Milton Greene; Veteran Broadway Theater Conductor

Milton Greene, 87, longtime Broadway theater conductor who led orchestras for such musicals as “Fiddler on the Roof.” Greene also served as musical director for the productions on Broadway of “Fiorello,” “No Strings,” “The Rothschilds” and “Annie.” He conducted for the San Diego Light Opera Company with summer presentations at the Starlight Bowl in Balboa Park from 1984 to 1989. The Starlight work was a challenge because it included, as he put it, “airplane conducting.” He had to stop shows as many as 30 times to allow for the noise of jet traffic above the outdoor theater while conducting such productions as “Fiddler,” “Evita” and “The Music Man.” Born in New York City and educated in music at New York University, Greene worked at clubs in the Poconos and the Catskills before moving to Broadway in the mid-1950s as pianist on such shows as “Bells Are Ringing” and “The Pajama Game.” He made his Broadway conducting debut with “The Body Beautiful” in 1957 starring Jack Warden. In Los Angeles, he was active in the Creative Arts Temple. On May 27 in Los Angeles of complications from a stroke.