Emily O’Keeffe and Paul Michael Glaser in the touring production og Fiddler On the Roof at the Mayflower Theatre, Southampton. Picture: Tristram Kenton
Fiddler On the Roof continues at the Mayflower Theatre, Southampton before touring the UK until 26 April 2014.
Who would have thought that a musical set in an Ukrainian shtetl telling of the persecution and eviction of Jews from their homeland would prove to not only be a success, but also a durable one. Frequent revivals of Fiddler On the Roof go to prove how popular and beloved it has become. Its themes of love, heartache, hunger, pain and human emotion are universal.
The story, of course, tells of the lives and struggles of Tevye, a poor milkman, his family and his fellow villagers in Tsarist Russia at the turn of the century. Amidst the tears and sadness there is plenty of warmth and humour in the show.
‘Tradition’ is the memorable opening number of the production and what follows is the breakdown of tradition with each of Tevye’s daughters challenging the old order – two of them wanting to choose their own husbands rather than take the ones arranged by their father and the village matchmaker, with the other marrying outside of the faith. Tevye, like the fiddler trying to keep his balance on the rooftop, struggles to maintain the balance between his love for his children and the acceptance of a new order in a changing world.
Director and choreographer Craig Revel Horwood comes to this production with a wealth of experience, especially via the Watermill Theatre, Newbury where he has embraced their in-house style of actor/musicians in his many successful productions there. In choosing this style for Fiddler On the Roof , he asks a lot of his cast, for they must not only be able to act, sing and dance, but also play their own music. The successful co-ordination of all this is brilliantly handled by orchestrator Sarah Travis.
At first I had doubts as to whether actor/musicians would work on the large Mayflower stage with a cast of 20, unlike the intimate Watermill. The visibility of all the performers scattered around the stage initially distracts from the central dramatic action, but gradually they blend in and the irritation evaporates.
Revel Horwood’s staging keeps the show flowing and is at times very inventive. His lively choreography excites: the inn scene where Tevye raises a toast ‘To Life’ features an enticing mixture of Jewish and Cossack folk dancing, and then there’s the wedding where the exuberant celebrations, including the famous ‘Bottle Dance’, are violently interrupted by the start of a pogrom. The staging of Tevye’s nightmare is not only funny but most inventive with ghosts (one of which actually hovers over the bed) and zombies rising from their graves. The quieter numbers also make their impact. ‘Sabbath Prayer’ and ‘Far From the Home I Love’ are beautifully simple and touching.
The talented and hardworking cast includes Jon Trenchard, who gives more life than usual to Motel the tailor, in addition to emphasising the comical aspects of the character; Jennifer Douglas, a live fiddler for a change, with striking balletic postures; and Emily O’Keeffe, Liz Singleton and Claire Petzal as Tevye’s daughters – each successfully underlining their differing personalities. Karen Mann as their mother, Golde, adds another fine performance to the many I have seen her give at the Watermill Theatre – a strong yet understated portrayal.
But of course it is the actor who takes on the role of Tevye that bears the burden of the show. The part is demanding and carries with it the shadow of Topol who created the part. There will always be comparisons.
Paul Michael Glaser, best known as Starsky in the TV series Starsky and Hutch, is the latest incarnation of Tevye. Having seen Henry Goodman’s (in my view) definitive performance at the Sheffield Crucible and in the West End, I had no problem erasing Topol from my mind while watching Glaser, but I did find myself at times thinking of Goodman.
Glaser seemed a little shaky to start with, but that said he gives a very good performance, powerful and moving with touches of originality. He brings out in full the comedy of the part, and in response to his daughter’s breaking with tradition delivers a mixture of controlled anger that masks his grief.
The finale always has a poignancy as the villagers leave their homes to start new lives elsewhere. With their children having moved on to their own destinations, Tevye and Golde are left alone, ready to begin their journey to a new life in America. They are full of hope but, as an audience, we know from other musicals such as Rags and Ragtime that a long and hard struggle awaits them there.
Barrie Jerram
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