Fiddler on the Roof cast combines high school and elementary students

Courtesy of St. Joseph Schools

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OGDEN – Musical time has arrived at Saint Joseph Catholic High School in Ogden but this year the inclusion of elementary school students in the play is like icing on the cake.

The student body this year at SJCHS is about 170 students and out of them, 30 students, along with 10 from Saint Joseph Catholic Elementary School, are performing in Fiddler on the Roof.

In addition to that the play will have a small live orchestra comprised of two SJCHS students and faculty and Weber State University music students.

"This year we thought to do a play that included both [St. Joseph] schools because we are trying to be seen more as one school instead of the little school and the big school. We are trying to integrate the schools more," said Jennifer Perry-Hughes, the play’s director and the high school’s arts and theater teacher. "It has been good having the younger students there. It’s been a great training opportunity for them and also for the high school students to learn the leadership and being mentors to the younger ones."

The parents of the younger children involved in the play also have been feeling more a part of the high school campus, Hughes said.

"There were some opportunities in this play for younger students, so we thought that this was a great way to incorporate both schools since we are one school system," said Carole Burbridge Layman, the high school’s advancement director. "My daughter is involved in the play and the other day while we were leaving the high school, students greeted her as if they have been friends forever … It’s such a special community – for a high school senior to tell my 7th-grade daughter ‘Goodbye, Grace; I’ll see you later,’ that’s pretty special. … They are now her friends and they are very good role models. She is just enjoying this so much."

Fiddler on the Roof, based on Sholem Aleichem’s book Tevye and his Daughters, is set in Tsarist Russia in 1905. The story relates the life of a Jewish village, particularly the milkman Tevye, who attempts to maintain his religious traditions as his daughters marry and revolution comes.

School officials used the play as a springboard for interfaith workshops and discussions mediated by a Jewish family at the schools. Also, an aspiring film student is filming a documentary about the making of a musical, using this production as his subject.

The students have been rehearsing for the production since November.

Both high school and elementary school students "have said how they feel more a part of the school because they have found something where they can make friends and feel that they are part of a group. … They feel a sense of being part of a team," said Hughes.

The participation of community members is vital for the theater program, Hughes said.

"We only can spend what we bring in. The support from the community is totally invaluable to us. We could not have a program if we didn’t have people coming and seeing the plays," said Hughes, adding that "the students work so hard and when they look out at the audience and they see that the chairs are filled with people there to support them and show them that they care and they are interested – there aren’t words to express the gratification."

Fiddler on the Roof opens Feb. 7, with additional performances Feb. 8 and Feb. 11-15. For information and tickets, call 801-394-1515 ext. 227 or visit http://www.saintjosephtheatre.com/.