The Catskill Chronicle

By Barry Plaxen

The Forestburgh Theatre Arts Center (FTAC) is presenting the critically acclaimed musical “Fiddler on the Roof” as the last musical of its 2010 season. The original Broadway production opened in 1964 and became the first show in musical theatre history to surpass the 3,000 performance mark. The show won nine Tony Awards, including Best Musical and is one of the most popular shows produced today.

The music is by Jerry Bock, and the lyrics are by Sheldon Harnick. Before their teaming up, Bock composed the score for Sammy Davis, Jr.’s “Mr. Wonderful” and Harnick’s lyrics were heard in many shows, including the smash hit “New Faces of 1952” starring Eartha Kitt. Their first show together was the unsuccessful “Body Beautiful” starring 50s pop singing star Mindy Carson, then came the Tony-winning “Fiorello” and two musicals with exceptional scores, “Tenderloin” which starred Shakespearian actor Maurice Evans and “She Loves Me” with Barbara Cook and Jack Cassidy in an all-star cast. Both of these last two shows have been revived on Broadway and their exceptional songs have since become revered by enthusiasts of Broadway musical scores. “Fiddler” followed this run of hits and almost-hits and their last opus, “The Rothschilds” starring Hal Linden, followed in the 70s. Bock and Harnick also composed a musical for Bil and Cora Baird and their Baird puppets.

With a book by Joseph Stein, “Fiddler on the Roof”is based on the stories of Sholem Aleichem titled “Tevye and his Daughters.” The story focuses on Tevye, the father of five daughters, and his efforts to maintain his family and religious traditions when outside influences threaten their daily lives. He must balance the strong-willed nature of his three oldest daughters as they opt to choose their own husbands against their religious tradition as well as cope with the edict of the Tsar that evicts the Jewish population of his home town, Anatevka, which I assume is fictional and maybe in the Ukraine. (see editor’s note below)

Interestingly, after lauding the joy of tradition in the first scene, when any character, even Tevye, later chooses not to follow a tradition or to accept change,  they are the happier for it. Emotional pain only rears its head when tradition is upheld above personal choice. A thoughtful statement by Aleichem, I would say.

According to FTAC Director/Scenic Designer Ron Nash, “’Fiddler on the Roof” is one of the most beloved musicals of the stage. Audiences know and love the score, with such hits as “Tradition,” “Matchmaker, Matchmaker” and “If I Were a Rich Man,” to name just a few. This incredible cast of professional and local actors captures the beauty of the story, making audiences laugh and cry and want to sing-a-long.” Basically, that last sentence is the perfect review. Thank you, Mr. Nash for making my work easier. And when the full cast sings “Sunrise, Sunset” they sound like a Robert-Shaw-trained chorale, phrasing the song’s title words in such a beautifully musical way that you do want to sing along. A musical highlight!

If the cast does make you want to cry, laugh and sing, they do so with the support of a staff and crew of professionals and local artisans that create the necessary strong and sturdy foundation on which the performers can freely express the deep emotions inherent in the story. The production stands out in every respect. Each and every performer is meticulously directed by Nash and they are all wonderful. Broadway veteran Ed Romanff as Tevye fulfills the role with his singing and both his serious and comic acting as he heads the professional cast of Claudia Schneider as his wife, Madeline Shaw as the town’s matchmaker, Allen Lewis Richman as one of the townspeople and Georgia Tapp as one of his daughters.

This is the third FTAC show I have seen this year, and once again the “summer stock” resident company is remarkable; all sixteen of them. I wish there were room to list them all. They are talented adults, each and every one, and know their craft, as do the additional local performers who rounded out the cast.

All involved conveyed one thing that usually can be hidden from the audience. Watching them perform in their costumes designed by David Whitrow, their wigs and make-up, dance to the original choreography reproduced by Dann Dunn and act and sing, supported by a wonderful crew of five musicians conducted by talented Steve Cuevas, you marvel at the amount of work they must have done to bring this production to fruition. That fact alone is enough to stir one’s emotions. Seeing their work and dedication to theatre, all under the superb helm of director Nash, reminded me of a song from their recent production of “A Chorus Line,” entitled “What I Did For Love.” [In “Fiddler…] That love zooms across the proverbial footlights into your heart.

So, if you have never seen “Fiddler…,” Forestburgh is the place to go. If you have and wish to see it again, don’t hesitate.

During “Fiddler on the Roof,” FTAC’s post-show cabaret performed by the talented resident company is, no, not the music of Bock & Harnick, but the music of their fine contemporaries, titled:“All That Jazz: The Music of Kander and Ebb.” For reservations, please call the box office the day of the show.

“Fiddler on the Roof” runs through Sunday, August 29. There are seven shows a week: Tuesday through Saturday at 8 p.m., with matinees on Wednesday and Sunday. (845) 794-1194 for tickets. For additional information: http://www.fbplayhouse.org.

* Editor’s note – “Anatevka is a fictional “shtetl”, or small Jewish town, in what what once known as the “Pale of Settlement”, an area of Imperial Russia where Jews were allowed to set up restricted, but permanent, settlements. Jews were generally not allowed to reside in Russia outside of the Pale.
The area of the “Pale” was about 20% of what was then European Russia, and is today areas of Poland, Ukraine, Baltic countries, western Russia, etc.
The Pale was first created by Catherine the Great in 1791, and continued to exist until 1917 when it was officially dissolved by the post Czarist Provisional Government. To read more click here –  Where is Anatevka?