'Fiddler on the Roof'
Theater Review: 'Fiddler on the Roof'
For a play with a 31-person cast, Joseph Stein's "Fiddler on the Roof" puts disproportionate weight on the shoulders of one person: Tevye, a Russian milkman at the turn of the 20th century. There is plenty of depth to the story's themes, but it's fair to say that as Tevye's performance goes, so goes the play. In Hale Centre Theatre's performance of this classic, actor Bruce Brederson carries the burden with aplomb.
And a burden it is. As Tevye and his family endure challenge after challenge to the rich Jewish traditions on which their town was founded, he is forced to choose between the customs that hold his people together and his love of a family that is changing with the times.
Hale lighting designer Spencer Brown inventively sets a scene of pastoral simplicity, intermittently celebratory and mournful. Set designer Kacey Udy has created a birch-tree motif that summons the imagination to the small town of Anatevka, including a housing interior reminiscent of "Little House on the Prairie." And though the end result feels a little cramped, choreographer Marilyn May Montgomery manages to compress large-scale dance sequences onto Hale's intimate, in-the-round stage. The rotating floor means there's no bad seat in the house. That may help explain why the show is swiftly selling out.
The voices of Lauren Noll and Debbie Moss, who play Tevye's second and third daughters Hodel and Chava, steal the audience's ears; but not a single cast member stands out as lacking in this department. As it's a two-cast show, I can only speak with regard to Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, but I doubt the other cast can be far behind.
Tevye's Shakespearean gesticulation and his daughters' complex expressiveness transcend the script, sharing emotion that is not simple to convey. As the humble Tevye's challenges reach a Job-like scale, his tète-à-tètes with God go from good-natured pleading to tortured resignation. ("I know, I know, we are your chosen people. But once in a while, couldn't you choose someone else?") His hands and body speak in ways words alone could not.
Also a highlight is the dorkily endearing Motel, played by Brad McOmber. And an over-the top dream sequence with paradelike set pieces takes the cake. As the milkman's daughters take matchmaking into their own hands and Tevye prays for (and perhaps receives) Solomon's wish for wisdom, it's impossible not to be carried along with a humble town that snatches defiant joy out of the face of hardship. Mazeltov!
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