinking about the summer program for the Lexington Theatre Company, an obvious choice presented itself.

“’Fiddler on the Roof’ has been on our list for years, and this year happens to be the 60th anniversary of the original Broadway debut,” Franklin Smith said. “And so we thought this would be a wonderful year to celebrate the show.”

The show’s preparations were well underway on Oct. 7, when Hamas terrorists killed more than 1,200 Israelis near the Gaza border, unleashing a deadly war that has claimed more than 35,000 Palestinian lives, most of them civilians.

So not long after, Franklin Smith wrote a letter to everyone involved in the production. “I said we have this global backdrop to our piece and that it’s not lost on us that we are telling this story while the world on fire, and that as artists and storytellers I think our job is to be the people who hold space for our community to come together. And to listen, and experience this story in order to help us to help them work through everything that we’re all working through in this current environment.”

That kind of sensitivity and attention to detail is why Broadway actors like Ari Axelrod and Gina Lamparella jumped at the chance to work with the Lexington Theatre Company, particularly on this iconic show.

“First off, I love this show, I think this is arguably the best piece of musical theater ever written,” said Lamparella, a New York-based actress, singer and dancer who appeared in the 2004 revival of “Fiddler on the Roof” on Broadway with Alfred Molina. “And everyone said this is a great place to work, they have so much experience in New York and regionally. So you feel like you can trust them because they’ve worked at this level. Also everyone is so nice here.”

Lamparella plays Golde, wife of Tevye and the mother of five daughters in a small Jewish community in a Russian shtetl in 1905. Her husband, Teyve, a poor milkman is struggling with tradition in regard to his daughters amidst the constant threat of persecution and pogroms.

Franklin Smith had University of Kentucky Holocaust scholar Karen Petrone and Rabbi David Wirtschafter come to talk to the entire company about the play, history and religion.

Teyve is played by Axelrod, another New York actor, who is also the creator of an award-winning cabaret show dedicated to the songs and stories of Jewish composers and their contributions to the American musical.

As he was auditioning, Franklin Smith asked for an hour-long Zoom conversation to talk about the play.

“That was rare, so rare that I wanted to do this in this year that has been particularly painful, for a myriad of reasons,” Axelrod said. “And to know that somebody who’s not Jewish, in a place that I don’t associate with vast Jewish community, takes the time to sit and listen and genuinely ask questions with it like a pure sense of empathy and curiosity ... It was the cherry on top of an otherwise perfect ice cream sundae that made sense.”

People love Fiddler and perform it so often because of the many iconic songs, like “Matchmaker” or “Sunrise, Sunset,” but also because of themes that expand well beyond 1905.

“One of the things I love about this play is that it is a story about a specific group of people,” Lamparella said. “And even if you think you may have nothing in common with those people, it’s about relationships that we all have — relationships with your children, and with your parents and with your friends, your neighbors. There’s so much that you can identify with in this very specific story about a specific people at this time, that I hope it does is just create empathy for people you think you may not have anything in common with.”

At ‘The Lex’

The Smiths are in their ninth year of a quest to bring Broadway level shows to the Bluegrass, a feat of “blood, sweat and tears,” Franklin Smith said.

As is well known by now, Lyndy was a local actress who made it to Broadway, along with a fellow student from the famed Oklahoma City University music theater program. They auditioned, sang and danced on Broadway (their roommate was Jonathan Groff of “Hamilton” fame). But they wanted kids and thought Lexington had an opening for the kind of high level musicals with a combination of professionals and local talent. Yente, the village matchmaker, for example, is played by Lexington actress, director and playwright Margo Buchanan.

“We are dedicated to the potential of what this could become,” said Jeromy Smith, as he gave a tour of the company’s spacious new building off Alexandria Drive.

Like every non-profit, The Lex, as they call it, struggles for fundraising dollars. But it is still producing two summer shows — the second summer show is “Jersey Boys” —and now a Christmas one as well. Last year’s Christmas show, “White Christmas,” was their most successful yet, Smith said. The next Christmas show will be “A Christmas Story.”

The Lex runs year round with classes, camps and an artist development program. They’re also doing outreach with local elementary schools. The two youngest of Teyve’s children are played by two Lexington students, Taylinn Dickens and Ileana Worhunsky.

The summer schedule is tight, with just two full weeks of rehearsal and performances.

“The story is about joy and happiness and family and community,” Smith said. “Together these are universal themes we need to be reminded of.”

‘Fiddler on the Roof’

Performed by: The Lexington Theatre Company

Where: Lexington Opera House, 401 W Short St, Lexington

When: July 11 7:30 p.m.; July 12 7:30 p.m.; July 13 1 p.m., 7:30 p.m.; July 14 1 p.m., 6:30 p.m.

Tickets: lexingtontheatrecompany.org/events-collection/fiddler-on-the-roof