Posts Tagged ‘fiddler on the roof’

The Muny’s Impressive “Fiddler” Reminds Us Why It’s a Classic

Posted in St Louis Theatre, tagged , , , , , , , , , on July 21, 2024| Leave a Comment »

Fiddler on the Roof
Book by Joseph Stein, Music by Jerry Bock, Lyrics by Sheldon Harnick
Directed by Rob Ruggiero
Original Choreography by Jerome Robbins Adapted for the Muny Stage by Parker Esse
The Muny
July 20, 2024

Adam Heller and Cast
Photo by Phillip Hamer
The Muny

Fiddler on the Roof is about to be 60 years old, and it still resonates with audiences around the world. It’s been performed at the Muny ten times before, and now that it’s on stage again, it’s as fresh, vibrant, and poignant as ever. Under the direction of Rob Ruggiero and featuring an excellent cast led by Muny veteran Adam Heller as Tevye and featuring a superlative Muny Orchestra led by music director Darryl Archibald, this show is as timeless, timely, and tuneful as ever.

This show is so well known that many viewers will already know the story. In a small village in early 20th Century Russia, Tevye the Milkman (Heller) and his wife, Golde (Jill Abramovitz) live in a close-knit Jewish community that holds its traditions dear, although times are changing and their lives will soon be thrown off-balance, within families, in the village at large, and in the outside world. Tevye’s five daughters successively challenge long-held traditions and beliefs–especially the three eldest, Tzeitel (Samantha Massell), Hodel (Hannah Corneau), and Chava (Emerson Glick). Meanwhile, the news of disruptions and discord throughout the land continues to creep into the little village of Anatevka, getting closer and closer to radically changing the lives of everyone who lives there. As the story plays out, the familiar songs such as “Tradition”, “Matchmaker”, “If I Were a Rich Man”, “Sunrise, Sunset” and more are featured, highlighting the themes of connection, conflict, tradition and change.

This is a show that works so well, it’s not easy to mess it up, but it’s also so familiar that it’s fairly easy to just coast through and do a “good enough” version. At the Muny, this Fiddler is a lot more than just “good enough”. Led by Heller’s enthusiastic, charming performance as Tevye, this cast makes the stage come alive with strong voices and excellent stage presence and chemistry. Heller and the equally strong Abramovitz work especially well together, and all of the daughters are also memorable, well-matched by their suitors, Max Chernin as Motel, Clay Singer as Perchik,  and Andew Alstat as Fyedka. There are also standout performances by Cheryl Stern in a fine comic turn as Yente the matchmaker; Jeremy Radin as Lazar Wolf the butcher; and Susan J. Jacks and Blair Goldberg who make the most of their roles as Grandma Tzeitel and Fruma-Sarah in the “Tevye’s Dream” sequence.  There’s a strong ensemble across the board, and the production numbers are especially impressive, with strong choreography recreated by Parker Esse based on Jerome Robbins’s original work. There’s also that excellent orchestra adding much in the way of atmosphere and sweeping emotion.

The look of this production is also impressive, with an inventive set by Tijana Bjelajac augmented by excellent video design by Kevan Loney, giving the show a timeless look that fits with the mood of the show, but somewhat veers away from the more traditional sets that many productions of this show seem to use. There’s also striking lighting by John Lasiter and meticulously detailed costumes by Alejo Vietti, along with wigs by Tommy Kurzman. 

Overall, this is a Fiddler that tells its story well, with the well-known themes and iconic score given a notable production on the vast stage in Forest Park. It’s a timeless tale, with a great cast and a marvelous score. At the Muny, it’s a classic show that still resonates as much as I imagine it ever could. 

Hannah Corneau, Samantha Massell, Emerson Glick
Photo by Phillip Hamer
The Muny

The Muny is presenting Fiddler on the Roof in Forest Park until July 25, 2024

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New Staging of “Fiddler” at the Fox Brings New Life to a Classic

Posted in St Louis Theatre, USA Theatre, tagged , , , , , , , , , on February 2, 2019| Leave a Comment »

Fiddler On the Roof
Book by Joseph Stein, Music by Jerry Bock, Lyrics by Sheldon Harnick
Original Direction by Bartlett Sher
Original Choreography by Hofesh Shechter
Choreography Recreated by Christopher Evans
The Fox Theatre
January 29, 2019

Yehezkel Lazarov
Photo by Joan Marcus
Fiddler on the Roof North American Tour

This is Fiddler on the Roof, but not exactly as you may have seen it before. The national tour of Bartlett Sher’s most recent Broadway revival takes this time-honored classic and injects it with a fresh energy. It’s still the same show, essentially, but some staging changes and some especially strong performances highlight the strength of the material in a new and refreshing way, anchored by an especially strong leading performance and ensemble cast.

As beloved as Fiddler on the Roof is, one of the challenges to staging it is that, for most professional productions, the staging has strictly adhered to the original Jerome Robbins staging and choreography. As excellent as that is, if you see enough productions of the show, it can all seem too similar after a while. The most recent revival, while still using the Robbins staging and choreography as the basis, brought in a new choreographer, Hofesh Schechter, to change up some of the dances, and acclaimed director Bartlett Sher has added a simple but effective framing device to add an element of timeless transcendence to the story. These elements, along with an energetic, well-chosen cast, have brought a sense of vibrancy to this show that is especially refreshing. The story is the same, following Jewish milkman Tevye (Yehezkel Lazarov) and his family in 1905 Tsarist Russia, but now, everything seems more immediate somehow. The relationships between Tevye and his wife, Golde (Maite Uzal) and his daughters, and between his three oldest daughers Tzeitel (Mel Weyn), Hodel (Ruthy Froch), and Chava (Natalie Powers) and their suitors Motel (Jesse Weil), Perchik (Ryne Nardecchia), and Fyedka (Joshua Logan Alexander) seem even more authentic and credible. From classic solo moments like “If I Were a Rich Man” to big production numbers like “To Life”, “Tevye’s Dream”, and especially the entire wedding sequence, the energy is readily apparent, with new relationship dynamics subtly suggested, and with a great deal of energy and heart. Even the poignant ending is given a new sense of timelessness and hope without denying the inherent sadness of the situation.

There’s a great cast here, as well, led by the dynamic, charismatic performance of Lazarov as Tevye. With a strong voice and excellent stage presence, Lazarov brings all the energy, charm, likability and complexity of Tevye to the stage, leading the cast with a powerful performance. He’s well supported by a strong ensemble, as well, with standout performances from Uzal as Golde, Carol Beaugard as the determined matchmaker Yente, Jonathan Von Mering as the lonely butcher Lazar Wolf, and especially all three daughter-suitor combinations, with Weyn and Weil having particularly excellent chemistry. There’s a strong singing and dancing ensemble supporting the leads, as well, bringing the village of Anatevka to life in one memorable scene after another, from the opening “Tradition” to the closing “Anatevka”.

Technically, this production is stellar, as well. The set by Michael Yeargan is detailed and versatile, featuring well-realized settings like Tevye’s house against a more changeable background backed by an imposing brick wall. The costumes by Catherine Zuber are detailed and authentic, maintaining a classic Fiddler look with a few small changes here and there. There’s also truly stunning lighting by Donald Holder that sets and maintains the mood of the show especially well, along with excellent sound design by Scott Lehrer and Alexander Neumann.

One of the real strengths of director Bartlett Sher in his revivals is that he’s able to maintain the essence and spirit of a show while also bringing a new sense of immediacy and connection for modern audiences. He’s done that again, remarkably well, in this new Fiddler on the Roof. It’s still the same show, but there’s something extra there that’s especially rewarding. It’s on stage at the Fox now. Go see it if you can.

Cast of Fiddler on the Roof]
Photo by Joan Marcus
Fiddler on the Roof North American Tour

The North American Tour of Fiddler on the Roof is playing at the Fox Theatre until February 10, 2019

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“Fiddler” at Stages Is Full of Life

Posted in St Louis Theatre, tagged , , , , , , , on September 12, 2014| Leave a Comment »

Fiddler On the Roof
Book by Joseph Stein
Music by Jerry Bock, Lyrics by Sheldon Harnick
Directed by Michael Hamilton
Stages St. Louis
September 10, 2014

Bruce Sabath, Paul Sabala Photo by Peter Wochniak STAGES St. Louis

Bruce Sabath, Paul Sabala
Photo by Peter Wochniak
Stages St. Louis

Fiddler on the Roof is a much-performed musical theatre classic. In fact, it’s been performed so many times at so many levels (amateur, regional, school, etc.) that it’s the one show I’ve seen the most productions of. And then there’s the film, which I’ve seen several times, and the Original Broadway Cast recording, which I grew up listening to.  Seeing a show that many times is great if you like the show (and I do), but it’s also easy to get complacent and just think “oh, it’s Fiddler” and have to make an extra effort to pay attention during performances unless there’s something great or distinctive enough  to make it stand out. Fortunately, the season closing production at Stages St. Louis is one of those presentations that makes watching an age-old much-seen favorite seem fresh and vibrant enough that I can easily watch it not out of effort or obligation, but out of sheer joy.

The story of this show is well known, recounting the trials, tribulations and traditions of Tevye (Bruce Sabath), a poor Jewish milkman in a small village in Russia at the turn of the 20th Century.  With political tensions rising in the world around his village, and with new customs and ideas gradually entering their previously isolated society, Tevye is forced to consider his own ways and the reasons behind them.  The opening number “Tradition” sets the scene, although gradually and surely, things happen that make Tevye think about his own ideals and what it means to reconcile the old ways and the newer ways.  Primarily, these changes are presented in the courtship stories of Tevye’s daughters. While Tevye and his wife Golde (Kari Ely) have five daughters, the three oldest are of marriageable age, and Yente the matchmaker (Rechel Coloff) is determined to find them husbands, although the daughters have their own ideas that are increasingly challenging to the old system.  First there’s Tzeitel (Stephanie Lynne Mason), who would rather marry her childhood sweetheart Motel the tailor (Nick Orfanella) than the older, wealthy butcher Lazar Wolf (Christopher Limber).  Mostly, the stories unfold one at a time, with daughters Hodel (Julie Hanson) and Chava (Carissa Massaro) presenting Tevye with their own, increasingly challenging choices of suitors, and while Tevye deals with what those marriages mean to his own life and his own relationships with his family, his village and his faith, the turmoil in the outside world and the tensions between the Jewish and non-Jewish villagers in his own town gradually simmer and threaten to ultimately boil over.

This is a production that is full of life in all its aspects, portrayed with a great deal of energy and a degree of realism in the performances that sets it apart from some previous productions I’ve seen. I’ve noticed that with this show, there is a tendency among some of the actors to overplay their roles just a little bit, and sometimes a lot in the case of some characters, but it’s refreshing to see that nobody does that it this production.  The characters are all very believable and not over-the-top, led by Sabath as a particularly charming, down-to-earth Tevye.  With a strong stage presence, clear voice, and witty line delivery, his Tevye is a distinctly compassionate, thoughtful man, and his concern for his daughters is very relatable. He works very well with Ely as the dutiful, constantly concerned Golde, who also manages to bring an earthy realism to her role. They are a well-matched pair, bringing energy to their banter throughout the show and real warmth and heart to their sweet duet “Do You Love Me” in the second act.  The daughters and their suitors are also very well-cast, especially Mason as the more practical older daughter, Tzeitel, and the lanky Orfanella as the earnest, sweetly awkward Motel. “Miracle of Miracles” is a delight, as is their wedding, which is also a standout moment for the entire cast.  Especially in the after-wedding dancing–first the famous and still captivating “Bottle Dance”, and then the increasingly palpable joy and energy as the townspeople join in dancing together. For the first time in seeing this show, I felt like I was at a real wedding, and that’s wonderful. It also made the drama to follow all the more poignant.  Other strong performances include those of Coloff as the gossipy Yente and Limber as the butcher Lazar Wolf.  It’s a very strong ensemble, with great dancing all around, especially in the aforementioned wedding and in “To Life”. It’s a smaller ensemble than I’ve seen before in Fiddler, although for the most part, that only serves to make this production more accessible and less obviously “showy”, except for the opening “Tradition” number, which does seem a bit cluttered.

The technical aspects of this show are top-notch, as well, starting with the richly detailed set by James Wolk that evokes the work of painter Marc Chagall–whose painting, “The Fiddler”, inspired the show’s title.  The costumes by Lou Bird are also extremely detailed and appropriate, if possibly a little too “clean” looking for some characters (like the neighborhood beggar).  With strong, atmospheric lighting by Matthew McCarthy and the vibrant Jerome Robbins choreography re-created by Gary John Larosa, this show is as appealing visually as it is dramatically. It’s all unmistakably Fiddler, but given an air of immediacy by director Michael Hamilton and this great cast, with a few new approaches to characterization and staging that give it a distinctive character that allows it to stand out from the crowd of previous productions of this show that I have seen.

Fiddler on the Roof is a classic show that, when produced well, can be timeless as well as timely. Its themes of family, faith and tradition vs. change are both specific and universal, and it also provides a fascinating perspective on an earlier time and place in history. This production is to be especially commended for its vibrancy and approachability in addition to its excellent production values. It’s a fitting and memorable closer to Stages’s excellent 2014 season.

Bruce Sabath, Kari Ely Photo by Peter Wochniak Stages St. Louis

Bruce Sabath, Kari Ely
Photo by Peter Wochniak
Stages St. Louis

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