Few plays of the 20th Century have had the global impact of Fiddler on the Roof. The familiar musical adaptation of the Yiddish tales by Sholem Aleichem, most notably Tevye and his Daughters, is set in Imperial Russia’s Pale of Settlement around 1905. It is being revived by the Axelrod Performing Arts Center in Deal. While the power of the underlying story, adapted by Joseph Stein with a score by composer Jerry Bock and lyricist Sheldon Harnick, is still there, unfortunately it has been given a mediocre production.
For those who have managed to avoid seeing either a stage production of Fiddler or the movie adaptation starring Topol, the story takes place in the sleepy village of Anatevka, divided between Orthodox “native” Russians and Russian Jews. The village stays at peace because of centuries of behavioral customs on both sides. The main characters are Tevye the dairyman, his wife Golde, three of their five daughters — Tzeitel, the eldest; Hodel; and Chava — and the daughters’ suitors — tailor Motel Kemzoil, teacher-revolutionary Perchik, and Russian townsman Fyedka. The Jewish community also includes Yente the matchmaker, butcher Lazar Wolf, tavern keeper Mordcha, and the town’s beloved Rabbi. An unofficial communications link between Tevye and the town Constable keeps information flowing between the two communities.
The town goes through rituals of everyday life: work; prayer; the Sabbath dinner; matchmaking and weddings. All runs smoothly until the day when Imperial authorities’ orders for attacks on Jews come to Anatevka.
Given the immense experience listed in the program descriptions for the acting company, led by Bruce Sabath’s Tevye and Joy Hermalyn’s Golde, one can only look to director Daniel Kutner as the reason for the low-energy level of performances, which seem to come to life only in the less-than-sprightly musical numbers choreographed by Cindy Mora Reiser.
Not that there aren’t any bright spots. There is a powerful bursting-dam rush of joyous romance in “Now I Have Everything”, sung by James C. Harris’ Perchik and Mariia Ivashchenko’s Hodel. Sammy Pignalosa’s Motel displays a gawky charm, either when wonderingly realizing he has won his wife (“Miracle of Miracles”) or when he displays a newly-purchased sewing machine. Tevye and the ghost of Fruma-Sarah, the butcher’s first wife, share a conspiratorial wink at the end of the dream sequence. The community ritual numbers, “Sabbath Prayer” and “Sunrise Sunset” /”Wedding Dance;” the popular “Matchmaker, Matchmaker;” and the bookend numbers at the start (“Tradition”) and end (“Anatevka”) of the play retain their musical heft and are powerful in their emotional delivery. The cast is ably supported by conductor Dan Sander-Wells leading the eight-piece orchestra from their perch above the rooftops of the town.
I do have to say, the most distracting thing about this production of Fiddler on the Roof wasn’t on stage. It was in the audience, most of whom were old enough to know better and entitled enough not to care. I have never seen, even in the smallest theaters in New Jersey and New York, more people texting or, God help us, talking on their cell phones during the performance. From where I sat, I could hear a man across the orchestra from me saying “Yeah, I’m at the theater watching a show right now,” and continue talking for the next minute or so. Perhaps because the request to silence all phones and electronic devices was not made before the show started, people thought that it would be all right to do this. It most certainly was not all right. It was rude to the actors and thoughtless to their fellow patrons. The audience at the performance I attended should be thoroughly ashamed of itself.
This production of Fiddler on the Roof was not bad. It was just played at a very low level of performance, which in no way reflects badly on the material. Maybe it was just an off performance — such things do exist — or it was a thoughtless audience — such things also exist. If you are a fan of Fiddler on the Roof, you might want to see this production and store it with memories of past productions you’ve seen. If not, you might want to wait until the next production is mounted.
Fiddler on the Roof is presented at the Axelrod Performing Arts Center in Deal through Nov. 24, 2024. For more information or to purchase tickets, go to axelrodartscenter.com or call 732-531-9106, ext. 14.
