Staten Island summer theater rises again for first time since COVID

The lights are back up in Staten Island.

The borough’s summer theater is operating again for the first time since COVID swept through the city half a decade ago — and the stars of the show are celebrating the return like a family reunion.

Ten families and countless friend connections make up the cast of this year’s “Fiddler on the Roof” production — relying on their close-knit links to bring the little Russian town of Anatevka to life on the CUNY College of Staten Island stage.

“It was really important for me to bring the connections that I had growing up so that it felt like an emotional tie for all of us,” said Bronwyn Fugate, the show’s director and choreographer, to The Post.

“Myself and many of the cast members are community theater kids that grew up with our families doing theater,” Fugate said. “We were the generation that would sit and watch our parents create lighting design or be the directors or be on the stage.

“It was a no-brainer that these were the people that I wanted to be the inhabitants of Anatevka because that is kind of the heartbeat, the pulse of Anatevka.”

More than 90 people auditioned for the inaugural community theater production show, with 46 people and an orchestra of 10 musicians making the final cut.

The cast and crew have been in intense rehearsals five days a week since the end of May — and have their eyes set on a July 31 opening night.

As grueling as the process has been, the players said they treat the experience like a homecoming and an excuse to spend time with one another — especially those who are sharing the stage with their own families.

BJ High, 46, said he is honored to play the leading man, the impoverished milkman Tevye, with his wife and son at his side.

“We run lines at homes, in the kitchen, wherever we are, in the pool, in bed, and the basement, any room, we can,” said High, a retired NYPD officer, adding that he met wife, Christie, on stage during a 1998 performance of “The Most Happy Fella.”

“If the kids aren’t bothering us too much, I grab a script,” he said.

“We took a trip recently, and while I was driving, I’d have the two of them acting out scenes with me. It was great.”  

The experience has been made even more special because of the message behind the play — which explores clinging to tradition during a time of political and social upheaval.

“ ‘The Fiddler’ is about family, it’s about tradition, and it’s the perfect show for this cast with these people in this space, because it basically goes back to the ideas of the show,” said Peter Ascolese, 41, the play’s costume designer.

“It’s tradition, it’s generations, it’s being all together to do something special,” he said. “Once I saw the cast list, I was like, how do I get involved?”

This year’s show is dedicated to the memory of Jennifer Straniere, who ran the performing arts program at the College of Staten Island for 18 years before passing away in June 2021.

“Fiddler on the Roof” was chosen as this year’s performance because Straniere fondly referred to it as her favorite — and one she, her husband and newborn daughter performed in together in 1984.

The father-daughter pair are back this summer to carry on Straniere’s legacy on the stage, and this time with Strainiere’s granddaughter in tow.

Katie Micha, 30, who plays Chava, the youngest daughter of Tevye, also is taking the stage this year with her aunt and two cousins, a mission they call a “family affair.”

“It’s one of my favorite musicals ever. Besides the music being fabulous … it’s just a really fabulous show, and I am so excited to be doing this,” Micha said.

“It’s really cool to see the whole Staten Island theater community come together. It’s very special. We all have known each other forever. All of our families know each other.”