|
Regional Reviews: Washington, D.C. Fiddler on the Roof Also see Susan's reviews of Julius Caesar and As You Like It
The initial difficulty stems from Jonathan Hadary's performance as Tevye, the indomitable Jewish milkman scraping out a living in the Russian shtetl of Anatevka, taking care of a wife and five daughters while guided by the traditions of his faith. Hadary is a fine actor but not a natural fit for this role. He rushes his lines throughout, allowing little space for the contemplative and observant sides of the character. For a man who praises the importance of following the established rules, Hadary comes across as too modern and too sophisticated for the life he leads. More on point are Erick Devine as Lazar Wolf, the town's butcher, and Thomas Adrian Simpson as the innkeeper Mordcha. Similarly, the members of the large cast are not all on the same page thematically; some of them use vague Eastern European accents while others do not, and the effect is distracting. Some individual moments stand out for the wrong reasons, such as Tzeitel's (Dorea Schmidt) gargoyle-like parody of Yente (Valerie Leonard) during "Matchmaker." And some of the casting is off: Tevye's two youngest daughters are still children, but as played by Shayna Blass and Maya Brettell they're hard to distinguish from their older sisters. All that said, this Fiddler does many things right, most of them related to Esse's full-blooded choreography. From the opening number, "Tradition," which works beautifully as a circular dance in the round, through the swaggering Russian dancers of "To Life" and the bottle dancers of the wedding scene, to the giddy heights of the dream sequence centering on Tracy Lynn Olivera, the physical side of the production never disappoints. Todd Rosenthal's nonspecific scenic design and Colin K. Bills' atmospheric lighting allow for almost seamless transitions between scenes. Musical director Paul Sportelli and his 10 musicians provide robust support from beneath the stage. Sheldon Harnick, now 90 years old and the only one of the authors still alive, was in attendance at the opening-night performance.
Arena
Stage
|
