Review: Naples Dinner Theatre presents 'Fiddler' with strong cast, powerful scenes
Tuesday, March 26, 2002
By NANCY STETSON, nrstetson@naplesnews.com
Before "Phantom of the Opera," before "Cats," even before "A Chorus Line," "Fiddler on the Roof" was the longest-running show on Broadway.
The current production at the Naples Dinner Theatre reminds audiences just why this musical was so popular.
This is a show that veers from celebration to devastation and back again, drawing both laughter and tears from the audience. Jews and non-Jews alike relate to this musical, because the feelings it depicts are universal. It's a microcosm of how life is, its ups and downs, unexpected twists and turns. As they sing in "To Life!": "Life has a way of confusing us/Blessing and bruising us."
"Fiddler on the Roof" tells the story of a community of Jews living in the small town of Anatevka, Russia, in 1905. The focus is on Tevye (Barry Marcus), his wife Golde (Jennie Hollander) and their five daughters. While Tevye clings tightly to tradition as a means of keeping his balance in life, his three oldest daughters each decide to pick their own husbands, rather than use the matchmaker.
But these small changes are just foreshadowing of the larger, more earthshaking changes to come.
In the lead role, Marcus has the lion's share of the musical, and he does not disappoint. His performance is simply magical. While others have portrayed Tevye as arrogant, pompous or boastful, Marcus's Tevye is more human. He's someone we like, someone we can relate to. Even when he complains, it's done good-naturedly, with a twinkle in his eye.
His Tevye is a complex man with his own idiosyncratic relationship with God, with whom he speaks quite readily and naturally. But Tevye also has a quirky perspective on life that consists of mangled Bible verses — sayings he mistakenly believes are biblical (but aren't) — and his own illogical reasoning.
His rendition of "If I Were a Rich Man" brought the house down on opening night. Marcus danced about the stage, at one point literally squeaking and squawking when he sang about the chickens he wished he had in his front yard.
Marcus and Hollander have a chemistry on stage; it's easy to believe their characters have been married for 25 years. On opening night, during their eldest daughter's wedding, Marcus's candle went out. Hollander just stepped over, as a wife would, and lit his candle with hers. Their duets "Do You Love Me?" "Sunrise, Sunset" and "The Dream" are gems. It's great to see Hollander back on stage in Southwest Florida again. Though her Golde is a somewhat dour, no-nonsense woman, when she opens her voice to sing, it's the voice of an angel.
Chrissy Wright (Tzeitel), Tracy Ganem (Hodel) and Eugenia Bachaleda (Chava) are perfect as the three oldest daughters, and Ganem positively glowed while singing "Matchmaker, Matchmaker." Tzeitel is the first to buck tradition by falling in love with the tailor's son, Motel (Chris George) instead of the butcher Lazar Wolf (Ira Mogul), a much older man who is the matchmaker's pick.
George shows his range in this musical; he plays a nerdy, scholarly-looking, somewhat non-assertive young man, but in "Tony n' Tina's Wedding," he was the flamboyant gay brother with whom all the women wanted to dance.
Director Michael Wainstein has done an excellent job with this cast; though many are familiar faces from previous shows, they act so well that they disappear into their roles.
This "Fiddler" provides one outstanding scene after another. Especially notable is the scene in the Inn when Tevye, Lazar, the Jews and the Cossaks all dance together in celebration, differences put aside, and the scene in which Tevye describes his nightmare to Golde, while the ensemble acts it out.
Though Marcus's performance is exceptional, the ensemble is also strong, and the times when they're all on stage singing together are very powerful, such as when they sing the haunting and moving "Sabbath Prayer" and "Anatevka," their tribute to their little village.
And, thanks to Chrissy Wright's choreography, the dance scenes "To Life!" and "The Wedding Dance" are very realistic and infectious. The audience started clapping along and tapping their feet.
Unfortunately, some of the men need to get some Jewish soul; though they had the steps down, the emotion didn't seem to be there.
And while the singing was great, I couldn't help wishing that the accompaniment was more diverse. I can understand not being able to hire a real fiddler to play the title character when you don't have a Broadway budget, but I wish the band had been bigger than just keyboards and percussion. Sometimes the electronic piano sounded tinny, reminding me of a low-budget lounge act; actors of this caliber deserve better.
But these are minor complaints for a show that's so obviously a success. "Fiddler" is a musical that plays with our heartstrings and tickles our funny bones while also making us think.
What more could you ask from a musical?
Tuesday, March 26, 2002
By NANCY STETSON, nrstetson@naplesnews.com
Before "Phantom of the Opera," before "Cats," even before "A Chorus Line," "Fiddler on the Roof" was the longest-running show on Broadway.
The current production at the Naples Dinner Theatre reminds audiences just why this musical was so popular.
This is a show that veers from celebration to devastation and back again, drawing both laughter and tears from the audience. Jews and non-Jews alike relate to this musical, because the feelings it depicts are universal. It's a microcosm of how life is, its ups and downs, unexpected twists and turns. As they sing in "To Life!": "Life has a way of confusing us/Blessing and bruising us."
"Fiddler on the Roof" tells the story of a community of Jews living in the small town of Anatevka, Russia, in 1905. The focus is on Tevye (Barry Marcus), his wife Golde (Jennie Hollander) and their five daughters. While Tevye clings tightly to tradition as a means of keeping his balance in life, his three oldest daughters each decide to pick their own husbands, rather than use the matchmaker.
But these small changes are just foreshadowing of the larger, more earthshaking changes to come.
In the lead role, Marcus has the lion's share of the musical, and he does not disappoint. His performance is simply magical. While others have portrayed Tevye as arrogant, pompous or boastful, Marcus's Tevye is more human. He's someone we like, someone we can relate to. Even when he complains, it's done good-naturedly, with a twinkle in his eye.
His Tevye is a complex man with his own idiosyncratic relationship with God, with whom he speaks quite readily and naturally. But Tevye also has a quirky perspective on life that consists of mangled Bible verses — sayings he mistakenly believes are biblical (but aren't) — and his own illogical reasoning.
His rendition of "If I Were a Rich Man" brought the house down on opening night. Marcus danced about the stage, at one point literally squeaking and squawking when he sang about the chickens he wished he had in his front yard.
Marcus and Hollander have a chemistry on stage; it's easy to believe their characters have been married for 25 years. On opening night, during their eldest daughter's wedding, Marcus's candle went out. Hollander just stepped over, as a wife would, and lit his candle with hers. Their duets "Do You Love Me?" "Sunrise, Sunset" and "The Dream" are gems. It's great to see Hollander back on stage in Southwest Florida again. Though her Golde is a somewhat dour, no-nonsense woman, when she opens her voice to sing, it's the voice of an angel.
Chrissy Wright (Tzeitel), Tracy Ganem (Hodel) and Eugenia Bachaleda (Chava) are perfect as the three oldest daughters, and Ganem positively glowed while singing "Matchmaker, Matchmaker." Tzeitel is the first to buck tradition by falling in love with the tailor's son, Motel (Chris George) instead of the butcher Lazar Wolf (Ira Mogul), a much older man who is the matchmaker's pick.
George shows his range in this musical; he plays a nerdy, scholarly-looking, somewhat non-assertive young man, but in "Tony n' Tina's Wedding," he was the flamboyant gay brother with whom all the women wanted to dance.
Director Michael Wainstein has done an excellent job with this cast; though many are familiar faces from previous shows, they act so well that they disappear into their roles.
This "Fiddler" provides one outstanding scene after another. Especially notable is the scene in the Inn when Tevye, Lazar, the Jews and the Cossaks all dance together in celebration, differences put aside, and the scene in which Tevye describes his nightmare to Golde, while the ensemble acts it out.
Though Marcus's performance is exceptional, the ensemble is also strong, and the times when they're all on stage singing together are very powerful, such as when they sing the haunting and moving "Sabbath Prayer" and "Anatevka," their tribute to their little village.
And, thanks to Chrissy Wright's choreography, the dance scenes "To Life!" and "The Wedding Dance" are very realistic and infectious. The audience started clapping along and tapping their feet.
Unfortunately, some of the men need to get some Jewish soul; though they had the steps down, the emotion didn't seem to be there.
And while the singing was great, I couldn't help wishing that the accompaniment was more diverse. I can understand not being able to hire a real fiddler to play the title character when you don't have a Broadway budget, but I wish the band had been bigger than just keyboards and percussion. Sometimes the electronic piano sounded tinny, reminding me of a low-budget lounge act; actors of this caliber deserve better.
But these are minor complaints for a show that's so obviously a success. "Fiddler" is a musical that plays with our heartstrings and tickles our funny bones while also making us think.
What more could you ask from a musical?