In 2008, at the Musical Theatre in Gdynia, I created multimedia animations for the production of Fiddler on the Roof (music: Jerry Bock, book: Joseph Stein, lyrics: Sheldon Harnick, Polish translation: Antoni Marianowicz).
Directed by Jerzy Gruza, with set design by Małgorzata Szydłowska, costumes by Barbara Ptak, choreography by Bernard Szyc, and musical direction by Dariusz Różankiewicz, the staging departed from traditional realism. Instead of a literal Anatevka, the production evoked a dreamlike world inspired by the paintings of Marc Chagall.
My animations brought Chagall’s imagery to life, creating a symbolic visual layer for the story. As noted, “the highlight of the performance is the presence of colorful Chagall-like images, which through Dawid Kozłowski’s animations become both a background and an artistic metaphor for the action.” Critics emphasized that the production moved into the realm of dream and nostalgia — “projected, Chagall-like animations accompanying the spectacle made it clear that we were floating in clouds, not standing on the ground.”
The cast included Bernard Szyc, Grażyna Drejska, Dorota Kowalewska, Ewa Gregor, Anna Maria Urbanowska, Mariola Kurnicka, Krzysztof Żabka, Krzysztof Wojciechowski, Paweł Bernaciak, and Tomasz Czarnecki.
Teatr Muzyczny, Gdynia, premiere 2008.11.08
