Fiddler on the Roof | Live Show Review – TOP 20 MUSICALS 2024: NO 6

There are plenty of joyful moments in Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnick’s 1964 classic Fiddler on the Roof but, goodness, it has to be one of the saddest musicals ever written. There’s no anthem of hope with which to send the displaced Jewish community of Anatevka on their way into myriad uncertain futures. Instead, there’s a plaintive duet between the titular Fiddler and disowned daughter Chava (a clarinettist rather than a dancer in this production) as he continues on his nomadic journey and she heads towards Kraków. If she’s still alive in 35 years’ time (the show is set in 1905), her fate doesn’t bear thinking about.

Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre is the only permanent London venue without any kind of roof and fully exposed to the elements – appropriate for a show where the characters live off the land and are under threat of homelessness. Tom Scutt’s striking sculptural set design comprises a wheat-covered curved roof, like an upside-down brush. The outdoor setting is used to both terrific and terrifying effect (aided by Aideen Malone’s lighting). The wedding song ‘Sunrise, Sunset’ is perfectly timed to be performed as darkness descends; the guests frame the couple with candles, but joy turns to horror as torch-wielding thugs carry out a ‘small demonstration’ sanctioned by the Tsar (the local constable feebly apologises for it being scheduled for that particular evening). 

Just as the Jewish inhabitants of Anatevka function through tradition but can’t ignore the new ways of doing things, Jordan Fein (who worked with Daniel Fish on his fascinating and aggressively revisionist production of Oklahoma!) presents a contemplative staging in which all the love and warmth we expect is present and correct, but there’s little sign of ‘shtetl kitsch’ (as Philip Roth dubbed the original production) in Fein’s unsentimental approach. There are small anachronisms in the props and costumes but Fein eschews direct references to the many contemporary parallels – the material itself rings loud and clear.

The lead role of dairyman Tevye is played by American actor Adam Dannheisser (who appeared in Bartlett Sher’s 2015 Broadway production), who is splendidly hearty and mulish without milking (sorry) the one-sided banter with God and jovial one-liners like a Borscht Belt turn. And Lara Pulver imbues matriarch Golde with an austere grace, her buried emotions coaxed out by her more extroverted husband when he asks, ‘Do You Love Me?’ (‘I’m your wife!’)

The Fiddler (the mesmerising Raphael Papo) is ever-present, a manifestation of Tevye’s state of mind. The vibrant 11-strong band, under Dan Turek’s musical direction, is visible throughout and dressed to match the actors. Julia Cheng’s choreography is fresh and grounded, while retaining Jerome Robbins’s original, balance-defying ‘Bottle Dance’.

The book only allows the daughters to shine intermittently but Liv Andrusier’s fully realised Tzeitel is a quiet trailblazer with a steadfast defiance in her choice of timid tailor Motel (Dan Wolff), and her roles in the nightmare sequence hint at a future Mrs Lovett. Georgia Bruce makes a tomboyish Hodel (paired off with Daniel Krikler’s similarly unconventional Perchik) and Hannah Bristow brings a real luminosity to Chava, the daughter who (in her father’s eyes) commits the ultimate betrayal by marrying outside the faith. 

Beverley Klein (a former Golde) provides bustling energy as matchmaker Yente and Michael S Siegel is a surprisingly likeable Lazar Wolf. It must be said that the hodgepodge of the actors’ natural accents can be jarring, especially as it’s set in such a small, insular community, and some of the solo vocal performances are on the weak side. The hardscrabble life is exemplified by the droopy clothing that’s clearly been mended and handed down many times. There’s no artifice; the men have grown their hair and beards, and little make-up is worn. 

It’s a fitting final production to be staged at Regent’s Park under Timothy Sheader’s artistic directorship. There’s no place like it to feel fully immersed in everything the genre has to offer.

PRODUCTION CREDITS

Cast Adam Dannheisser, Lara Pulver, Liv Andrusier, Georgia Bruce, Hannah Bristow, Dan Wolff, Daniel Krikler, Beverley Klein, Michael S Siegel, Raphael Papo, Gregor Milne, Greg Bernstein, Ralph Bogard et al

Direction Jordan Fein

Musical direction Dan Turek

Musical supervision Mark Aspinall

Choreography Julia Cheng

Set, costumes Tom Scutt

Lighting Aideen Malone

Sound Nick Lidster