Universally acclaimed actor and folk singer Theodore Bikel will portray Paul Mendelssohn, brother of Felix and Fanny Mendelssohn, in Chamber Music PLUS Southwest's musical drama Song Without Words, Sunday, March 28, at the Berger Center for the Performing Arts.

Bikel made his first stage appearance as the Village Clerk in a Tel Aviv production of Tevye, the Milkman and would play the life-loving Tevye so many times in  Fiddler on the Roof that it became his signature role. His best-known theatrical credit aside from Tevye was his creation of Captain Georg von Trapp for the Broadway production of The Sound of Music. His facility for languages -- Bikel is fluent in Yiddish, Hebrew, French, German and English -- has helped him land many international roles throughout his career.

Song Without Words, written by Harry Clark, tells the story of three generations of the Mendelssohn clan, created from thousands of letters and diaries. Bikel portrays Paul, a talented cellist, who outlived the short lives of his famous brother Felix, and two sisters, Fanny and Rebecka. Joining Bikel on stage will be Clark, a cellist, and pianist Sanda Schuldmann performing works by Felix and Fanny Mendelssohn. Susan Claassen, director of The Invisible Theater, directs the show.

Curtain time is 3 pm. An informal pre-show audience chat with Tucson Weekly's art editor James Reel begins at 2:30 pm. Tickets are $17. For more information and ticket reservations, call 400-5439, download the reservation order form at www.cmpsouthwest.org, or order tickets at www. ticketweb.com. Following the show, at 6 p.m., a dinner with Bikel at the Z Mansion also is available for $25 plus tax, with a portion of the proceeds benefiting the Pima Council on Aging. For reservations call 400-5439 or visit www.cmpsouthwest.org.