On & Off Broadway

'Fiddler on the Roof'

Reviewed by Elyse Trevers

Posted

Reviving a well-known and beloved Broadway musical has risks. The audience will invariably compare the new production to the one comfortably nestled in their memory. If the people loved it the first time, they will return. Comparisons are inevitable. However, the only one available to see is the one currently playing on Broadway. So let’s take the new version of Fiddler on the Roof on its own.

One of the most beloved musicals of all time, Fiddler on The Roof, with music by Jerry Bock and lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, has returned to Broadway. The story, based on stories of Sholem Aleichem, tells the tale of Tevye, a Russian-Jewish milkman, his wife, Golde, and their five daughters living in the small village of Anatevka. Like the Fiddler in the title, they struggle to keep their balance in a changing, often precarious, world. For Tevye, it begins simply when his oldest daughter overrules the traditional matchmaker to marry the man she loves. Tevye realizes that his world is changing, so he adapts, welcoming the young man into his family. Yet later when another daughter marries a non-Jew, it becomes too much for him to accept. “If I bend too far, I will break.” The Jews struggle to maintain their traditions and customs as they attempt to survive in a hostile world.

As Tevye, the father and head of the family, Danny Burstein is a perfect fit. He's genial and funny. Affable and warm, Burstein was born to play this role. Jessica Hecht plays his wife and although she's a fine actress and the only one who attempts a Russian accent (which actually sounds German), she is miscast. She appears angry rather than grouchy, crusty rather than lovingly stern. And her singing is good, not great.

Fiddler on The Roof has produced several musical classics. "Sunrise, Sunset" has become a wedding standard and "If I Were A Rich Man" still brings smiles to faces. The songs are still wonderful, but Bartlett Sher (director of The King and I at Lincoln Center) has minimized the emotional components. Songs that could and should have tugged at the heart, don't. The show feels sparse instead of richly layered. Musical numbers like “Sabbath Prayer," which are natural for layering, feel downplayed.

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