Searching for Tevye is a cabaret-style show that answers the question: How did a nerdy theatre kid from Rochester, New York ditch a booming Wall Street career to pursue his dream of becoming a Broadway actor? And what does all that have to do with a fictional dairyman named Tevye?
Directed by Tanya Moberly (Bistro Award Winner), with Musical Director Ben Kiley (assistant Music Director of Fiddler on the Roof in Yiddish) on piano, John Miller on bass and Sabina Torosjan on violin, Searching for Tevye features music spanning folk rock, American Songbook, and musical theatre classics from Sondheim to – of course – Fiddler on the Roof (in English or Yiddish… who knows? Come see for yourself).
Searching for Tevye had its world premiere at the beautiful CenterStage Theatre of the Rochester JCC. BroadwayWorld’s Colin Fleming-Stumpf reviewed the show, saying “What better way to celebrate the return to live theatre…well worth the wait…
heartfelt, inspirational, and great fun for all…
a truly wild and entertaining ride”
(Read the full review here)
The show immediately booked dates in New York at the legendary cabaret venue Don’t Tell Mama. A series of sold-out performances in November, 2021 led to an encore engagement in February, 2022 at Don’t Tell Mama and livestreamed across the country.
BroadwayWorld’s cabaret critic Stephen Mosher reviewed the show in November saying:
“…absolutely one of the most charming shows of this cabaret season…
Sabath has the most valuable tool in the trade of cabaret: complete and total authenticity…
Sabath succeeded at not only holding my attention but holding my rapt attention…
With a voice that fits, glove-like, either Sondheim, Porter, Bricusse or Croce, Sabath remains a constant pleasure throughout his show…”
(Read the full review here)
Since then, Searching for Tevye has been in demand across the country, from California to Florida. The next performance of the show will be back at Don’t Tell Mama, on December 2nd and 6th, 2022 at 7pm. For more info, visit this post.
Bruce’s transformation from Wall Street executive to Broadway star – a major theme of Searching for Tevye – has fascinated fans, journalists and even psychologists for years, beginning with the Wall Street Journal feature Act II: From Corporate Exec to “Company” Man, written in 2006, at the time of Sabath’s Broadway debut in Stephen Sondheim’s Company.
Here are some of the features about Bruce’s unusual career change (and Searching for Tevye) over the years:
- Actor’s Journey from Brighton to Broadway – Joyce Corrigan, Bedford Record-Review, March 4, 2022
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Inspired by Tevye, Local Actor Brings His Own Story Home – Martin Wilbur, The Examiner News, Feb. 25, 2022
- Brighton native brings musical journey to JCC – Live TV interview, Good Day Rochester (Fox 13), October 7, 2021
- Katonah’s Bruce Sabath stars in ‘Cagney’: Actor in a better place after leaving behind lucrative career in finance – Stephen Marsh, The Journal News, May 11, 2017
- Confessions of a Late Bloomer – Scott Barry Kaufman, Psychology Today, November, 2008