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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.
Fiddler on the Roof was outstanding. Topol was superb as Tevya. It. Will be a great loss when he hands over the reigns leaving enormous shoes to fill. Well worth seeing for any generation.
Topol was amazing. To have the strength and quality in his voice after all these years is unbelievable. I've seen the movie many times, and have it on DVD, but I never thought I would see him in person. He and the show will be treasured for all time. The story, the characters, and the music will stay with me always; and I'm not even Jewish!
But I suspect you already knew that! The iconic Topol in his farewell tour! Could not be better. Tears in my eyes, goosebumps throughout. This is a must. Thank you Topol for years of joy!
This was surprising... Beyond that, I can see why Topol is so revered in this role. The entire cast took its cues from his ease on stage, giving the entire performance an air of reality that many shows miss.
Amazing! Wonderful! Everything a play should be and more. Topol shines in his performance- his singing and acting are breathtaking. Everyone should see him in this incredible show. Brilliant!
Great tickets for great price! Topol did an amazing job at acting nobody can portray his role . Best show out there sucks he is retiring
THE MUSIC WAS OUTSTANDING. THE CAST WAS EXCELLENT. a PLAY WORTH SEEING FOR THE THIRD TIME WAS BETTER THAN BEFORE BOTH IN THE ROUND AT NORTH SHORE AND PREVIOUSLY IN BOSTON.
wondrful. topol was outstanding as always. great story and cast
Topol was amazing! I very much enjoyed seeing him after many years!! He not only captured me, but the entire audience!! It was fabulous!! Truly, Topol is an era coming to an end.....I will miss his performance in Fiddler.......and wish him well!
Amazing!! The cast was excellent! Wonderful performance! The only disappointment was that Topol was not at this performance but his understudy, David Brummel displayed a more than impressive Tevye. Don't miss this show!!
The show was fabulous! Entertaining and a night to remember!
We experienced one of Topol's last three Boston performances of his Fiddler on The Roof farewell tour. One would expect at the end of 2500+ performances in a role even just a bit of a loss of technique, or freshness to the performance. His Tevye was a wonder to behold. I felt as if Miles Davis had come back to life as an elderly Jewish man. Nuanced adaptation and reinterpretation of a classic and beloved role left me in tears and laughter throughout. The former was to be expected, as the first few notes of each entrance of the "on the other hand" theme wells me up in expectation every time I hear them. "Fiddler" is not a Jewish story, it is the human story of life, told to us by God, through the Jewish people. Not the first time that has happened, but perhaps one of the most entertaining.
I enjoyed the show and am really glad I was able to see Topol in his final performance!
I am glad that I was able to experience Topol in this role before he retires it. He was amazing. The show was weaker than I expected overall, but it is quite enjoyable.
A spectacular performance! To be honest, I was a bit upset when we arrived at the Boston Opera House to find that Topel would not be performing. (I had purchased these tickets as a special birthday gift for my sister who had never seen Fiddler.) You could hear the sighs and disappointment mounting as the audience arrived. When you purchase tickets billed as Topal in Fiddler on the Roof you expect to see Topal! However, David Brummel executed the role of Tevye with great precision and passion. A standing ovation at the end of the performance was in his honor!
Although Topol was ill and not able to perform in the matinee we attended, David Brummel did a splendid job as Tevye and received a standing ovation. This was a wonderful presentation. The staging was top notch. The singing and dancing was fabulous!
Although I was initially disappointed to arrive at the Opera House and see that Topol was replaced by another actor for this performance,my disappointment was short lived,as the understudy,David Brummel,looked just like him and was just amazing,as was the whole production!
Topol was incredible in this production. The subtle emotions that he plays with as Tevye literally make the production. Backed by an very strong cast and a superb orchestra, this production is not to be missed.
First let me preface by saying that we saw a matinee performance, and were very disappointed that Topol did not perform the part of Tevye. Probably because there was an evening performance scheduled and Topol felt he could not do two performances in a day. We could have gotten a refund or exchanged our tickets for another performance, but I had taken a day off, drove 1-1/2 hrs, sat in traffic, etc. I feel that they knew ahead of time that Topol would not be doing the matinee show and should have contacted us in advance by email. I wouldn't have paid $70 a ticket had I known I would not be seeing Topol. That said, the performance was still excellent, and David Brummel who played Tevye, was probably as good as anyone who's ever played Tevye. The rest of the cast was also great, the singing was very good, the dancing was incredible, and the sets, though sparse, definitely conveyed the time and place. They were high tech also, the houses rolled on and off the stage, seemingly by some kind of remote control. The Boston Opera House is a perfect venue for a play, although I'm glad I was in the second row of the balcony and not way up in the nosebleeds. I'd love to see this play again with Topol and see how he compares to David Brummel's excellent performance. Perhaps I wouldn't be so disappointed after all, but I still would like to be able to say I'd seen Topol perform Tevye live and not just in the movie.
l enjoyed a lot, it was such a good performance, setting and play. it was my first time in Opera House, and l really liked seats,venue, the art. Only problem was we had a seat at row "U" so sound was little bad back there! But total opinion is very positif. l am planning to attanding other events there.