|
Fiddler
on the Roof |
| Many of the old favourite musicals have some element of profundity
in them, but Julian Woolford's production of Fiddler on the Roof, showing
this week at the Apollo, really is a musical for the times, despite its
toe-tapping tunes and catchy klezmer numbers. It's a history lesson as well
as an evening's entertainment: although so many of the songs are well-loved,
and there are moments of sharp, Woody Allen-esque comedy, the show also
captures the precarious existence of nineteenth century Russian Jews.
It's a show that is easy to enjoy, however, from an era when musicals still included ballet sequences, rich orchestration, huge dance numbers and soaring love duets as well as those well-known tunes, 'If I were a rich man', 'Matchmaker, matchmaker', and 'Sunrise, Sunset'. Woolford has gathered all this lavishness together and created a production that is warm yet bittersweet. Charles Camm's set certainly captures some of this unsteady balance. Bleached and minimalist, it evokes the open expanses of the Steppes and a bleak way of life. Paul Nicholas as Tevye the farmer is at once too big for the town and dwarfed by space and circumstance. His immediate problems stem from his five daughters though, who are constantly falling in love with unsuitable men and threatening the all-important traditions of the Jewish community. The spirited cast, led by Nicholas and Sara Wentworth as Tevye's wife, do a fine job of bringing a well-loved show up to date. Supported by an excellent band, the production is slick, and the action unfolds with ease. There are some marvellous comedy lines from Harry Dickman as the Rabbi and Tim Laurenti as Motel the tongue-tied tailor, but this juxtaposition of mirth and sorrow gives a more lasting impression of a very thought-provoking production, just as a good musical should be. Olivia Rowland, 3.3.3 |
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