Theater review: Throckmorton’s gorgeous take on ‘Fiddler on the Roof’
Tradition gets upended in several ways in the classic musical “Fiddler on the Roof,” running at the Throckmorton Theatre in Mill Valley through May 26. A spectacular directorial debut for Rebecca Gilbert, Throckmorton’s double-cast, mostly student production is near Broadway quality. It’s a delightful continuation of a series of “youth production” shows, including “A Chorus […]
Tradition gets upended in several ways in the classic musical “Fiddler on the Roof,” running at the Throckmorton Theatre in Mill Valley through May 26. A spectacular directorial debut for Rebecca Gilbert, Throckmorton’s double-cast, mostly student production is near Broadway quality. It’s a delightful continuation of a series of “youth production” shows, including “A Chorus Line” and “Les Misérables.”
Set in 1905, a decade before the Russian Revolution, the musical by Jerry Bock, Sheldon Harnick and Joseph Stein is based on the 1949 story “Tevye and His Daughters” by Sholom Aleichem. “Fiddler” debuted on Broadway in 1964, was an immediate long-running hit and is now firmly established in the canon of warhorse musicals.
Welcome to the Czarist Russian village of Anatevka, gorgeously realized by set designers Steve Coleman and Jean-Paul LaRosee, where down-on-his luck milkman Tevye (Bennett Taubman, played on other days by Jordan Smith) faces multiple problems: one cow, a lame horse, insufficient funds and five daughters — the oldest three approaching marriageable age. Those are merely the problems he’s aware of. Outside Anatevka are swirling forces that will bring storms he cannot imagine.
The story launches with the good-natured Tevye wondering aloud how his people have managed to survive and keep their culture intact. The short answer: tradition — a good thing, he’s certain, even if no one knows where it comes from. Tradition is valuable because it’s tradition, as we learn in the first of several big-production numbers, beautifully staged and choreographed by Gilbert and co-choreographer Erin Gentry. Propelled by an excellent nine-piece orchestra (music director Desirée Goyette), “Tradition” is a dazzling opener for a dazzling show. (Gilbert mentioned post-show that the “bottle dance,” in which several performers balance empty wine bottles on their hats, is 100% real — no glue or Velcro applied.)
Daydreaming about an alternative life — “If I Were a Rich Man” is a delightful solo performance by Taubman — Tevye finds himself at the edge of a wave of changes that will forever affect Russian Jews. First, his eldest daughter Tzeitel (Ava Jensen, played on other days by Merrill Cover) rebels against an arranged marriage to wealthy butcher Lazar Wolf (Tony Morales), a man older than her father. Then, Tzeitel’s sister Hodel (Noa Weis, played on other days by Hannah Canin) falls for an itinerant radical young scholar named Perchik (Felix Maxwell, played on other days by Liev Bruce-Low), who recently arrived from Kiev. Younger sister Chava (Siena Wyman, played on other days by Riley Cover) delivers the final insult to Tevye’s patriarchal authority by eloping with Fyedka (Parker Hall), a gentile with a passion for books and girls who read them. The sisters make glorious harmonies in “Matchmaker, Matchmaker.”
The family’s difficulties take place in the context of a larger crisis: an impending pogrom of Jews on orders from the Czar — delivered reluctantly by the town constable (Ryan Camou), a man that Tevye has known his entire life. The two have always been amicable but are now on opposite sides of political forces beyond their control.
As Tevye, Taubman is amazing — relaxed and confident, with a goofy, seductive gracefulness incorporating a beguiling blend of despair, reluctance, confusion, resilience and wisdom. Tevye’s counterbalance is his long-suffering wife Golde (Liris Robles, played on other days by Madeline Basich). Among many noteworthy performances are Sonia Lake as matchmaker Yente, and Emma Erikson as the fiddler.
There are no weak performers in this show. Throckmorton’s “Fiddler on the Roof” is everything that a family musical should be — big, brash, funny, heartwarming and uplifting. This spring, it’s a must-see.
Barry Willis is a member of the American Theatre Critics Association and president of the SF Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle. Contact him at barry.m.willis@gmail.com
If you go
What: “Fiddler on the Roof”
Where: The Throckmorton Theatre, 142 Throckmorton Ave., Mill Valley
When: Through May 26; 7 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays; 2 p.m. Sundays; 7 p.m. May 23
Information: 415-383-9600; throckmortontheatre.org
Admission: $25 to $45
Rating (out of five stars): ★★★★ 1/2