FIDDLER ON THE ROOF PLAY CAST - INSCRIBED PROGRAM SIGNED CO-SIGNED BY: DOLORES WILSON, JAN PEERCE - HFSID 285045

FIDDLER ON THE ROOF PLAY CAST: JAN PEERCE and DOLORES WILSON
In a departure from their usual opera roles, both stars appeared as replacements in this popular musical, and have inscribed and signed their printed photos inside the program.
Program inscribed and signed: "To Linda/Best Wishes Jan Peerce", "Dear Linda,/Wishing you the/best of every thing/Dolores Wilson", 6 pages, 8½x11. Program for a performance John Kenley production of Fiddler on the Roof, starring Peerce as Tevye and Wilson as Golda. JAN PEERCE (1904-1984), born Jacob Perelmuth, debuted at the Metropolitan Opera in New York in 1941 as Alfredo in Verdi's La Triviata. He remained as the Met's leading tenor until 1966, returning to appear regularly there until 1982. Peerce, who had made his operatic debut in May 1938 in Philadelphia as the Duke of Mantua in Rigoletto, was the first American to sing with the Bolshoi Theatre Opera. Peerce' only appearance on a popular Broadway stage was in the musical shown here. He played the role of Tevye when the show moved to the Broadway Theatre, in 1970. Operatic soprano Dolores Wilson sang mostly on European stages, but also appeared at New York's Metropolitan Opera, beginning in 1954. She was the first to sing the title role in the American opera, The Ballad of Baby Doe at the Central City Opera in Colorado (1956). She performed twice on the Ed Sullivan show, and sang on Broadway in replacement roles (as Golde in Fiddler on the Roof and Miss Hannigan in Annie) and original role in The Yearling (1965) and I Remember Mama (1979). Theatrical producer John Kenley (1906-2009) was famed for taking Broadway plays to regional theaters, bringing along well known stars. This is a familiar practice now, but not when Kenley began to do it after World War II. Left edge creased. Signatures light but legible. Pencil note (unknown hand) at center top edge. Otherwise fine condition.