A Road Weary 'Fiddler on the Roof'

"Fiddler on the Roof"

Book by Joseph Stein; music by Jerry Bock; lyrics by Sheldon Harnick; directed by Sammy Dallas Bayes; original choreography by Jerome Robbins reproduced by Sammy Dallas Bayles; lighting design by Ken Billington and Jason Kantrowitz; costume design by Tony Ray Hicks; scenic design by Steve Gilliam; sound design by Duncan Robert Edwards; orchestrations by Larry Blank; music director, David Andrews Rogers; assistant director/choreographer, Ken Daigle

Cast:

Tevye, Topol; Golde, Susan Cella; Tzeitel, Rena Strober; Hodel, Jamie Davis; Chava, Deborah Grausman; Shprintze, Kerry Alexander; Beilke, Hannah DelMonte; Yente, The Matchmaker, Mary Stout; Motel, The Tailor, Erik Liberman; Perchik, The Student, Colby Foytik; Lazar Wolf, The Butcher, David Brummel; Mordcha, The Innkeeper, Larry Block; Rabbi, Joel Bernstein; Mendel, The Rabbi's Son, Gary Brintz; Avram, The Bookseller, Michael J. Farina; Nachum, The Beggar, Rick Pessagno; Grandma Tzeitel, Hannah DelMonte; Fruma-Sarah, Sean Patrick Doyle; Constable, Stephen Lee Anderson; Fyedka, Eric Van Tielen; Sasha, Matthew Marks; Boris, David W. Gilleo; Vladimir, Scott Leiendecker; Misha, Trevor Illingworth; The Fiddler, Arthur A. Atkinson

Performances: Now through November 15, Opera House, 539 Washington Street, Boston, Mass.

Tickets: Ticketmaster at 800-982-2787, BroadwayAcrossAmerica.com/Boston, or The Colonial Theatre Box Office, 106 Boylston Street, Boston, Mass.

Acclaimed international actor Topol may not be as robust a Tevye as he once was when he starred in the movie version of Fiddler on the Roof some 37 years ago. But that didn't stop an adoring audience from leaping to its feet and cheering when the 74-year-old legend took his solo bow on opening night at the Opera House in Boston last week. Starring in a "farewell tour" of the beloved musical that made the Golden Globe Award winner and Academy Award nominee famous, Topol has replaced his former peacock swagger with rueful winks and gestures, his younger irreverent bluster with reluctantly accepting sighs. But what he may lack in vigor he now makes up for with hard-won wisdom. Less clownish and more deeply feeling than in his earlier days, Topol's current Tevye exudes a palpable world-weary humanity. Visibly tired and deliberately slow moving, he now seems to be carrying the weight of Anatevka on his shoulders.

For the most part this sadder, more somber Fiddler makes Joseph Stein's book, based on the stories of Sholom Aleichem, even more touching and timeless than ever. We feel and see the effects of the crushing oppression of Tsarist Russia in the hunched backs and fretted brows of work-a-day turn-of-the-20^th-century Jews whose faith keeps them optimistic as they scratch out a living in their Little Village on The Edge of extinction. We ache for both the elders and the youths as they each struggle to balance the onslaught of change with the importance of tradition. We also marvel at the power of love as it flourishes amidst war, poverty and revolution, bridging generations, politics, and even steadfast religious beliefs.

The glorious score by Sheldon Harnick and Jerry Bock is as always irresistible, expressing the hopes and fears of a steadfast people in clever and evocative words and music. From Tevye's rousing opening prologue "Tradition" to the company's dirge-like farewell "Anetevka," Fiddler is as musically and ethnically rich as it ever was. Winsome daughters Hodel (Jamie Davis), Chava (Deborah Grausman) and Tzeitel (Rena Strober) give a spirited and delightfully fresh shine to "Matchmaker, Matchmaker," turning danced with string mops into dreaded fantasy husbands hand picked by the intrusive Yente (a happily overbearing Mary Stout). The tailor Motel (Erik Liberman) is exuberantly heroic in the celebratory "Miracle of Miracles." And a wonderfully tender Tevye and equally abashed Golde (Susan Cella) turn "Do You Love Me?" into a tremendously heartfelt discovery of the love they have developed for one another after living in an arranged marriage for 25 years.

Where the more solemn tone of this Fiddler disappoints is in the climactic dream sequence that Tevye concocts to convince his wife that their first-born Tzeitel is destined to marry the tailor Motel Kamzoil and not the widowed butcher Lazar Wulf as previously agreed. Here both Topol and Cella underplay their terror, making his feigned fright and her real panic too mild to create the necessary hilarious pandemonium. In addition, the bizarre casting of the young male Sean Patrick Doyle as the ghost of Lazar Wulf's deceased wife Fruma-Sarah turns what should be a terrifyingly funny specter into an innocuously angry drag queen. Note to director Sammy Dallas Bayles and casting director Dave Clemmons. Rethink this choice. Now. Doyle's gender is an obvious distraction.

While the older members of this touring cast seem burdened by their characters' hardships, the younger actors bring much needed vitality to counterbalance the occasional lethargy. Tevye's daughters and their respective beaus - Motel (Liberman), Perchik (Colby Foytik) and Fyedka (Erik Van Tielen) - are all quite fresh-faced and winning. Their singing is sprightly and pleasant and they act with impassioned sincerity. Their innocent determination is a refreshing contrast to the more seasoned and jaded outlooks of their elders.

The overall pace of Fiddler, however, hinges on Tevye's energy, and Topol's muted vocals and sluggish delivery seem to infect the rest of the performances. While his voice is still rich and resonant and his warmth undeniably endearing, his too prominent vulnerability strips away an essential element of Tevye's character. He's no longer larger than life. As a mere mortal it's hard to believe he's the stalwart backbone of the community who commands respect from both the Rabbi and the Constable. And while his private talks with God are still delightful, even they are now more conciliatory than confrontational.

As a bear Topol's grandfatherly Tevye is no longer a grizzly but a teddy. But as Boston's opening night audience demonstrated long and loud, teddies are very easy to love.

PHOTOS by Joan Marcus: Topol as Tevye; Susan Cella as Golde and Topol; Eric Van Tielen as Fyedka and Alison Walla as Chava (now played by Deborah Grausman)