[Jellicle_Jule]

Okay, so next year's school musical is going to be Fiddler on the Roof. Granted, that's a ways away yet, but I figure I should be prepared. It'll be my senior year, and I am the most prominent (I feel conceited saying "best") member of the drama club, so I pretty much will end up getting whatever part I ask for. (In fact, this year's Anything Goes, I pushed for and eventually got Mrs Harcourt after the director point-blank told me to try for Reno. I digress.)

So, onto the point. I'm 5'2", skinny, blond, and am comfortably mezzo, but naturally alto. I haven't a clue what song--or what type of song, even--to audition with. Also, I'm torn between trying for Golde or Tzeitel (based on what little I know of the show). Could someone give me a quick rundown on both of them--ranges, songs they have, stage time, etc.? This'll be my last high school musical, so needless to say I'm stoked, but I could really use the help. Thanks in advance!

~JJ

[Celeste_SM]

http://www.mtishows.com/show_casting.asp?ID=000036

[Francois]

At 5'2", I'm afraid you may not be the choice for either Golde OR Tzeitel, and here's why: The daughters in the show are almost universally cast according to HEIGHT. Tzeitel is of course the oldest, and she should be at least as tall as Hodel if not taller, ditto going down the line for Chava, Schprintze and Bielke. In my production, the girls playing the 3 main daughters were all equally talented and any one could have played any part, but they were cast in order of height--which meant that "Chava" was in real life older than both Tzeitel and Hodel.

Also, most likely the mother would be at least as tall as most of her daughters, I think. Maybe they won't do it that way at your production, but this is typical, so the audience understands the age order of the daughters (for casting the younger two daughters, our director flat out just lines up the auditioners by height and worked from there).

You could play Yenta, which is a great part, but not a singing role. Or, Fruma-Sarah, which is GREAT fun, but only has one (VERY memorable) scene.

I hope you get a major part since it's your last chance, but do keep in mind these things that are typically done with this show. Maybe your director will not use height as a deal-breaking trait, but it's very possible.

Anyway--to answer your question: you should definitely rent the movie to learn about not only these two characters, but the whole village, story, songs, etc. It's a wonderful, very well-known show and you should be very familiar with it long before trying out. Golde is mostly VERY bossy, she bosses her husband around all the time, but ultimately has a softer heart than he does about her daughters. Tzeitel is a great part, she gets a song, a boyfriend, a wedding, and lots of dramatic scenes. She takes more acting range than golde, who is something of a caricature (usually).
Yenta is a very funny part, a real busybody . Even though she doesn't sing, people usually love her as one of their favorites.

Get the movie and then see which part you like! You never know...

[choochoo]

I'm editing this again

I changed my mind haha. If I were choosing between golde and tzeitel I'd pick tzeitel. And, if you really want to be tzeitel then by all means go for it. I've seen it played where tzeitel is the shortest, as long as you can play older than the other two girls then it should be fine especially for highschool theatre. Plus it is a fantastic role, and you'd get a WEDDING!!!

But if you look very young comparitively then I might look at Chava or Hodel (if you can sing the range for "Far From the Home I Love"). They're all great parts, really!

[elphclaudia]

Go for Hodel.

Trust me. In my production our Hodel was a 5'2" blond and I'm a 5'4" brunette and I was Chava. It worked just fine.

Good luck!

[star2ballie]

I'm 5'3" and played Chava. I was the same height as Hodel. Our Tzietel, though, was a friggen giant. She was like 6'1" or something. And our Golde was shorter than her.

I don't know why Golde's height matters. I assume she's older.

Anyway. I sincerely believe all three daughters are great roles. Honestly. I'm not even using my bias to say that Chava is the best. lol.

They all get wonderful things to do, Hodel sings more, but IMHO Chava and Tzietel need more acting skills.

Yente and Golde, and even Fruma-Sarah are all very fun, too! It's a truly awesome show. My favorite that I've done, I think!

Best of luck and keep us posted!!

[choochoo]

[AnnieER25]

Since you are debating between Golde and Tzeitel, if you want to show off your acting ability then you should go for Tzeitel. She has to show more range than any other female character, aside from Chava. If you want to sing more then you should go for Golde. Personally I think that Golde is a thankless role and a one dimensional at that.

I've been in the show twice. In both casts I was the second eldest of the three daughters. I was also the middle in height. Tzeitel was slightly shorter than me (Chava) in show # 1, and we were all blondes. In show # 2 Hodel (tallest and eldest) and I (Tzeitel) were blondes (we were going to have wigs, but they were awful and the director nixed them). Both shows were done with professional directors with plenty of (for one show, over a hundred) actors to choose from.

You're doing it at the high school level, which means the director probably can't be too picky about height and hair color when it comes to who has talent and who doesn't. Although my friend who is a fantastic actress and a so-so singer did the show when she was in high school and the director cast the roles in order of real age and she was Hodel while Tzeitel was played by a girl with a beautiful voice and no acting ability what-so-ever. So you never know what's gonna happen. She actually asked the director if he made a mistake!

If you get Chava I wouldn't be upset about it. A professional director once told me that he thinks it is the most difficult role and one of the best for an actress to play in a musical. After playing her I happen to agree with him. She's the most mature female character in the show and she's the strongest. She has to show so many different emotions in such a short time, it really takes a skilled actress to pull her off properly. If you get the role take it as a huge compliment to your ability as an actress. I wish she hadn't been precast in the last production because I would have auditioned for her in a heart beat!

[what_the_heck013]

Considering you just played Ms Harcourt, Golde would be the most ideal role for you.

Golde or the matchmaker (forgot her name) who usually ends up stealing the show.

[Buff Daddy]

[what_the_heck013]

Thank you. I couldn't remember if it was Yente or Yentl... I wasn't sure which one was the Barbra Streisand movie.