Avi Hoffman lives
the happy life

By Rita Charleston
For the Times

He was probably the cutest little Tevye ever to step foot on any stage.
That’s because when Avi Hoffman was just 8 years old, he became a Bronx-boy version of Zero Mostel in the all-time favorite Fiddler on the Roof.
Hoffman said he memorized Mostel’s performance and tried to emulate him, but he had to wait another two years until he was 10 to get his first professional job in the Yiddish Theater in New York.
"I was very privileged as a young boy to be fluent in Yiddish, which was especially helpful back in the sixties, when Yiddish theater was still vibrant. So when this theater heard there was this little boy who spoke fluent Yiddish, they called me and offered me a part in a production," Hoffman said. "That was back in 1968 and I’ve been acting ever since."
Hoffman is appearing onstage at the Walnut Street Theatre through April 27 in Neil Simon’s classic comedy, The Odd Couple. The Walnut’s production marks its first collaboration with South Florida’s New Vista Theatre Company. Hoffman is the company’s producing artistic director.
In this co-production, Hoffman plays recently divorced sportswriter Oscar Madison, who has never put cleanliness high on his list of must-dos. Dirty dishes, cigar butts and the general aftermath from hundreds of late-night poker games are everywhere.
And into this mess, Oscar allows neat-freak newswriter Felix Ungar, who is tossed out by his wife, to move in with him. Can these two people actually co-exist?
Who knows? But what follows is a story so popular, it has been called the concept to launch a thousand sitcoms as it remains one of the most enduring and outstanding examples of modern situation comedy brought to life onstage.
Playing Oscar must be a stretch for Hoffman, right?
"Wrong," he emphasized. "I hate to admit it, but in some ways I am very much like him. I am a pack rat who collects and accumulates things. And if you looked at my office you’d say, ‘Yes, that’s Oscar’s office.’ It’s piled high with things. But I know where everything is. Still I suppose I am a mess, just like Oscar."
But one would suppose that Hoffman could be forgiven for his accumulation of "stuff." After all, with 40 years in show business, there has been much "stuff" to accumulate.
Having performed all over the world, Hoffman has become well known for his one-man shows Too Jewish? and Too Jewish, Too! He was named Performer of the Year in 1995 and Best Actor in a Musical 2001. He’s also received the New York Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle award nominations, things that bring him great pride and joy.
"I can truthfully say I love everything I do, but I think I always prefer the thing I’m doing at the moment," he said. "I’ve been doing it all since I was a little boy, so this is my world and what I enjoy more than anything."
But without question, he added quickly, the best thing of all is the audience. I think sometimes we actors get so involved in what we’re doing for ourselves, we forget the reason we’re here. And that is the audience. They’re the ones buying the tickets, paying our salary, looking for a way to monetarily escape from their lives.
"Our job is to provide them with the best experience we can. To give them something they can take away with them. Truly, it’s all about them, giving them two and a half hours of pure joy and laughter. You know what they say: ‘Laughter is the best medicine.’ And, without a question, that is very, very true." ••
For ticket information call 215-574-3550.