By Rikki Lee Travolta
“Fiddler on the Roof” has been a staple of American musical theatre since it premiered on Broadway in 1964 under the direction of the great Jerome Robbins. Based on a series of stories entitled “Tevye and his Daughters” written by Yiddish author Sholem Alceichem between 1894 and 1914, the musical tells the story of a Jewish milkman raising a family of five daughters in Imperial Russia at the turn of the 20th Century.
Once feared to be “too Jewish” for widespread audiences, “Fiddler on the Roof” was a smash hit when it opened on Broadway. With music by Jerry Bock, lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, and book by Joseph Stein, it was nominated for 10 Tony Awards, winning 9 including Best Musical, Best Score, and Best Book. It was Robbins’ last original Broadway staging and earned him Tony Awards for Best Director and Best Choreographer.
The original Broadway production became the first such musical to surpass 3,000 performances. It was the longest-running musical in Broadway history until it was finally passed up by “Grease” 10 years later. It has been the subject of five Broadway revivals and remains a popular title for theatres of all levels from school productions, to amateur mountings, to big-budget professional versions.
Now, Drury Lane Theatre offers a stripped-down version of “Fiddler on the Roof” from the creative mind of director Elizabeth Margolius, with music direction by Christopher Sargent, and choreography by Rommy Sandhu.
“Fiddler on the Roof” is a favorite of many musical theatre enthusiasts, hence why it is done so often by community theatres and schools. Indeed, because of its popularity, when I am consulted by theatres for putting together seasons, “Fiddler” is a title that I often recommend.
Those who don’t include “Fiddler” as one of their favorites, often cite the actor playing Tevye as being too depressing. It’s understandable that many actors embrace the dreary aspects of the character. Dark, intense emotions are, after all, a wonderful challenge that actors tend to love to pursue. Drury Lane’s Tevye, Mark David Kaplan, does not make this mistake.
In Kaplan’s nuanced interpretation, we see Tevye’s joy when he talks of God – even when he is appealing to his lord in times of extreme hardship. It is that love of his religion that powers Tevye. No matter how dark things get, Tevye’s faith never wanders. It is a strength that can bolster his spirits even when faced with the loss of loved ones from the immediacy of his family circle.
Margolius’ concept for the musical, is that it is being told as the dreams of Tevye as he reflects back on his life. Based on the inventive lighting effects employed by Jason Lynch, it appears to possibly be a deathbed revisiting of his life.
Kaplan uses a lot of subtle humor in his characterization. It is not humor that inspires belly laughs. It is more a case of “well isn’t that interesting” observations and inflections as he talks to the audience, the people of his village, and, of course, to God.
Many great actors have played the role of Tevye. Zero Mostel won the Tony Award for the original Broadway production and was nominated for the award again for the 1990 revival. Herschel Bernardi, Topol, Alfred Molina, and Danny Burstein all picked up Tony nominations for their turns in the various revivals over the years. With his modesty, intelligent humor, and joy of spirit shining through, Mark David Kaplan provides the best interpretation of Tevye to date.
Tevye’s plight involves his desire to preserve the traditions of the Jewish religion during changing times. Marriages for his people have always been arranged. He did not meet his wife Golde until their wedding day. His daughters, though, want to marry for love. This causes a great internal dilemma for the papa of the family.
Tevye wants his daughters to be happy. But tradition is very important to him. There are areas where he finds he can compromise, and others where he cannot.
Even Adam and Eve had a matchmaker, realizes Tevye. In that case, it was not a person in the community matching the wants and needs of the single men to the attributes of the available women. For Adam and Eve, the matchmaker was God. If God brings two Jewish people together, who is the father to intervene?
Emma Rosenthal plays Tzeitel, the oldest daughter. While her parents see the benefits for her if they are to arrange a marriage with the wealthy butcher of the town, Tzeitel longs to marry the town’s poor tailor Motel who she grew up with. If God has brought them together, who is he to interfere, Tevye finally decides.
The decision to accept or refuse the wishes of his other daughters to marry for love grows more complicated as the circumstances of who they love develop. Yael Eden Chanukov plays Hodel, who wants to marry Marxist revolutionary Perchik. Abby Goldberg’s Chava wants to step even further outside the bounds of acceptable unions, having fallen in love with a Russian soldier named Fyedka.
All of the daughters, also including Lea Grace Biwer’s Schprintze and Estella McCarthy Schultz’s Bielke, are wonderfully well played. They are a believable family, as well as being convincing of the period and in their dealing with the challenges they face. They are all strong actresses and impressive singers.
Rosenthal gives Tzeitel a fiesty quality, but also shows that it comes from a place of vulnerability and fear. She has found love. Her greatest fear is that she’ll be forced to be forever robbed of that love by her father’s traditions.
Chanukov as Hodel displays the strong will that will lead her to be willing to deny her father the patriarchal rights of their religion. There is authenticity to her as she and Perchik tell him that they would like his blessing on their marriage, but they won’t be asking for his permission.
As Chava, Goldberg has the least time to convey her relationship with her suitor, yet succeeds in creating a realistic character with authentic feelings and actions. She does a lot of character work without extensive dialogue.
Biwer is one of two Heartstrings Award winners in the cast, the other being Will Leonard in the ensemble. Biwer masters the intricacies of playing the youth of Schprintze’s character balanced with showing the demands of the harsh environment that will make her grow up quickly. She is a fantastic talent.
Schultz, too, has a healthy command on playing a young person in that day and age, in that part of the globe, with the very specific challenges of being a girl and being Jewish. It was a different time.
Chicago favorite Michael Kurowski is almost unrecognizable in his transformation into the tailor Motel. I simply love the way he embraces characters. He is an impressive actor who always turns in strong performances. His fine performance as Motel is another feather in his cap. Zach Sorrow and Grant Killian are also very strong as Perchik and Fyedka, respectively.
Janna Cardia is very powerful and moving as Golde, the matriarch of the family. One of the most touching numbers of the show is the duet “Do you Love Me?” between Tevye and Golde. The song not only displays Cardia’s divine voice, but it also allows her to shine as an actress as well. The couple, who came together in an arranged marriage, discuss whether it evolved into love.
It has to be said that the entire cast is truly exceptional. Janet Ulrich Brooks is exceedingly wonderful as the town’s matchmaker and chief gossip Yente. It is the kind of unexpected supporting performance that earns awards.
The idea of the show being the dreams of Tevye looking back on his life is an interesting one, that achieves some really awesome visuals. To cement the surreal nature of this thematic approach, the production is done without props. This can have a powerful effect at times, but other times can be confusing.
It is interesting that the show is inherently about following traditions, yet the director deviates from the traditions of the production itself several times. For instance, by not having props the “Bottle Dance” that the Russian soldiers usually perform is not possible. But these are acceptable deviations necessitated by the overall dream concept. To convey a dreamlike atmosphere, the use of fog and slow-motion movements add effectively to the interpretation.
Tim Burton is a film director who takes big chances. He revolutionized the superhero film industry with his take on Batman lore. Similarly, he redefined holiday animation films with The Nightmare Before Christmas. He achieves these feats by looking at stories from a different point of view – often at least tinged with dark qualities, but then again not without humor.
Margolius is something like a Tim Burton in her approach to “Fiddler on the Roof”. She takes chances and a lot of them prove to be winners. Not everyone loves Tim Burton’s style, but there are millions of movie fans that do. Purists may take a moment to embrace Margolius’ “Fiddler”, but those open to new interpretations will be impressed right from the opening. I find it to be the best production of “Fiddler on the Roof” that I’ve personally ever seen.
There are many valuable contributors to the success of the Drury Lane musical. Scenic design is by Jack Magaw, costume design is by Linda Roethke, sound design is by Ray Narelli, production design is by Mike Tutaj, properties are by Cassy Schillo, and hair and wig design is provided by Brittany Crison. Musc arrangements are by Carey Deadman and electronic music design is by Ethan Deppe. The production staff also includes associate director Daren Leonard, associate choreographer John Michael Coppola, managing director Wendy Stark Prey, production stage manager Larry Baker, associate artistic director and casting director Matthew D. Carney, and New York casting agents Murnan Casting. Press representative is the renowned Cathy Taylor Public Relations.
The exceptional cast also includes Molly Dibble, Joel Gelman, Jeff Parker, Dara Cameron, Thomas J. Cox, Karl Hamilton, Susan Hofflander, Nathan Kabara, Bill McGough, Sam Shankman, Mack Alexander, Jenessa Altvater, Daniel Hurst, Dani Johns, Will Leonard, Jessica Deahr Neville, Jordan Radis, Elizabeth Romero, Jacob Simon, Mitzi Smith, and Jodi Snyder.
“Fiddler on the Roof” is scheduled to run through March 24 with evening performances Thursday through Sunday and matinees on Wednesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays, and Sundays. Drury Lane is located at 100 Drury Lane in Oakbrook Terrace.
As the old adage goes, everything old is new again. Drury Lane’s “Fiddler on the Roof” takes an old standard and gives it an exciting cerebral twist to make it electrifying to new audiences. Sometimes you have to ask yourself, why do things the way they’ve always been done? Sometimes you have to break from tradition. And when you do, you open yourself up to new successes. Drury Lane Theatre’s “Fiddler on the Roof” is just such a success.
For tickets visit www.DuryLaneTheatre.com or call (630) 530-0111.
Photo credit: Brett Beiner Photography
For more reviews visit: Theatre in Chicago – your source for What’s on Stage in the Chicago Area.
The original Broadway production became the first such musical to surpass 3,000 performances. It was the longest-running musical in Broadway history until it was finally passed up by “Grease” 10 years later. It has been the subject of five Broadway revivals and remains a popular title for theatres of all levels from school productions, to amateur mountings, to big-budget professional versions.
Now, Drury Lane Theatre offers a stripped-down version of “Fiddler on the Roof” from the creative mind of director Elizabeth Margolius, with music direction by Christopher Sargent, and choreography by Rommy Sandhu.
“Fiddler on the Roof” is a favorite of many musical theatre enthusiasts, hence why it is done so often by community theatres and schools. Indeed, because of its popularity, when I am consulted by theatres for putting together seasons, “Fiddler” is a title that I often recommend.
Those who don’t include “Fiddler” as one of their favorites, often cite the actor playing Tevye as being too depressing. It’s understandable that many actors embrace the dreary aspects of the character. Dark, intense emotions are, after all, a wonderful challenge that actors tend to love to pursue. Drury Lane’s Tevye, Mark David Kaplan, does not make this mistake.
In Kaplan’s nuanced interpretation, we see Tevye’s joy when he talks of God – even when he is appealing to his lord in times of extreme hardship. It is that love of his religion that powers Tevye. No matter how dark things get, Tevye’s faith never wanders. It is a strength that can bolster his spirits even when faced with the loss of loved ones from the immediacy of his family circle.
Margolius’ concept for the musical, is that it is being told as the dreams of Tevye as he reflects back on his life. Based on the inventive lighting effects employed by Jason Lynch, it appears to possibly be a deathbed revisiting of his life.
Kaplan uses a lot of subtle humor in his characterization. It is not humor that inspires belly laughs. It is more a case of “well isn’t that interesting” observations and inflections as he talks to the audience, the people of his village, and, of course, to God.
Many great actors have played the role of Tevye. Zero Mostel won the Tony Award for the original Broadway production and was nominated for the award again for the 1990 revival. Herschel Bernardi, Topol, Alfred Molina, and Danny Burstein all picked up Tony nominations for their turns in the various revivals over the years. With his modesty, intelligent humor, and joy of spirit shining through, Mark David Kaplan provides the best interpretation of Tevye to date.
Tevye’s plight involves his desire to preserve the traditions of the Jewish religion during changing times. Marriages for his people have always been arranged. He did not meet his wife Golde until their wedding day. His daughters, though, want to marry for love. This causes a great internal dilemma for the papa of the family.
Tevye wants his daughters to be happy. But tradition is very important to him. There are areas where he finds he can compromise, and others where he cannot.
Even Adam and Eve had a matchmaker, realizes Tevye. In that case, it was not a person in the community matching the wants and needs of the single men to the attributes of the available women. For Adam and Eve, the matchmaker was God. If God brings two Jewish people together, who is the father to intervene?
Emma Rosenthal plays Tzeitel, the oldest daughter. While her parents see the benefits for her if they are to arrange a marriage with the wealthy butcher of the town, Tzeitel longs to marry the town’s poor tailor Motel who she grew up with. If God has brought them together, who is he to interfere, Tevye finally decides.
The decision to accept or refuse the wishes of his other daughters to marry for love grows more complicated as the circumstances of who they love develop. Yael Eden Chanukov plays Hodel, who wants to marry Marxist revolutionary Perchik. Abby Goldberg’s Chava wants to step even further outside the bounds of acceptable unions, having fallen in love with a Russian soldier named Fyedka.
All of the daughters, also including Lea Grace Biwer’s Schprintze and Estella McCarthy Schultz’s Bielke, are wonderfully well played. They are a believable family, as well as being convincing of the period and in their dealing with the challenges they face. They are all strong actresses and impressive singers.
Rosenthal gives Tzeitel a fiesty quality, but also shows that it comes from a place of vulnerability and fear. She has found love. Her greatest fear is that she’ll be forced to be forever robbed of that love by her father’s traditions.
Chanukov as Hodel displays the strong will that will lead her to be willing to deny her father the patriarchal rights of their religion. There is authenticity to her as she and Perchik tell him that they would like his blessing on their marriage, but they won’t be asking for his permission.
As Chava, Goldberg has the least time to convey her relationship with her suitor, yet succeeds in creating a realistic character with authentic feelings and actions. She does a lot of character work without extensive dialogue.
Biwer is one of two Heartstrings Award winners in the cast, the other being Will Leonard in the ensemble. Biwer masters the intricacies of playing the youth of Schprintze’s character balanced with showing the demands of the harsh environment that will make her grow up quickly. She is a fantastic talent.
Schultz, too, has a healthy command on playing a young person in that day and age, in that part of the globe, with the very specific challenges of being a girl and being Jewish. It was a different time.
Chicago favorite Michael Kurowski is almost unrecognizable in his transformation into the tailor Motel. I simply love the way he embraces characters. He is an impressive actor who always turns in strong performances. His fine performance as Motel is another feather in his cap. Zach Sorrow and Grant Killian are also very strong as Perchik and Fyedka, respectively.
Janna Cardia is very powerful and moving as Golde, the matriarch of the family. One of the most touching numbers of the show is the duet “Do you Love Me?” between Tevye and Golde. The song not only displays Cardia’s divine voice, but it also allows her to shine as an actress as well. The couple, who came together in an arranged marriage, discuss whether it evolved into love.
It has to be said that the entire cast is truly exceptional. Janet Ulrich Brooks is exceedingly wonderful as the town’s matchmaker and chief gossip Yente. It is the kind of unexpected supporting performance that earns awards.
The idea of the show being the dreams of Tevye looking back on his life is an interesting one, that achieves some really awesome visuals. To cement the surreal nature of this thematic approach, the production is done without props. This can have a powerful effect at times, but other times can be confusing.
It is interesting that the show is inherently about following traditions, yet the director deviates from the traditions of the production itself several times. For instance, by not having props the “Bottle Dance” that the Russian soldiers usually perform is not possible. But these are acceptable deviations necessitated by the overall dream concept. To convey a dreamlike atmosphere, the use of fog and slow-motion movements add effectively to the interpretation.
Tim Burton is a film director who takes big chances. He revolutionized the superhero film industry with his take on Batman lore. Similarly, he redefined holiday animation films with The Nightmare Before Christmas. He achieves these feats by looking at stories from a different point of view – often at least tinged with dark qualities, but then again not without humor.
Margolius is something like a Tim Burton in her approach to “Fiddler on the Roof”. She takes chances and a lot of them prove to be winners. Not everyone loves Tim Burton’s style, but there are millions of movie fans that do. Purists may take a moment to embrace Margolius’ “Fiddler”, but those open to new interpretations will be impressed right from the opening. I find it to be the best production of “Fiddler on the Roof” that I’ve personally ever seen.
There are many valuable contributors to the success of the Drury Lane musical. Scenic design is by Jack Magaw, costume design is by Linda Roethke, sound design is by Ray Narelli, production design is by Mike Tutaj, properties are by Cassy Schillo, and hair and wig design is provided by Brittany Crison. Musc arrangements are by Carey Deadman and electronic music design is by Ethan Deppe. The production staff also includes associate director Daren Leonard, associate choreographer John Michael Coppola, managing director Wendy Stark Prey, production stage manager Larry Baker, associate artistic director and casting director Matthew D. Carney, and New York casting agents Murnan Casting. Press representative is the renowned Cathy Taylor Public Relations.
The exceptional cast also includes Molly Dibble, Joel Gelman, Jeff Parker, Dara Cameron, Thomas J. Cox, Karl Hamilton, Susan Hofflander, Nathan Kabara, Bill McGough, Sam Shankman, Mack Alexander, Jenessa Altvater, Daniel Hurst, Dani Johns, Will Leonard, Jessica Deahr Neville, Jordan Radis, Elizabeth Romero, Jacob Simon, Mitzi Smith, and Jodi Snyder.
“Fiddler on the Roof” is scheduled to run through March 24 with evening performances Thursday through Sunday and matinees on Wednesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays, and Sundays. Drury Lane is located at 100 Drury Lane in Oakbrook Terrace.
As the old adage goes, everything old is new again. Drury Lane’s “Fiddler on the Roof” takes an old standard and gives it an exciting cerebral twist to make it electrifying to new audiences. Sometimes you have to ask yourself, why do things the way they’ve always been done? Sometimes you have to break from tradition. And when you do, you open yourself up to new successes. Drury Lane Theatre’s “Fiddler on the Roof” is just such a success.
For tickets visit www.DuryLaneTheatre.com or call (630) 530-0111.
Photo credit: Brett Beiner Photography
For more reviews visit: Theatre in Chicago – your source for What’s on Stage in the Chicago Area.
