‘Fiddler on the Roof’: London revival one of best ever

‘FIDDLER ON THE ROOF’: The West End cast. Photo: Johan Persson

FIDDLER ON THE ROOF
Book by Joseph Stein
Music by Jerry Bock
Lyrics by Sheldon Harnick
Based on the Sholem Aleciheim stories
Directed by Trevor Nunn
Choreographed by Matthew Cole
Originally directed & choreographed by Jerome Robbins
Playhouse Theatre
Northumberland Avenue
London WC2N 5DE
https://fiddlerwestend.com/

By David NouNou

I am one of the few remaining people (still alive to talk about it) who saw the original version of Fiddler On the Roof in September 1964 when it opened with the one and only Zero Mostel. I can honestly say that I had no real sense of what the show actually meant, why the critics raved about it at the time or it’s universality. It lacked the razzle-dazzle of the musicals I was accustomed to like Hello, Dolly or Funny Girl. However, it did touch on a nerve that this musical, like no other, was about my Jewish heritage and the customs I was used to since birth.

Since then, I have been yearning to see a production that would explain to me its universality and adoration from its admirers. Of course, I knew the score by heart and its songs have been sung by every major artist of the day. There is the gritty 1971 film version with the over-the-top performance by Topol. Countless revivals on Broadway and elsewhere: one with Topol even more over-the-top in 1991, the misguided 2004 version with a miscast Alfred Molina, and the abysmal 2016 version with Danny Burstein. When my editor asked me to review this version in London, I was hesitant because I’ve seen so many disappointing revivals, but I went anyway and am so glad I did. Lo and behold, here is the “miracle of miracles,” that revival I have been yearning for since childhood.

You might ask yourself what makes this version so special? I’ll tell you in two names: Trevor Nunn, the director and Robert Jones, the set designer. What they have done is captured the heart and soul of the village of Anatevka. Most directors and designers create the set in an abstract form or representational, this is mostly to cut corners and they know the audience is familiar with the material and will use their imagination to fill in the rest, thus robbing the audience of the full immersive experience. Robert Jones has created the best conceivable set, capturing the essence of Anatevka, a small claustrophobic village where everyone knows each other’s business. He built the homes around the village square where everyone congregates and then goes to their homes. After all, Anatevka is this tiny village in early 1900s Tsarist Russian-controlled Ukraine, and it was a tiny dot on the map and now gone. In that village lived an array of put-upon, downtrodden people but they always seemed to be hoping for the best.

The story centers on Tevye (Andy Nyman), a poor milkman who lives in Anatevka. He has five unmarried daughters, a shrewish wife, Golde (Tania Newton), a lame horse and has a penchant to talking to God about his misfortunes. The one thing that has kept Anatevka going for all these years is tradition (no one knows how these traditions started, but they exist) and Tevye has to watch each tradition that he holds sacred unravel. Therein lies the beauty and texture of the family dynamics and Tevye’s turmoil of upholding his covenant with God and his religious beliefs, versus his love for his daughters having to watch his three eldest daughters marrying in nontraditional ways especially when his third daughter, Chava, marries the Russian Orthodox Christian soldier, Feyedka.

In Andy Nyman you will not be getting a bombastic, “bigger than life,” argumentative Teyve. You’ll be getting a sweet interpretation of a man who speaks to God in a gentle manner and gingerly admonishes God about couldn’t He just once throw him a little extra his way as in the song “If I Were A Rich Man”? What he lacks in being bigger than life, he makes up for with his rendition of his songs. He has a remarkable voice and his interpretation of “Tradition” and “Chavaleh (Little Bird)” is flawless and heart wrenching.

Unfortunately Judy Kuhn finished her run as Golde the week before we saw the show. At the performance we saw, Tania Newton brilliantly played Golde. Ms. Newton’s portrayal of Golde is the quintessential earth mother. Tevye’s Daughters: Tzeitel, (Molly Osborne), Hodel (Harriet Bunton) and Chava (Nicola Brown) are all a constant delight with their angelic voices. Broadway and Olivier Award-winning West End veteran Maria Friedman has now taken over the role of Golde.

Now, let’s discuss the second man who worked on this glorious production, director Trevor Nunn. With the aid of set designer Robert Jones, they brought to life this miracle village with its glorious characters: Lazar Wolf, the butcher (Dermot Canavan), Motel (Joshua Gannon), a tailor who wants to marry Tzeitel, Tevye’s oldest daughter. Perchik (Stewart Clarke), a revolutionary student who wants to marry Hodel and of course, Yenta, the matchmaker (Louise Gold). Where in previous presentations, these characters became caricatures; in this environment they are real, breathing souls from the past. The recreation of the marriage scene between Motel and Tzeitel, where the entire cast sings “Sunrise Sunset” under the chuppah tied to the four corner wooden posts had me in tears; it was exactly the same as my marriage to my partner of 16 years in 2017, presided over by a female rabbi (I’m sure that would have been a most unconventional tradition). Nothing will prepare you for the finale of the heartbreaking rendition of the song “Anatevka” started by Tevye and filing in a member or two at a time of the cast carrying their meager belongings, as they are now singing of their beloved village which they are being ousted from; and how precious this village was to them at one time. As the entire cast engulfs the village square singing their village anthem with just voices and no musical accompaniment, their voices ascend to a musical gut-wrenching crescendo.

It is at that moment you see all the joys and heartaches of life merging into one. After 55 years of waiting, I have finally seen the definitive revival of Fiddler on the Roof. L’Chaim!

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published June 25, 2019
Reviewed at performance in London on June 13, 2019

‘FIDDLER ON THE ROOF’: Dermot Canavan & Andy Nyman. Photo: Johan Persson

‘FIDDLER ON THE ROOF’: (left to right) Harriet Bunton, Nicola Brown & Molly Osbourne. Photo: Johan Persson

‘FIDDLER ON THE ROOF’: Dermot Canavan & Andy Nyman. Photo: Johan Persson