Fiddler on the Roof, which also features special guest director John McCluggage of the San José Repertory Theatre, is CMT's annual alumni show. In a sense, the cast itself represents a tradition within the company, because although it casts only young people in its shows, CMT makes an exception in its annual holiday show for alumni and other older performers, such as parents. So, when several Almaden residents take the stage in this production, it will be a reflection not only of what's fast becoming another tradition at Children's Musical Theatre, but also of another major theme of Fiddler on the Roof: family.

Adult actors Gary Beytin and Tony Zambito, both of Almaden, got started working with Children's Musical Theatre through their children's participation in shows, and now find themselves performing with their kids.

Zambito will share the stage with his daughter Nicole for the first time ever in Fiddler on the Roof. He originally started taking his daughter to watch CMT shows because of his own love of theater as a young person, and the family's involvement with the company grew from there. "I originally got involved with this for, I would say, probably two reasons," says Zambito. "One is my own previous experience. I knew how it had affected me and how valuable it was to my own personal growth. Also, I just thought that this was an opportunity to encourage my daughter and bond with my daughter in an activity that we both can have fun with and grow with. I'm just excited and thrilled to see her get a lot of enjoyment out of this like I did when I was in my late teens and early 20s. So I'm just excited that she's able to get that at a much earlier age."

Nicole Zambito, who is 11 and a sixth-grader at Bret Harte Middle School, has previously performed in five shows with the company. "It's very fun," Nicole says of performing with her father. "I've never done any other plays with him. I know he did other plays when he was younger, but it's a really cool experience knowing that your dad's there, and he's really good."

Tony Zambito has been active behind the scenes with CMT, primarily working on the stage crew for other productions, but this will be his first time performing in a while. He will play the innkeeper Mordcha, who offers a bit of comic relief in the show. "This is the first time I'm doing theater in about 20 years. I had done theater when I was much younger. This was in upstate New York, I'd done some musical theater," he says. "So this is really my first time back onstage in a long time."

Beytin, who will play the principal role of Tevye, also has a background in theater and has performed with CMT, as well as with several local community theater groups. "I've been doing theater since high school, so for about 30 years now. There were maybe 14 years where I didn't do anything. I got involved [with CMT] because when my kids came of age, we started getting them involved with the children's theater. My older daughter is a really good singer, we discovered, so we're taking her to voice lessons and so forth, and we wanted to get them involved in the theater. And then, once being around for a while, my wife became president of the parents' auxiliary, so she's been on the board there for a number of years."

Last year, Beytin played Fagin in CMT's production of Oliver!, a character he says is one of his favorites, although he also has a special affinity for his current role. "I grew up in New York, around this music, including the actual musical," he says. "My parents were very involved with it. In fact, the song Sunrise, Sunset was one of the songs at my wedding. So this was something that I particularly wanted to do."

Beytin has performed in CMT shows with both of his daughters. In fact, it's not unusual for the whole family to get in on the act. "It's nice because my kids usually do the shows as well," says Beytin. "When I was Daddy Warbucks in Annie, both of my kids were lead orphans in the show and my wife was the show coordinator." His two daughters will not be appearing in Fiddler on the Roof, but he says they both have plans to take part in CMT's productions of Little Shop of Horrors and Guys and Dolls coming up in the spring.

Nicole Zambito, too, says she will be participating in Guys and Dolls, and is very positive about her past experiences with the company. "Everybody gets in the play and they spend time with everybody and they don't ignore them," she says. "It's just a place where you can show off your talents, and it's really fun."

Other young people from the Almaden area who will be taking part in Fiddler on the Roof include Lillian Boren, Andy Cook, Unnur Eggertsdottir, Adam Fulton, Erin Ortegon and Tory Taylor.

It's a good bet that the grown-ups will be back onstage again next year, as well. "It kind of brings some nostalgic feelings back for me from when I did it before," says Tony Zambito. "For lack of a better word, it's addictive in a way. You have so much fun, and you grow, even if you've done it before. My hope is that my daughter and I have further chances to do this together."

Says Beytin, "Watching the kids—not just my kids, but all the kids—it's amazing to see the amount of talent they have. So it's very fun to just be around these kids who can dance great and who can sing great. It's a lot of fun to watch them. So it's a really great thing to do, especially as a family."

Children's Musical Theatre San Jose presents "Fiddler on the Roof" through Dec. 14 at the Montgomery Theatre, Market and San Carlos streets, San Jose. Tickets are $12­$20. For more information, call 408.288.5437 or http://www.cmtsj.org.