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Fiddler on the Roof on Tour
In Broadway terms, Fiddler on the Roof is a tradition unto itself. The much-loved story of Tevye the milkman's struggle to reconcile old Jewish ways with the modern world opened on Broadway in 1964 and held the record for longest-running musical — with 3,242 performances until it closed in 1970 — for nearly 10 years. The blockbuster won nine Tony Awards — including best musical, direction, and choreography — and has been revived on Broadway five times.
Producer Harold Prince hired director-choreographer Jerome Robbins to bring Sholom Aleichem's turn-of-the-19th-century Yiddish tales of life in the Anatevka shtetl, where existence is "as precarious as a fiddler on the roof," to the stage. Jerry Bock's music and Sheldon Harnick's lyrics illuminated the fading world of East European Jewry, while Joseph Stein's book brought a humorous taste of Jewish comedy's borscht belt. Painter Marc Chagall's blend of Jewish traditionalism and artistic modernism inspired the show's memorable look. Zero Mostel played Tevye, and Beatrice Arthur, of Maude television fame, portrayed Yente the matchmaker.
The most recent revival arrived in 2015, when director Bartlett Sher enhanced the show's authenticity with the help of Israeli-born choreographer Hofesh Shechter. The New York Times praised the new production as "superb" while noting how it recaptured the foot-stomping, hand-waving energy of the original.
Sher's revival, now on tour with Yehezkel Lazarov as Tevye and Maite Uzal as his wife Golde, is delighting audiences with celebratory songs like "Tradition," "If I Were a Rich Man," and "To Life (L'Chaim)," as well as beautiful melodies of love and loss such as "Sunrise, Sunset" and "Far From the Home I Love."
As part of a trend that began with The Sound of Music and The Wizard of Oz, Fiddler on the Roof fans are dressing up as Anatevkans and belting out tunes during screenings of the show's 1971 film adaptation. Their participatory zeal reflects the devotion the musical has inspired and the power of its music.
"What can we do?" asks Tevye of Golde during a moment of doubt. "It's a new world." One solution is to return to the source for cultural renewal. We may not experience the same problems as shtetl Jews in 1905 did, but Fiddler on the Roof assures us that almost any difficulty can be surmounted with great music and exuberant dancing.
Seeing Fiddler was like visiting with a friend from the past. First saw Fiddler on Broadway in the 70's. Hearing the music again brought back good memories. Harvey did an ourstanding job and carried the show.
It was quite good, however we were spoiled by Topol's performance previously--Harvey Fierstein was not the best Tevye--difficult to understand...and he had NO singing voice!
It is too bad that Harvey Fierstein's singing sounded like Popeye the sailor otherwise this would have been an excellent show. His acting was very good , and the rest of the cast sang as good as in the original Broadway soundtrack. Zero Mostel would not have been happy with Fierstein's singing!
What a wonderful production! The singing and dancing were spectacular. The staging was imaginative and well thought out. The acting was superb. I am very familiar with the film version, so it was interesting to compare the two. I was not disappointed. Well done! The only weakness in the entire production was Tevya. As soon as he opened his gravel voice I was turned off. Not only was his voice harsh, but it was also weak, not up to the performances of the wonderful cast around him. At times I couldn't understand what he was saying. I also found his acting a bit over the top - he almost took on a mean spirit, mimicking and yelling at everyone around him. Topol (in the film version), by comparison, had a fabulous rich singing voice but also seemed, by acting more subtly, to have a kind heart. All in all it was a great night and I really enjoyed it! Thanks.
The play was captivating throughout. Harvey's voice tones made his comments interesting. The interplay between Harvey, his God and his wife were timely humorous and on point. Although I have seen this play many times - it was engaging still and the cast kept us engaged.
The play was fantastic!!! I would highly recommend it to everyone, and the play was family friendly!!
I enjoyed songs and heart warming story, but Harvey Fierstein's singing was terrible.
It is an evening of enjoyment. I had the very good luck of seeing Zero Mostel perform Tevye. He was bigger than life as a performer and every move, every nuance, every arch of the eyebrow, every tear, became mine, became the audiences'. I was eager to see Harvey, and I saw him play the role as a contemporary comedian. A very different Tevye. A much, much more shallow Tevye. But, entertaining. The cast is strong. The choreography is strong. The music is as strong and wonderful as ever.
Harvey was incredible! I felt like he was just doing the one show for us last night!! I loved the music, dancing and especially loved the scene with the Sabbath song, how they had all the neighbors in view, just beautiful. I would highly recommend seeing this play! I wish I could go again!
I'm a long-time fan of Harvey Fierstein, and when I learned he'd play Tevye here, I decided to get the tickets that I ususally can't afford. Taking my daughter was an icredibly worthwhile splurge. I had only a rough idea of the plot, and she knew nothing. However, she sang Sunrise, Sunset at a school performance when she was in third or fourth grade; she received plaudits then, and the song brought copious tears to my eyes during the performance. If only I could manage to get back again before the show leaves town, I would do so, but it's beyond my budget. With that said, I'm so happy that I took the time to get to the performance that my 13-year-old and I attended. We went on Sunday; today is Friday, and my heart is still pounding!
The main character was engaging and made the role memorable. I have seen the movie but I liked the play much better. And the supporting cast was awesome.
The dancing was great, the number at the wedding was worth admission. One of the best shows I've been to. I just wish they would start cleaning up S.F. pretty disgusting as of late.
i've seen fiddler many times. i've watched the movie version many times. I almost didn't go because of that. I'm so glad that I did. This cast most definitely took ownership over the production and performs their story to you. Not a word or note seems different at all - yet somehow it was like the first time i had seen it. I will remember Harvey's performance forever. The dream sequence was fun. "To Life" was probably my favorite number. Catch it while it's here for a few more weeks or maybe in another city. It's worth it!
Saw the original with Zero M and it could not compare! Maybe it is not a fair comparison. It was flat and lackluster!
This was a fantastic, enjoyable show. The actors were delightful and the music for Fiddler is a stickler, heard it being hummed on the street after the show. Our 17 year old grandchild laughed throughout the show.
Tevye's high-pitched, raspy voice was distracting from the script and storyline. Also, the jokes in the script were less effective due to poorly timed pauses. Eh...I was disappointed. It felt like almost all the lines were rushed. I would have preferred better timed delivery of lines and story development in that sense and less dancing.
I saw this play many years ago with Zero Mostel as Tevye, so remember the impact of his exquisite performance. Fierstein's performance is worth seeing if you have seats close enough to see his expressions. His comedic timing is legendary, but is missed in half the audience whose seats are too far away to appreciate this. It is difficult to understand/hear the words with Fierstein's singing and his speaking voice seems to be affected by vocal cord polyps; this significantly impacts the play. We had one pair of binoculars between the four of us and when I was able to watch through binoculars, I enjoyed it much more. Overall, would recommend this historic classic if one has not seen it before ONLY IF you are able to get seats up close enough to see Fierstein's facial expressions. Otherwise, you are better off seeing another production.
Outstanding performances by everyone! Harvey Fierstein was perfect as Tevye. My husband and I loved it and will highly recommend it to all our friends.
Harvey Fierstein was fantastic. Loved the humor he brought to the part of Tevye. The singing and dancing were marvelous and the simple sets were perfect for the village of Anatevka. Most enjoyable.
A fine production that amazes and does not disappoint. Wonderful music, dancing , and acting. You'll be transformed to another time and place, and not want to leave.