An Observant Cantor on Broadway

By David Fisher

(Currently in "Les Miserables"
at the Imperial Theatre)
As told to Ira J. Bilowit

The first time that I saw "Les Mis" in London in 1986 was undoubtedly a turning point. It had just opened, and the truth of the matter is that I had no idea about this show at all. I was doing benefit concerts for Jewish organizations, like orphanages and old-age homes. I was living in Israel. I had come to do a benefit concert in London, and because I didn't want to take too much money from them, I was staying with a cousin of mine in London. Wherever she went-in the car. In the kitchen, or in the living room-I heard one tape, one piece of music. I asked her what it was all about. She said, "It's a new musical that just came out, 'Les Mis.' " I said, "What's 'Les Mis'?" She said, "Don't you know the story of 'Les Misdrables'?" I told her I didn't, because I studied in a very religious school where they taught us only Talmudic stories. They thought we could get along in life without Victor Hugo-but it turned out that I couldn't get along without Victor Hug! My cousin said, "When I saw the show, I saw you in the show. I said to myself that David could do this show ' so she got me a ticket. When I saw the show, the feeling that I had from the beginning of the show till the end was like a butterfly coming out of its cocoon. I suddenly found myself in another world. Tears were running [down my face]. The next thing I remember, I was sitting all by myself in the hail. The show was over, and a guy tapped me on the shoulder and said, "Sir, sir, ihe show is over." My eyes were swollen and I was crying, and I said to him, "No, sir, you're wrong. The show just begins for me." When I went out it was pouring rain. I was walking around like somebody who had just woken up from a dream. I bought everything I could about the show, and about Victor Hugo, and the French Revolution. Then I went back to Israel and my manager told me, "We're going to Mexico for a concert." I said, "Listen, I don't care about anything now. I just want you to search the world to see where 'Les Mis' is going to play. I want to audition there." He said, 'Les Mis'? 'Les Mis' is coming to play in Israel I said, "And you never told me?' he said, "Listen, you've never on stage before." And I really never done a show before; I'd done a play before. I was only doing cantoral works and Israeli music Hassidic songs. So I told him to just go theatre and get me an audition. He came back, he said, "The taken by one of the leading sin Israel. I don't think there's a Chance. They didn't want to see you." and I said, "There's no way somebody else is going to do this [Jean Valjean) in Israel-just me! I'm the only one who can do this show here." He went back again and again, and he finally arranged an audition for me. I came with all the songs I knew. I knew my songs by heart-I even knew Javert's songs and Fantine's songs. I did it in English because the Hebrew version wasn't ready yet. When I finished, we walked out, and I asked my manager what he thought would happen now. "They'll let us wait for three days; then they'll call us." My manager's office is just across the road from the theatre. When we came back to the office, There was a phone call there from the theatre: "We don't know what to do now. The English director will have to decide." Some time later, I was at Kutsher's Country Club in the Catskills doing cantoral work. For the past 10 years I have been doing services for Passover and the High Holidays and Yom Kippur. I was rehearsing with thechoir, and I got a call from my manager in Israel. 'There's an emergency. The director, Steven Pimlott. Is coming to Israel one day after Yom Kippur. You have to take the flight to Israel on Yom Kippur night. Ill pick you up at the airport and go right to the audition." I said. "Are you crazy? I'm going to be singing the whole Yom Kippur services, then take a 12-hour flight, and you're going to pick me up and take me to the audition? I will never make it." Anyway, I did it, and I got the role in Israel. This was the biggest turning point in my life.

I would like to do other theatre work, but because I'm a religious person, I cannot do a lot of things. And because I'm married and have a family, I can't do love scenes on stage. Also, I don't perform Friday nights and Saturday matinees. So choosing another role is a problem for me. I think maybe I could do "Phantom of the Opera." There's no doubt that doing this show on Broadway is another turning point. Without these great producers. Who allowed this to happen to me without playing the Friday and Saturday shows, I wouldn't be here. I never really believed I would do it here, because I didn't think that anybody would allow a principal to be off Friday night and Saturday matinee. It was so great of them to accept ibis condition.

"BACK STAGE" - December 17-30, 1993