Bernardi, who is making his Broadway debut in the classic American musical, will play the leading role at the matinee. Bernardi's father, the late Herschel Bernardi, starred in the 1981 revival of the musical, earning a Tony nomination for his work as the struggling milkman. Bernardi was also a replacement Tevye in the original 1964 production of Fiddler and toured with the musical for years.
In an interview in the New York Times, Bernardi, who was less than two years old when his father died of a heart attack, said, “Regardless of if I fall into the orchestra pit, it’s going to be an incredible sense of pride to know that I stood on the Broadway stage and played Tevye…The stories of Sholom Aleichem, and Fiddler on the Roof, have put food on my family’s table for generations. Even if I never sang one note of Fiddler, this show is responsible for my survival — it’s responsible for my life.”
Danny Burstein earned his sixth Tony nomination for the current revival, which continues at the Broadway Theatre. The musical's final performance is scheduled for December 31.