For all those concerned about Fierstein's singing, here's an account of what happened when he sang the score for the composers (from Riedel's column today):
"Fierstein clinched the part Tuesday afternoon by singing every one of Tevye's songs for the guys who wrote "Fiddler" — Jerry Bock, Sheldon Harnick and Joe Stein.
"It was not an 'audition,' " says the four-time Tony Award winner, treating the word as something distasteful.
"The producers have a lot more confidence in me than I do, and I said I would not accept the role until the creators heard me sing it. I'm not exactly Leontyne Price here."
Audition or not, the, ah, tryout went very well.
"I sang 'If I Were a Rich Man,' and they laughed," Fierstein says.
"They've been listening to this stuff for 40 years, and they laughed. I sang 'Chavaleh,' and Jerry Bock cried. I started to cry, too.
"Michael, if I never open in the role, it was enough to sing that score for these guys. Dayenu. It was enough."
Riedel from The Post
"What a story........ everything but the bloodhounds snappin' at her rear end." -- Birdie
[http://margochanning.broadwayworld.com/]
"The Devil Be Hittin' Me" -- Whitney
