'Fiddler on the Roof' at Goodspeed Musicals - My Review

Goodspeed Musicals is celebrating the 50th anniversary of the beloved Fiddler on the Roof with a magical production at their little theater on the Connecticut River. As we traveled to the official press opening on Wednesday, my son and I sat in the car to watch the opening of the majestic swing bridge to allow a tall boat to pass, but we still arrived in plenty of time.

The show is a classic for all the right reasons. It is a strong story infused with warmth, humor, history and inspiration, and of course has a slew of well-known musical pieces by Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnick in its score. Set in Tsarist Russia in 1905, Fiddler is based on Tevye's Daughters (or Tevye the Dairyman) and other tales by the "Jewish Mark Twain" whose pen name was Sholem Aleichem. The show is one of the most produced musical of all time and remains one of my favorites.

Rob Ruggiero has taken on the challenge of directing this piece in the limited space of the Opera House and chose to clearly focus on the story of a family facing the universal struggle between tradition and change. 

The "defining choice" that Mr. Ruggiero made in casting the role of Tevye was a great one. Adam Heller returned to Goodspeed to  play a wonderfully human and vulnerable milkman, belying the fact that he had never played the role before. His "If I Were a Rich Man" was a joy; he gave a stellar performance.

As Golde, Lori Wilner is a force to be reckoned with. Cheryl Stern, an award-winning writer, made her Goodspeed debut as both Yente and Grandma Tzeitel. The three eldest daughters were Elizabeth DeRosa as Hodel, Barrie Kreinik as Tzeitel and Jen Brissman as Chava. Joy Del Valle (as Shprintze) and 13-year old Allegra Rosa (as Bielke) round out Tevye's five blessings.

The suitors of the eldest girls were played by David Perlman as Motel the tailor, Abdiel Vivancos as the student Perchik and Timothy Hassler as the Russian Fyedka. John Payonk (The Most Happy Fella) returned to Goodspeed to play an imposing Lazar Wolf. Mordcha the innkeeper was well-played by Michael J. Farina, who did both the national tour of Fiddler and My Fair Lady. The ghostly role of Fruma-Sarah was performed by Joy Hermalyn (in her Goodspeed debut) in a role that she played on Broadway for two years. Towering on the stage, she made the entire dream sequence pretty impressive.

The talented fiddler was Max Chucker, who had to balance up near the right side of the balcony. Since the seats on the far right of the theater are under the balcony, most of those patrons could only hear his performance at some points, but thankfully he came down to the stage for several well-placed solos.

The orchestra was under the direction of Michael O'Flaherty in his 23rd season as resident music director. He and his six musicians did a fine job with the glorious score, as did the members of the ensemble with the lovely harmonies.

The dancing may have been downsized a bit to fit the tiny stage, but the choreography by Parker Esse, inspired by the original moves by Jerome Robbins, was impressive nonetheless. Click to watch a video about "The Bottle Dance Revealed." I loved the opening number "Tradition" and the dancing in "To Life." "Sabbath Prayer" was another special piece, with cast members holding candles standing at the back of the house singing their four parts.

The scenery designed by Michael Schweikardt was enough to suggest the locations without overpowering the stage and the lighting by John Lasiter could not have been better. Costumes by Alejo Vietti conveyed the pre-revolutionary Russia time period with the help of Mark Adam Rampmeyer's hair and wigs.

Traveling to East Haddam via Rt. 68 will require drivers to follow a detour; those traveling over the swing bridge will only need to worry about it being open as they approach the Opera House. There is plenty of parking behind the theater. I also discovered that a limited number of seat cushions are available at the back of the house if you ask an usher for one. 

Fiddler on the Roof continues through Sept. 12.