Danny Burstein will indeed take on the role of Tevye in the forthcoming Great White Way revival of Fiddler on the Roof, a production spokesperson confirmed to Broadway.com. Speculation of the five-time Tony nominee headlining the tuner began in March. As previously reported, the production will be helmed by Bartlett Sher and feature choreography by Hofesh Shecter, based on the work of original director/choreographer Jerome Robbins. Performances will begin on November 17, 2015 at a theater to be announced.
Burstein received his fifth Tony nomination for his current role as Herr Schultz in Cabaret. He also earned nods for The Drowsy Chaperone, Follies and Sher’s productions of Golden Boy and South Pacific. Burstein's other Broadway credits include The Snow Geese, Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, A Class Act, Titanic, Company and many more.
Based on the stories of Sholom Aleichem, Fiddler on the Roof takes place in Anatevka, a village in Tsarist Russia during the eve of the revolution. Tevye is a poor milkman who cares for his five daughters. While he and the rest of the elders in the village are deeply routed in tradition, his daughters’ forward thinking clashes with Tevye’s principles and causes a rift in the family. The musical features a book by Joseph Stein and a score by Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnick that features the songs “Matchmaker, Matchmaker,” “If I Were A Rich Man” and “Sunrise, Sunset.” The musical recently celebrated its 50th anniversary.