Fiddler on the Roof

One of the first things noticed about the Davis Musical Theatre Company's production of 'Fiddler on the Roof,' directed by Steve Isaacson, is the quality of the chorus.

From the opening 'Tradition,' through the 'Sabbath Prayer' and to the closing 'Epilogue,' the chorus gives full voice to the music of Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnick. Thanks also to the choreography by Jan Isaacson - who also plays Golde in this production - the chorus members give a good musical depth to this perennial favorite, with its book based on the stories of Sholom Aleichem.

One sometimes thinks of 'musicals' as light, frothy pieces that lift the spirit and set the toes to tapping, but 'Fiddler' is no such musical.

True, light moments can be found in this story of the milkman, Tevye (Jeff Nauer), his wife and five daughters, and the townspeople of Anatevka, a small village in Russia.

But the play is dominated by shocking moments, tremendously sad sections and an ending that gives only a faint glimmer of hope, and is more a downer than anything else.


But between the opening and closing numbers, patrons will enjoy some very good things and a lot of familiar music. This 'Fiddler' is one of those 'spotty' productions - with some performers shining, and others not so much - but there's still much to like.

Nauer reprises the role he played at the Woodland Opera House a year ago. He has a strong voice and is a good actor, but his Tevye is more a combination of a downtrodden Jewish milkman and Santa Claus. Try as he might, whatever he does, Nauer can't get rid of that twinkle in his eye.

That said, he has wonderful moments, particularly during the scenes with his daughters, when this man of strong traditional values must confront a changing world and realize that his children have very different views on life and love ... and can he accept them?

His duet with Isaacson's Golde - when the couple discovers, after 25 years, that they've grown to love each other - is quite touching.

The three daughters are simply marvelous: both individually and together, during their trio in 'Matchmaker, Matchmaker.'

Amanda Yount is Tzeitel, the eldest, who pleads with Tevye not to betroth her to Lzar Wolf, the butcher (Jon Mounts), because of her love for her childhood friend, Motel (Brennan Ballard).

Hodel (Josephine Longo), the intellectual middle daughter, decides to marry the student Perchik (Giorgio Selvaggio), and she shocks her father by asking for his blessing, instead of his permission.

Selvaggio is one of those performers who suddenly displays a huge voice that we don't quite expect; he's a delightful surprise.

Shannon Kendall is radiant as Chava, Tevye's favorite daughter, who breaks her father's heart when she falls in love with Fyedka (Trevor Hoffmann), a Russian and therefore Tevye's sworn enemy.

Dannette Vassar, here playing Yente the Matchmaker, is a continuing pleasure. Having watched Vassar progress from bit parts to lead roles has been a delight; she's wonderful as Yente, who needs to know everybody's business ... and, ideally, shape everyone's life.

Julie Kulmann, usually a stalwart of the chorus, finds her niche as Grandma Tzeitel, in Tevye's nightmare. She's absolutely perfect for the character.

Her husband, Rich Kulmann, has made a career of playing rabbis. In this production, his rabbi is older than when last I saw him do such a role ... but, then, Kulmann also is older! His blessings for things such as sewing machines - and the tzar - are priceless.

Lindsay Carpenter, George Morales, Herb K. Schultz and Marc Valdez play the bottle dancers who entertain at the wedding of Tzeitel and Motel. They managed to keep the bottles upright on their hats during the performance I saw last weekend, although one bottle stood at a rakish angle throughout the dance, only by some miracle didn't fall.

Carpenter also plays the title character, who follows Tevye throughout the play.

Chris Petersen is quite earnest as Mendel, the rabbi's son, and also is listed as the orchestra's drummer. Things must be interesting in the orchestra pit and backstage, when he darts to and fro.

Jean Henderson once again created authentic-looking costumes, although I wouldn't have pressed the outfits so well. We somehow don't expect Tevye to arrive on stage, pulling a milk wagon, with a perfect crease pressed in his flawlessly smooth pants.

Steve Isaacson is credited for scenic design, and has done as much as he could with the spare bits of scenery. But I'd definitely lose the gobo projection that is intended to represent buildings in a village, but instead looks only weird.

Fiddler on the Roof

The following review appeared in The Davis Enterprise on 10/4/06

The world is changing for the milkman Tevye (Jeff Nauer). Social mores are changing. Daughters are now falling in love instead of waiting for a match to be made for them. Pogroms and expulsions of Jews are occurring in the surrounding towns and it’s only a matter of time until the Tsar’s iron fist descends on Tevye’s little community of Anatevka. Tevye equates life in these unsettled times with being like a "fiddler on a roof,” trying to scratch out a simple, pleasant tune without breaking his neck.

"Fiddler on the Roof," currently at the Woodland Opera House, is the perennial favorite based on the stories of Sholem Aleichem, with music and lyrics by Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnick, directed by Jeff Kean (who also designed the scenery). This is a story is about change ... the changing relationships between parents and children, the changing political scene, the change in ... tradition.

Director Kean is fortunate to have a group of principals with experience and excellent singing voices.

Outstanding among them are Tevye’s three daughters, Bethany Pedersen as Tzeitel (she also plays the spirit of Grandma Tzeitel), Julia Mosby as Hodel, and Monika Joyce Neal as Chava. Each give superb performances. Their trio “Matchmaker, Matchmaker” is a delight, and they have sensitive interactions with their father.

Nauer is an engaging Tevye with a big voice and a sincere characterization which was a real crowd pleaser. He accepts his lot in life, but constantly tries to convince God that it wouldn’t spoil him if he were to have just a bit less strife and a bit more wealth (“If I were a rich man”).

Nancy Agee is Tevye’s wife of 25 years, Golde, who knows the way to make a proper home, a quiet home, a kosher home, and who seems surprised, when asked the question (“Do you love me?”), to discover that yes, she really does love Tevye, a thought which had never occurred to her before.

At 20, Joelle Lorin Wirth is a bit young to be playing Yente, the matchmaker, but with the help of make up and black garb she seems to pull it off, though at times it seemed more of a caricature than a believable character.

Clocky McDowell is making his Woodland Opera House debut in the role of Motel the Tailor, but he is not new to either the show or to the role, having played it previously at Runaway Stage Productions. There is an earnestness and a sincerity in his portrayal of this poor young man asking for Tzeitel’s hand in marriage.

Scott Woodward’s fervor for political causes was palpable in his role as Perchick, the student from Kiev who offers to teach Tevye’s daughters and ends up marrying Hodel.

The character of Feydka is described as “a literate Russian,” and Kyle Hadley adds an element of sweetness which appeals to young Chava, who shares his love of literature and, ultimately, falls in love with the soldier as well, the one sin her father finds unforgivable.

Costumes for this production are by Laurie Everly-Klassen and suitably depict the life of poor peasants in a small shtetl in Russia, so it is surprising that Tzeitel’s wedding dress, with its lace trim and netting and jeweled veil seems so out of place. Is this really what a young bride from a poor family would wear on her wedding day?

Eva Sarry’s choreography was enjoyable and the traditional “bottle dance” at Tzeitel and Motel’s wedding was the expected knockout.

Erik Daniells is musical director for this production. The choral work was particularly lovely, especially for the Sabbath dinner, with the entire cast, holding lighted candles, distributed along the stage, and in the audience, including the balcony. This is always such a moving scene and does not disappoint.

Program bios are generally forgettable, but given the tenor of the times in which we live, the bio for Micail W. Buse (who plays the Rabbi in this production) sums up the production beautifully: “The oppression shown in this show still goes on: in Sudan, Palestine, and on virtually every continent on the Globe. I ...hope that all people will live in harmony, without regard to race, religion or ethnicity.”

“Fiddler on the Roof” continues at the Opera House through October 29 and patrons should be advised that evening performances now start at 7:30, instead of the usual 8 p.m.

Fiddler on the Roof

There are a lot of flashy ways to open a musical show. Some use glitz to capture the audience’s attention from the start. One of the most famous stage and film musicals, “Fiddler on the Roof,” Music Circus’ opening production, opens, with a brief introduction by the milkman, Tevye (Ron Orbach) followed by a simple circle dance. “Tradition,” is the simple number in which all Jewish members of the small pre-revolution Russian village of Anatevka join hands and dance around the stage as each group describes its role in the life of the village (Papa earns the money, leads the prayers, and has the final say in family matters; Mama runs the house and tries to make life peaceful for Papa; the son studies and waits for the family to find a bride for him; the daughter learns the ways of running a house and also waits for the family to choose her spouse).

I have seen the circle dance dozens of times and I would be hard pressed to explain why I found this Music Circus staging so special, but it just stuck out for me. It foreshadowed the high energy production to follow.

“Fiddler on the Roof,” based on the 1949 stories of Sholem Aleichem, the 1965 Tony award winner for best musical, with music by Jerry Bock, lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, and libretto by Joseph Stein, is a study in contrasts. There is the fun of Tevye’s personal conversations with God, the innocence of his daughters imagining their future husbands, the antics of the town matchmaker, the tenderness of first love and discovered old love, all contrasted with the bleakness of life in the village, the antagonism between the Jewish community and their Russian overlords. This isn’t a lighthearted comedy, but neither is it a story that is filled with nothing but sadness.

Ron Orbach’s Teveye is a bit more bombastic than I am accustomed to, but he handles the role well.

His wife Golde is played by Valerie Perri, who is quite surprised to discover, after 25 years of marriage that yes, she probably DOES love her husband. (“Do You Love Me?”)

Shannon Warne gives a strong performance as the oldest daughter, Tzeitel, the first in her family to break with tradition by marrying the man she loves (Motel the Tailor – Richard Israel) rather than, Lazar Wolf, the Butcher (Barry Pearl), chosen for her by Yente the matchmaker (an outstanding performance by Helen Geller). Warne and Israel are beautiful together and Motel’s “Miracle of Miracles” is a real ode to joy. Teveye’s love for his daughter is palpable as he gives in to her when she cries that if she marries Lazar Wolf she will be unhappy all of her life.

Tzeitel’s sisters give equally strong performances, Bets Malone as Hodel, who gives her heart to Perchik, the student (Shannon Stoeke) who moves into Tevye’s home to give lessons to his two youngest daughters, Shprintze (Francesca Arostegui) and Bielke ( Harper Junior High student Camille Totah, who will be familiar to Davis audiences); and Julianne Katz as Chava, her father’s favorite, who enrages him by giving her heart to the Russian soldier, Fyedka.

Director Glenn Casale has created a production, with many memorable visual moments. The Sabbath scene is particularly lovely, with Tevye and his family at a table on stage, singing the Sabbath prayers, while the stage rotates, and other members of the town joining in from all around the aisles of the theater.

Michael Schweikardt is credited with scenic design and his on-stage work is good (particularly the roof on which the fiddler (Ivory McKay) plays in the opening scene. Homes in the village are suggested by roofs hung from the rigging above the stage, but they are hung much too high to even be noticed, unless one is looking for them. Greenery, which is supposed to suggest outdoor scenes, is almost invisible and seems hardly worth the trouble to hang.

Choreographer Bob Richard gives us some delightful moments. The dance of the daughters as they sing "Matchmaker, Matchmaker" is fun, and the bottle dance at the wedding of Motel and Tzeitel is always a crowd pleaser. The dream sequence where Tevye convinces Golde that he has seen her grandmother, who disapproves of Tzitel’s marriage to Lazar wolf is great fun.

After a shocking end to Act 1, Act 2 is the darker act, when the reality of the condition of the people of Anatevka comes to light and the happy community is broken up.

This is not a "happily ever after" show, but it demonstrates the resilience of the human spirit and at its core is a salute "to life!"

Fiddler on the Roof

Tevye can't understand why the world is changing. The simple milkman from the little Russian town of Anatevka, in a strong portrayal by Davis Musical Theatre Company's founder and guiding light, Steve Isaacson, sits on his milk wagon -- the horse is lame again -- and asks his God why.

"Fiddler on the Roof," the perennial favorite based on the stories of Sholem Aleichem, with music and lyrics by Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnick, is at the Varsity Theater through Dec. 7.

The story is about change ... the changing relationships between parents and children, the changing political scene, the change in ... tradition. Some changes are easier to accept than others.

Mary Young reprises her role as Golde, Tevye's wife, who met him on their wedding day and who is surprised to realize, after 25 years, that she really loves her husband.

Their three oldest daughters are of marrying age and Golde turns to Yente the Matchmaker (played by Cathy Rasmussen) to find them a "perfect match."

The girls have other ideas. The oldest, Tzeitel (Lauren Miller) is secretly in love with Motel, the Tailor (Ben Bruening's best role to date), and begs her father to let her marry him instead of the older Lazar Wolf, the Butcher (Rick Simonson). Seeing how much in love the two are, Tevye gives his permission.

When it comes to the next daughter, Hodel (Wendy Wyse), Tevye reluctantly agrees to let her follow her love, the idealistic activist Perchik (Ryan Adame), to Siberia, knowing he may never see her again.

But when his favorite, Chava (Jillian Johnson) falls for a Russian soldier, Fyedka (played by Tevye Ditter -- that's really his name -- a man with terrific voice), the father draws the line and declares his daughter "dead."

The DMTC production, directed by Michael Miiller, is lively and fast-paced. The musical numbers are outstanding, particularly the opening number, "Tradition," involving all the townspeople in a circle dance and "To Life," a rousing song of celebration following Tevye's pact with Lazar Wolf to the marriage with his daughter.

The dream sequence, which Tevye concocts to convince Golde of the wisdom of the marriage of Tzeitel and Motel gives Jan Isaacson a chance to shine as Grandma and Dannette Vassar to make the most of the role of the ghost of Fruma-Sarah, the butcher's first wife.

(Kudos also to Rich Kulmann, the perfect Rabbi.)

Sets, designed by Isaacson, are utilitarian, but they work. It is unfortunate that the backdrop is not stretched tightly across the frame (and is badly bunched up in one corner), as the movement of actors backstage causes it to ripple badly and distracts from the action on stage.
The 16-piece band is under the direction of Andy Sullivan, and Noel Bruening does her own playing on stage as the Fiddler.

A nasty flu bug has been making its way through the company and affected some of the otherwise strong voices of cast, in both pitch and volume, a situation that surely will be cleared up by next weekend.
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