An exhilarating production of ‘Fiddler on the Roof’

 

By Donald H. Harrison and Shor Masori

CORONADO, California — Tevye the Milkman has been talking to God for nearly 50 years now, and eavesdroppers (also known as audiences) seem to never tire of their one-sided conversation.  Tevye  (Sam Zeller) is arguing, pleading, scolding and apologizing to the Lord once again in Fiddler on the Roof, which runs through July 14 at the Lamb’s Players Theatre,  1142 Orange Avenue.

Many people in the packed audience on Saturday evening, May 25,  knew by heart the Joseph Stein-authored script as well as the music of collaborators Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnick .  Nevertheless, that familiarity with the beloved 1964 musical did not detract from their enjoyment of an exhilarating production which, under  co-directors Robert Smyth and Deborah Gilmour Smyth,  offered some novel moments.

For example, the Fiddler (Ernesto Saucedo), who represents Jewish tradition, not only soloed from his accustomed rooftop, but also participated in a klezmer band led by accordionist Mark Danisovsky under the musical direction of G. Scott Lacy. The  band provided accompaniment  for all the familiar songs of the musical as well as brief interludes during set changes.  The backdrop of a blue sky with Chagall-esque rooftops and swirling clouds was matched by similar geometric patterns on the floor of the main stage as viewed from seven rows of seats in semi-circular, amphitheater arrangement.

Just for the record, in case anyone reading this review has never seen “Fiddler,” it is the story of a poor milkman, with five daughters, three of marriageable age.  Each of the three defies tradition.

The first daughter, Tzeitel (Charlene Koepf) wants to marry a man of her choice, the tailor Motel, (Brandon Joel Maier)  rather than the butcher Lazar Wolf (John Rosen)  picked by the matchmaker Yente (Kerry Meads).

The second daughter, Hodel (Caitie Grady) decides to marry a revolutionary scholar, Perchik (Charles Evans) with or without her father’s permission, and the third daughter Chava (Megan Carmitchel) picks a non-Jewish Russian man, Fyedka (Anton Fero)  for her mate.

In each case, Tevye must wrestle with an appropriate response to this breaking of tradition. And all the while, relationships with the Russian neighbors in the village of Anatevka are deteriorating under orders from the tzar.

When Tevye and Lazar Wolf make an ill-fated agreement for Tzeitel’s hand, it set off a celebration that brought together both Jewish and Russian dancing–a dance sequence for which choreographer Colleen Kollar deserves kudos.

Even more spectacular was “Tevye’s Dream,” which utilized numerous special effects to create an eerie amalgam of Tevye’s and Golde’s (Deborah Gilmour Smyth) bedroom and the underworld where such personages dwell as Grandma Tzeitel (Jessica Couto) and  Fruma Sara (Sandy Campbell), the first wife of the butcher Lazar Wolf.

Fruma Sara’s ascent from the underworld to protest Lazar Wolf’s pending remarriage was definitely one of the high points of the production.

The  “bottle dance” in which Hasidim balance bottles on their head and dance to the delight of wedding guests had the audience enraptured, and, at a later point, a heartbreaking moment came when Tevye declared Chava dead to him. The townspeople all circled her once and then left her alone, devoid of all her traditional supports.

There were a few discomfiting moments.  In singing “If I Were a Rich Man,” Zeller had people posing “proverbs” instead of “problems” that could cross a rabbi’s eyes.  Following the  “Sabbath Prayer,” song, the Shabbat candles were blown out on stage–something Jews would never do.  Perhaps in future productions the actors can wait till the candles are safely off stage.  So upset by Chava does Tevye become that he snatches his hat off his head to dramatize the breaking of tradition.  But the longer he left his hat off, the more uncomfortable the scene became — an Orthodox Jewish man simply wouldn’t do that.   Some of the accents, too, seemed off.  Yente the Matchmaker  sounded more Russian than Yiddish, while the Constable (Jason Heil) sounded more German than Russian.  And Fyedka’s accent seem to waver between Russian and American.

But these are minor problems that can be fixed.  Our overall impression was of a production quite well done.  With 55 years difference in our ages (67 and 12), we feel confident in saying that audiences of all ages will enjoy this one.

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Donald H. Harrison is editor,  and his grandson , Shor Masori, is a cub reporter for San Diego Jewish World.  They may be contacted via donald.harrison@sdjewishworld.com