Theatre Review - Fiddler on the Roof
Adam Dannheisser in Fiddler on the Roof [Marc Brenner]
JORDAN Fein’s exhilarating production of Fiddler on the Roof (marking its 60th anniversary) is a tour de force.
Set in 1905, in the fictional village of Anatevka near Kyiv, Tevye (Adam Dannheisser), a Jewish milkman, enjoys a simple but happy existence with his wife Golde (Lara Pulver) and five daughters.
The matchmaker Yente (Beverley Klein) suggests Lazar Wolf (Michael S Siegal), the butcher, might be a suitable husband for Tevye’s eldest daughter Tzeital (Liv Andrusier), but she has other ideas. He’s as old as her father and she’s determined to marry her childhood friend Motel (Dan Wolff), a penniless tailor.
When Tzeital rejects tradition and elects to choose her own partner, Tevye is initially perplexed. After he is won over, he has to convince Golde.
Then Tzeital’s two sisters Hodel (Georgia Bruce) and Chava (Hannah Bristow) follow her lead.
The brutal pogroms against the Jews in czarist Russia cast a shadow over all their lives. Celebrating community, love and hope in the face of tragedy, this bittersweet musical is a compelling blend of Klezmer and Tin Pan Alley.
The larger-than-usual orchestra is terrific. Dannheisser and Pulver’s duets and Raphael Papo’s fiddler are sensational. The pairing of Papo and Bristow on clarinet is one of the highlights of the second half.
Joseph Stein’s book, Jerry Bock’s music and Sheldon Harnick’s lyrics still work their magic and old favourites If I Were a Rich Man, Tradition, Matchmaker and Sunrise, Sunset soar. It’s particularly poignant that the latter is performed just as the sun sets on Regent’s Park.
Tom Scutt’s wheatfields, one suspended over the stage, and evocative costumes impress as does Julia Cheng’s inventive choreography.
A magical production.
Until September 21