Tradition continues with ‘Fiddler’

PLAY REVIEW /// ‘Fiddler on the Roof’



 Yarde´n Barr (Chava) and Randa Meierhenry (Tzeitel) and GraceAnn Kontak (Hodel) in the North American tour of “Fiddler on the Roof.”

Yarde´n Barr (Chava) and Randa Meierhenry (Tzeitel) and GraceAnn Kontak (Hodel) in the North American tour of “Fiddler on the Roof.”

With the conflict in Ukraine entering its second year, the venerable 1964 musical “Fiddler on the Roof” has never been more relevant.

The national touring company, presented by American Theatre Guild and featuring Jonathan Hashmonay as Tevye, was one of the best productions you’ll ever see of “Fiddler,” presented from March 9 to 12 at the Kavli Theatre in Thousand Oaks.

For Hashmonay, a native of Israel and descendant of Holocaust survivors, playing Tevye was a dream come true. He was indeed a dream to watch, hitting all his laugh lines perfectly and exhibiting deft acting ability as he seamlessly transitioned to the show’s more moving emotional scenes, especially showing unrestrained fury when he discovers his daughter Chava’s intention to marry the Russian soldier Fyedka.

After each performance, Hashmonay dedicated the production to the people of Ukraine in an emotional footlight statement that received rousing cheers from the audience.

The national tour version is based on the musical’s successful fifth revival directed by Bartlett Sher in 2015.

MAZEL TOV—At top, Yarde´n Barr (Chava) and Randa Meierhenry (Tzeitel) and GraceAnn Kontak (Hodel) in the North American tour of “Fiddler on the Roof.” Above, Jonathan Hashmonay as Tevye. Photos courtesy of Joan Marcus

MAZEL TOV—Jonathan Hashmonay as Tevye. Photos courtesy of Joan Marcus

Sher has made it his specialty to take on revivals of deeply beloved Broadway classics without tinkering with tradition, an ironic contrast to the theme of “Fiddler,” the upending of long-standing religious traditions that threaten the very fabric of the Jewish citizens of the fictional Ukrainian shtetl Anatevka, a village based on author Sholem Aleichem’s birthplace, Boyarka.

Sher’s intention was to combine the intensity of the Russian pogroms with the light, beauty and humor in which the villagers lived, a contrast that is represented by the vibrant wedding scene at the end of Act 1, which is broken up by Russian soldiers’ “demonstration.”

Sher studied not only Aleichem’s “Tevye stories,” but also the experience of Jewish lives in the United States at the time. He especially found interesting how the system of matchmaking, which sets up the plot, wards against the ideas of love, a major building block of the musical.

“Fiddler” resonates with audiences because it could easily have depicted Islamic, Japanese or many other communities that share religious and social beliefs. Sher’s vision communicates the warmth and humanity of the residents of Anatevka with joy and color, making this production not only outstanding but memorable.

The guild’s exhilarating production respects the tradition of the music.

The exemplary cast led by Hashmonay includes Maite Uzal as Tevye’s loving but no-nonsense wife, Golde; Randa Meierhenry (Tzeitel), Graceann Kontak (Hodel) and Yardén Barr (Chava) as their three oldest daughters; and Elliot Lazar (Motel), Austin J. Gresham (Perchik) and Carson Robinette (Fyedka) as their respective intendeds. Andrew Hendrick is equally effective as the raspy-voiced butcher Lazar Wolf.

All perform their parts brilliantly, from Lazar’s nebbish Motel, who grows considerably in his assertiveness in the musical, to Gersham’s strident Perchik, the would-be revolutionary.

Kontak was especially good as Hodel, with her sweet, birdlike soprano highlighting the achingly beautiful “Far From the Home I Love.” Mary Beth Webber, herself the mother of seven daughters, was brilliant as the village busybody/matchmaker Yente.

The production reveled in the details. A tree in the background of the set is adorned with springtime blossoms during Motel and Tzeitel’s ebullient “Miracle of Miracles” number, yet is barren in Act 2, when winter and the threat of eviction envelopes the village.

Jonathan Marro’s wonderful orchestra features guitarist McKinley Foster playing a mandolin as a balalaika in “Sabbath Prayer” while an absolutely astounding performance was turned in by klezmer clarinet specialist Bradley Frizzell on “To Life.”

Hofesh Shechter’s original choreography was beautifully reproduced by Christopher Evans, highlighted by a spectacular Russian dance sequence and the obligatory bottle dance.

I can quibble with only one minor point: the nightmare scene features Tevye and Golde sleeping in twin beds, which contradicts the line in the tender “Do You Love Me?”—“For 25 years my bed is his.”