Back in 2006 the late David Cotter gave me a copy of Jerome Robbins biography right after we finished the Wit’s End Players production of Fiddler on the Roof. It was the 2nd time I had directed and choreographed the show. (I’ve done it 3 times total.)
David gave the book to me as a bit of an inside joke you see. He played one of the bottle dancers in the show, and not considering himself a stellar dancer, he had been very pleased to make it through 16 performances only dropping that precious precarious green glass bottle once on that old Empire Theatre Stage at the Fairgrounds! I didn’t think it could be done in a more inconvenient space and yet, on Sunday I watched four young people pull off the bottle dance in the basement of the Atonement Church for CNY Playhouse’s end of the season production of Fiddler – and they brought the house down!
Whether you are aware or not, this particular production of Fiddler has been met with some rather loud vocal challenges on social media throughout this entire year. Even after a stellar review and multiple sold-out performances, the show has continued to suffer bitter attacks on Facebook. So, before I settle into my own review of this local production, I wanted to take a second to address the criticism.
Fiddler on the Roof is about Tradition. Tradition vs. modernity. Tradition vs. change. It’s about a father dealing with the fading and eventual break down of that tradition as one by one, his daughters marry and leave home. It’s about parents and children, family and progress, love, loss and prejudice. It has a twinge of female empowerment in there as well. Three daughters taking their futures into their own hands and bucking the tradition Tevye (played here by a simply charming Adam Fumarola) is fighting so hard to hold on to.
Set against the backdrop of 1905 Russian Kyiv, (now the Ukraine) there are several moments in the often-comedic musical that make you remember we are watching a story of an oppressed people. There are Russians in Anatevka, (led by a scarily smooth and woefully underused Jordan Glaski) reminding us that at any second violence will break out. All it will take is the word of a random higher up and the constable will give the order. I saw Fiddler for the first time as a film. Until that point, all I understood of Jewish persecution had to do with Hitler and the Holocaust. It never occurred to me that there was a history of violence against The Chosen People that went back much further in time.
Fiddler is not always a happy musical, but something much more complicated. It has a darkness to it. There is a struggle for balance, as Tevye reminds us in his opening monologue when he refers to the Fiddler themself. But what makes Fiddler on the Roof so accessible to audiences across the globe is that it is, overall, a show about an ordinary man, trying to make his family happy, while holding onto what he values most. Tradition. Can he, do it?
From 1964 to now, the universality of the show is what draws us to it, what makes it so likely that you will see it put on by your local high school or community theatre dozens of times and why it has shown up on every continent on the planet, in dozens of countries and in as many languages. It is in fact, still so popular today that is performed EACH day somewhere on earth! Imagine! So many performances in so many places.
Japan was the first non-English speaking country to adapt Fiddler on the Roof and it has been playing there for more than 50 years! In fact, Joseph Stein, the book writer for Fiddler was once approached by a producer from Japan who asked him if American audiences understood Fiddler, because he felt the show was “So Japanese!”
All of this is to say that regardless of the opinions of a handful of people on social media, Fiddler on the Roof is perfectly written piece of musical theatre. It is beloved by people everywhere on the planet and it will continue to be performed each and every day somehow somewhere no matter what anyone says about it.
I truly hope Syracuse audiences enjoy the final weekend of…
Adam Fumarola is a charming, bear of a Tevye. He is exactly what you want in the milkman, and he had Sunday’s audience eating out of the palm of his hand. Lynne Barbato King is his long-suffering wife (tho I don’t believe for a second she is old enough to have been his wife for too long!) She cannot match him growl for growl. But their love for each other shines all the way to the back of the house – where I was. And they were especially funny in the Dream sequence together.
Speaking of the dream…Emma Donvito was a swirling green and white smash as Fruma-Sarah. It’s not an easy part to pull off. And she was glorious. I was grinning the entire time. Kudos to whoever thought of the standing bed idea. BRILLIANT! If I ever do this show again, I am stealing that!
Casting Benjamin Wells as Lazar Wolf was an absolute genius move. His voice has such a different sound than Fumarola’s. He is grouchy and grating where Tevye growls but is never mean or miserable. They are a wonderful pair. As mentioned above, a cameo from Jordan Glaski as the borderline friendly Constable shows what a stellar cast you have. And Kathy Egloff, floating onto stage in black and grey as Yente, sharp and coarse, never disappoints.
Now, the children. Olivia Semsel has got Tzeital, the eldest daughter, pegged perfectly. She’s willowy but not a pushover, able to get her way with her father just at the crucial moment when all looks lost. It is a part made for miss Olivia to be sure. Her partner in poverty Motel is played by Cole LaVenture, a bumbling nerdy ball of nerves. His Miracle of Miracles is delightful. They are the comic, sweet beginning of our love stories and Tevye’s first step into bending that tradition of his.
Janna Kozloski is the most modern Hodel I’ve ever seen. She is shrewd and sarcastic when Tzeital is warm, and Chava is all nerves. She isn’t just brave, she is challenging. She and Ryan Sparkes as Perchik are great together. Perchik and Hodel scenes can often be less interesting than others in the show. Not in this case. Ryan and Janna squeeze sarcasm out of every line. These two are our dramatic heart.
Lastly, sweet Hannah Komar as Chava giving a touching performance as Tevye’s favorite, who thinks she might actually get away with pushing her father one step further by falling in love with Russian Fyedka, played charmingly by Jeffrey Salamone. These two actors only have a few moments of stage time to convince us they are in love. Hannah and Jeffrey do it beautifully. They are our tragic lovers.
Tevye’s youngest two daughters are played adorably by Issy Weinberg and Layla Kandel.
Allow me to shout out the entire ensemble. The very fact that CNYP was able to gather an ensemble this large in this day and age is quite a testament. I would especially like to note: Eric Ziegler, Declan Hawthorne, Jason Obie, Mariah Robbins and David Gilmore. And oh, those miraculous bottle dancers of course!
Band: A+ Erica Moser, I could hear everything from the very back of the house.
Lights were ok. There were some weird spots. A couple of shadows. But overall, pretty good. Sound: My dad always said, if you didn’t notice it, it was good.
Andrea Calarco makes a more colorful and interesting palate of costumes to look at in Anatevka to be sure. Each and every member of this cast was skillfully cared for and it shows.
The set works! Panels look great and I know the choreographer was happy to get as much space as possible! Speaking of choreography…I am proud to share the same space in this town with Lauren Puente. Be-A-Utiful job.
Director Nic MacLane and CNYP went through a whole lot to get this show up and running. They did more to prepare their cast, audience and community than any other company I have ever seen as far as this show is concerned (certainly more than I did the last three times I did the show) They deserve a win.
This was Fiddler’s only matinee performance and it sold out weeks ago. But the show has sold out every night since opening, and it is expected to sell out its final couple of performances. I feel like this says as much about Syracuse’s love for classical musicals as it does about quality of the performance. I know we as actors ourselves don’t always love putting on the oldies. But we might need to start admitting that the oldies draw a crowd! And boy it sure turns out that there still is indeed a crowd to be had!
Congratulations CNYP and Fiddler Cast. I wanted to thank CNY Playhouse for staying the course and putting on Fiddler on the Roof. I wish the cast could have heard the gushing, glowing compliments from the audience you were getting. Ignore the negativity. You deserve all the praise and applause you are hearing. L’Chaim!
*For a little extra history on Fiddler on the Roof: check out Fiddler: Miracle of Miracles on Prime video
