[rating=3] A Fiddler on the roof, sounds crazy BUT- that is how it begins. Tevye the milkman created by Scholem Aleichem greets the audience with these words prior to explaining the traditions of the Jewish people who reside in Anatevka. For most of the play, we have little boxes and large boxes representing houses and stores and I for one found that to take away from the play itself.
“Fiddler on the Roof” will always be a recommended play, if for nothing else but the wonderful stories, characters and music. This production features some changes to the set in stone script as well that I ( as a former Tevye) found distracting. To clarify, Anatevka is in what is now called the Ukraine. The Russians have taken authority and the Jews are being sent away. Almost feels as if history has bene repeating itself of late. As an actor, I have played the part of Tevye several times, loving every second of capturing the body of the man. A man who was blessed with five daughters and is facing change in the world that appears t break from all of the traditions his people observe.
While I loved playing the role, I have also seen many others do the part, some as good, others close and one or two ( if I push a bit) better.
My biggest problem with being in the audience for a performance is my wanting to sing some of the songs. I feel that the one positive thing from the pandemic is wearing the mask during a performance of any play that I did “once upon a time”- it muffles my singing along! Having a Broadway musical on the stage of the Lyric is always a treat and seeing “Fiddler” on their stage is a gift!
Part of what the “Fiddler” story is all about is “Tradition” and under the direction of Barrie Kosky I found some of the shows traditions to be let go. This amazing musical version of the short stories by Alechem was written by Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnick. The story goes back to 1905 and it seems Kosky has added some more modern techniques to the production.
To explain, let me tell you that the normal start of the show is the fiddler fiddling and Tevye starting with the line , “A fiddler on the roof. Sounds crazy , no? But in our little village of Anatevka all of us are fiddlers on the roof, etc”. in The last production update, the beginning had a modern Tevye reading a book that tells the story of this little village and we are taken into the story. In this production, we have a child playing with a toy. They open a closet door, take out a fiddle and begin to play ( By the way, Drake Wunderlich, a 5th grader was wonderful). The music begins and all of a sudden, the entire village begins taking over the stage to do the opening number “Tradition”. The play begins!
Silvamo Marraffa is the choreographer and while following the original, it appears that some modifications were made that I found stimulating. The “Bottle Dance” is always a highlight and the dancers in this number were spectacular. I also was impressed with the dance of “To Life L’Chaim”. The scene was a bit confusing as they began in Lazar Wolf’s ( David Benoit) home ,instead the tavern, but ended up in the tavern without an explanation. That happened a few times and for those who were seeing “Fiddler” for the first time, they may have been confused.
The cast was strong with a solid Tevye (Steven Skybell) and a wonderful Golde ( played to perfection by Debbie Gravitte). Yente, The Matchmaker is played by Joy Hermalyn who brings one of the best comic touches I have seen to the role.
The daughters that we meet and learn to love are played by three solid talents. Maya Jacobson ( Chava), Lauren Marcus as Tzeitel, Austen Bohmer ( Hodel) Omi Lichtenstein (Bielke) and Liliana Renteria (Shprintze). The two younger girls are not involved in any of the marriage stories except the final one, plan ahead!. The men in the lives of the daughters are Drew Redington (Motel), Adam Kaplan (Perchik) and Michael Nigro ( Fyedka) All three of the older sisters and their beaus are important to the stories that make up the main story.
Lots of local talent fill in the cast members and hearing a production like this at The Lyric is always a treat. Conductor Kimberly Grigsby is making her Lyric debut and in my opinion with a great touch to a musical that is well over 50 years old. Again, I have a certain attachment to this play having played in it several times and watching over 50 productions. I grew up hearing the expression “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”!
“Fiddler on the Roof” will continue at The Lyric thru October 7th, but with limited performances as follows:
[rating=3] A Fiddler on the roof, sounds crazy BUT- that is how it begins. Tevye the milkman created by Scholem Aleichem greets the audience with these words prior to explaining the traditions of the Jewish people who reside in Anatevka. For most of the play, we have little boxes and large boxes representing houses and stores and I for one found that to take away from the play itself.
Sun, Sep 18:2:00pm
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