"Fiddler On The Roof" is a warhorse. Celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, it's been done by schools and amateur groups for decades. And yet…and yet…theater finds itself returning to it time after time. And audiences do, too.
We've been reminded this year that that period of time was a fertile one on Broadway, with several shows of that era showcasing great scores. That's surely one of the great charms of Fiddler. One of my friends who's definitely not a regular theater-goer remarked she could sing the entire score because she played the record over and over again when she was younger.
Stages St. Louis has opened its version of "Fiddler" and reminded us all why it's a timeless show. Led by Bruce Sabath as Tevye, the chatty and long-suffering dairy farmer, it's a solid ensemble that's been extremely well-staged. This is not the Zero Mostel Tevye; Sabath's Tevye is more human and less a comic character – although not above an appropriate eye roll now and then. His wife, a character that should not be described as "long-suffering", thank you very much, is Kari Ely, fire and ice in a babushka.
Five daughters for whom husbands must be found, and only the last two can be put off for a few years – this is Tevye's task. Tzeitel, the eldest, Stephanie Lynne Mason, only has eyes for childhood friend Motel (pronounce that Mottle, please), a struggling tailor played by Nick Orfanella, but has another offer from Lazar Wolf, Christopher Limber, an older, successful butcher. And so the hijinks begin.
Hodel, the next in line and played by Julie Hanson, is wooed by the wandering intellectual Perchik, Jacon Michael Evans (who's a local guy transplanted to New York – Parkway North, if you were going to ask). Carissa Massaro, the middle daughter Chava, catches the eye of a Russian soldier, a gentile, Fyedka, David Bryant Johnson, at a time when pogroms are happening nearby. The girls and their swains work well together, and the voices are first-rate for this score. All this mild little romancing greatly frustrates Yente, the matchmaker, of course, and her shrieks and kvetching, courtesy of Rachel Coloff, punctuate the show. (Trivia fans: Bea Arthur, yes, of Golden Girls, originated this role on Broadway.)
Lou Bird's costumes reach their apogee in Motel's suits – hey, we're sure he's making them himself, after all, so they certainly whould be perfectly fitted. And the skirts swirl noticeably well during the musical numbers, the choreography of Jerome Robbins reproduced on this (probably remarkably smaller) stage by Gary John LaRosa. James Wolk's scenic design gives a nod of the head to Marc Chagall but not hitting us over the head with it, and Hamilton's staging of "Sabbath Prayer" in the first act is particularly notable.
Fun and very popular with this audience – several performances have already sold out.
Fiddler on the Roof
Stages St. Louis
Kirkwood Community Center
through October 5th
314-821-2407