‘Fiddler on the Roof’ in Costa Mesa

Musical starts new tradition at St. Joachim

When Tevye sang If I Were a Rich Man, and definitely by the time To Life! To Life! L’chaim! resonated throughout Nevin Hall, everyone in the audience could feel it: Fiddler on the Roof had started a new tradition at St. Joachim School.

Last week, St. Joachim School’s first musical premiered in Nevin Hall. Each one of the four performances was such an outstanding success with students and the audience alike that requests are already in for next year’s production. “The play was an absolute treat!” “The kids worked so hard and it showed!” are just some of the comments one could overhear. Jody Bays, whose daughter played Bielke, the youngest daughter of Tevye, added, “Matthew Moore, who played Tevye in the lead role, was just incredible.”

Fiddler on the Roof was the school’s 6th annual theater production but the first musical the Drama Club has ever performed. It captured the hearts of the Drama Club students and they were willing to dedicate many hours of work to perfect their play.

“Their performance was really awesome and during To Life! To Life! L’chaim!, I had to hold back not to sing along!” Patty Reimers recalls. Students and parents alike couldn’t rave enough about the musical and some attended all four performances. “I think it is the best theater presentation the school has ever done,” another parent said. “The student performers were so in sync and the choreography was amazing,”

The costumes deserve mentioning, as does the stage which was painted by the Pre-Kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Rametta. Students worked hard to perfect their roles and stage crew busily built and collected props, sometimes even at weekend workshops, to make it look professional, “...but it was so much fun, that we didn’t mind,” Rianna Reimers exclaimed excitedly. “We enjoyed working on Fiddler on the Roof so much that we all want to do musicals from now on”.

Drama is an extracurricular club at St. Joachim School with the students meeting twice a week for practice. Auditions for the annual play are held each November and the play is cast shortly after. As the actual show date draws closer, the club has weekend workshops for the actors to rehearse and for stage members to work on scenery and props.

“It takes a lot of dedication,” Mrs. Mora, the Drama moderator, remarks, “but it is a very rewarding experience for students in different grades to engage in a common goal, form bonds and have fun in the process of putting the yearly show together.”

Former St. Joachim productions include A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Charlie & the Chocolate Factory, Peter Pan, Charlotte’s Web, and Tom Sawyer.

St. Joachim Parish School is a private Catholic school located at 1964 Orange Ave., Costa Mesa, CA 92627. Serving pre-kindergarten through eighth grade students from Costa Mesa/Newport Beach and surrounding areas the school strives to provide children with an excellent education in a safe, caring, yet affordable environment. More information on the school is available at (949) 574-7411 or online at www.stjoachimparishschool.com