Sholom Aleichem (a traditional Hebrew and Yiddish greeting meaning "peace be with you") was the pen name for Solomon Rabinovitz, who was born in Russia in 1859. In 1905, he fled Jewish persecution and eventually settled in America in 1914, dying two years later. He is generally regarded as the finest Jewish writer Russia ever produced. His works are legion and include "The Old Country" and "Adventures of Mottel, the Cantor's Son." Nonetheless, he would be undoubtably be far less remembered today if his tales of Tevye and his daughters has not been adapted into the perennially popular musical Fiddler on the Roof. The play is set in the shtetl of Kasrilevkeh and consists of "stories within stories, and dreams within stories – where the matchmaker toils, wives are relentless, men barter for eternal life, weigh whiskey against God, and battle over a seat at the synagogue."

Saul Reichlin, a Londoner who traces his roots to Russia, is an actor and director with many credits in England and South Africa.

The DR2 Theatre is located at 103 East 15th Street, at Union Square.  Tickets are $36 and are available from Telecharge.com at (212) 239 6200.