Rath's FIDDLER Review

[Rathnait62]

Posted: 2/19/05 at 9:56am

Walking into the theater itself is wonderful - I loved that there is no curtain. The sets and staging are gorgeous.

Our own Haviland Stillwell makes a lovely Hodel - beautiful, sweet face and presence, and a perfect voice for Far From the Home I Love. Her relationships with the rest of the characters were as full and defined as if she was playing with them every night. Congratulations to her.

Tricia Paoluccio as Chava is also lovely, wonderful in her role, and her dancing is effortless.


Sally Murphy as Tzeitel - her movements on stage are very awkward. She seems uncomfortable up there. She pitches her voice at the very top, as if always on the verge of hysteria. There were times when it actually hurt my ears. Her face for 95% of her time onstage was in a permanent pout.

John Cariani as Motel - is actually the fifth Marx Brother. The audience ate him up. Laughed at every bit, every schtick, and went crazy for him at his curtain call. I couldn't wait for him to stop every time he began a bit. He's not a character, but a clown. He also hasn't bothered in all this time to learn Hebrew pronunciations - both times he said the name Chava, he pronounced it Kava.

Nancy Opel as Yenta was a huge disappointment. High pitched, shrill, and frankly, Hillary Clinton is more Jewish. The humor of Yenta comes from those Jewish inflections in her lines and phrasing. I kept wondering why they fired Barbara Barrie - could she really have been any worse?

Andrea Martin was a good Golde - not a singer, but she's funny and her love for her children is obvious. She underplays some moments, and overplays others, but it all works.

Harvey's first line or two made me want to laugh because that voice is just associated with comedy. But I quickly got used to it, and succumbed to his wonderful portrayal of Tevye. The only moment where his voice really interferes is the NO, CHAVA, NO! That came out comical, and that is too bad. That's a big moment.

The costuming of the dream sequence was inexplicable - are we really to believe that someone in Tevye's space and time would see those kinds of creatures in his dreams?

The sets are beautiful, I loved the lamps over the audience, and having scenes done in the right wing simultaneously with action onstage is brilliant.

Updated On: 2/19/05 at 09:56 AM

[apdarcey]

Posted: 2/19/05 at 10:02am

my friends hated harvey like none other

[bongoboy]

Posted: 2/19/05 at 10:06am

So the overall consensus is pretty good...not great? We saw it early and I was not thrilled to be there and ended up LOVING it.

[WISHIHADATONY]

Posted: 2/19/05 at 10:11am

While unable to judge a performance not fully seen live onstage, I still am shocked at how dreadfully embarassing Harvey's performance of IF I WERE A RICH MAN was on LIVE WITH REGIS AND KELLY. He did the box office of Fiddler no favors by performing that number on television.

Posted: 2/19/05 at 10:15am

Well done Rath--

How have the crowds been? The reviews were much more favorable than I expected, but as Harvey would say, it don't mean nothing unless it makes MONEY! So is it?

[broadwaybaby77]

Posted: 2/19/05 at 10:50am

Great review!

I saw it when Nancy Opel was out, and her understudy was fabulous. I, dare I say, think the understudy sounded better in "Topsy Turvy" than Opel.

I love John Cariani! He is, so far, my favorite Motel.

Fiddler is just such a good show! Updated On: 2/19/05 at 10:50 AM

[melissa errico fan]

Posted: 2/19/05 at 11:07am

Lovely review, Rath. Yes, Nancy Opel is very shiksa as Yenta. But I'm so glad you loved Harvey. I simply adored his Teyve.

[onceadancer2]

Posted: 2/19/05 at 11:39am

Wonderful review, RATH. I'd love to see Harvey Fierstein in the rle. Believe it or not, I've seen his photograph but have never heard the inimitable voice. It sounds like I've been missing something. Could it be worse than Marilyn Miller's?

Miriam

[WISHIHADATONY]

Posted: 2/19/05 at 11:55am

Miriam, worse than Marilyn Miller's voice is a vast understatement. Many theaterlovers are deeply saddened by the "feyness" of Fierstein's performance and some find it shocking that the creators of this show "allow" someone with serious vocal speaking problems, let alone an inability to sing--to say the least--to be onstage performing or trying to perform a legendary score.

As I mentioned before, I have not seen Harvey in Fiddler. I DID see him perform IF I WERE A RICH MAN on LIVE WITH REGIS AND KELLY. This did the box office for Fiddler no favors.

It was embarassing and uncomfortable to watch and the response from the audience was barely polite. After performing the number, Regis walked over to Harvey and said "that was very good." Regis was being very kind. This is stunt casting at its lowest point.

How utterly ridiculous having Tevye played by a man who (THIS IS ONLY BASED ON WHAT I SAW ON LIVE WITH REGIS AND KELLY and what most critics said) plays Tevye as "so gay that he almost flies away" and can barely croak out a sentence.

Miriam, I think some folks here fell in love with Fierstein's performance in HAIRSPRAY and continue to be blinded by that love. The reviews for Fierstein's performance were negative to mixed, at best, if you recall.

Updated On: 2/19/05 at 11:55 AM

[melissa errico fan]

Posted: 2/19/05 at 11:58am

I did not find Harvey's tevye "gay" at all. He and Andrea had a sweet chemistry, almost like watching your grandparents.

[ShbrtAlley44]

Posted: 2/19/05 at 12:00pm

WishIHadATony, I completely disagree. Harvey does not play Tevye as gay. He is perhaps more expressive than other Tevyes and has more sensibility, but in no way does he appear "flaming." Fiddler with Harvey has endlessly more heart than it did when Alfred Molina was starring in it. With Molina, the show dragged and I, as an audience member, was completely untouched by the characters' lives. With Harvey, I was moved to tears at least twice, and the show doesn't drag nearly as much. Yes, it is difficult to get past the voice, but I think Harvey makes it work.

[Rathnait62]

Posted: 2/19/05 at 12:01pm

WISH, I must disagree. There is absolutely nothing "gay" at all in Fierstein's performance - the only man who comes off gay is Cariani at some moments (i.e., the wedding scene).

Miriam, Harvey's voice is very raspy and deep.

[onceadancer2]

Posted: 2/19/05 at 12:05pm

I've just ordered a copy of HAIRSPRAY. I guess I've been missing something. But what's an old lady to do!

Miriam

[robbiej]

Posted: 2/19/05 at 12:09pm

I have to step in here. I thought Harvey's performance (which I actually did see) was wonderfully realized. Yes, you never really get away from the fact that you're watching Harvey Fierstein. But in that, you end up seeing a man who adores his wife and daughters and is linked to his community and tradition and struggles valiantly to hold onto those. Any bit of 'feyness' didn't end up mattering, because his performance was filled with an intense amount of heart. His voice grated on me not one bit. And his 'Rich Man' was stunning.

[WISHIHADATONY]

Posted: 2/19/05 at 12:11pm

Rathlove, you saw the show with Harvey and I didn't, so you have a cleeeeeeear advantage. I was going ONLY by what I saw on LIVE WITH REGIS AND KELLY and by what a number of reviewers wrote.

I am delighted to hear you say that Harvey did not come across as "fey"(the word more than one critic used) or gay, which is inappropriate for Tevye. Often, critics are wrong in their assessments and/or perhaps Harvey's performance is improving with age like a fine wine or a great hunk of cheese. :)

Perhaps the few moments of his performance that you found "problematic" will improve with time as well.

Isn't that a wonderful thing about theater? It is alive and breathing and can alwaaaaaaaaays be a work in progress.

[Rathnait62]

Posted: 2/19/05 at 12:17pm

WISH, I was quite relieved that he played Tevye as well as he did, without one bit of feyness in my opinion. I did not see the tv appearance you speak of.

[melissa errico fan]

Posted: 2/19/05 at 12:23pm

Rath, yes, John Cariani was incredibly gay in the wedding scene. I'm glad I'm not the only one who felt that way about him. Harvey, on the other hand, didn't seem gay for one second.

[Rathnait62]

Posted: 2/19/05 at 12:28pm

I tell you this, meffie - I spent most of the show wishing it was Motel and Tzeitel who went to Siberia - and that they didn't wait as long as Perchik to get on the train. Neither of them fit in with anything else going on around them.

[LittleFish8386]

Posted: 2/19/05 at 12:31pm

I'm glad you enjoyed yourself Auntie.

[Rathnait62]

Posted: 2/19/05 at 12:36pm

Thank you, dear.

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 2/19/05 at 12:39pm

Great review, Rath. I agree on every point. Harvey is a wonderful Tevye and as for the whole "fey" thing, he's no more fey than Mostel was in the role (they're both are very playful and physically expressive Tevyes). Cariani needs Ritalin -- his mugging and antics are wholly inappropriate and belong in another show.

[onceadancer2]

Posted: 2/19/05 at 12:39pm

Rath, How is it that Tzeitel and Motel did not fit in? Was it the productions, the characterizations, etc.

Miriam

[melissa errico fan]

Posted: 2/19/05 at 12:40pm

Very true, Rath. As much as I love Sally (she was over the moon fantastic in A TREE GROWS IN BROOKLYN), she is not great in the show. And John is so gay. I'm so jealous that I won't be hearing Haviland's "Far From The Home I Love".

[onceadancer2]

Posted: 2/19/05 at 12:54pm

What mkes the character of Motel gay in this productiton?

Miriam

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 2/19/05 at 1:33pm

WISH, it's not that Rath has an "advantage" over you, it's that she SAW the show and offered a first-hand account. It might be a good idea to avoid generalizations like "Many theaterlovers are deeply saddened by the 'feyness' of Fierstein's performance and some find it shocking that the creators of this show 'allow' someone with serious vocal speaking problems...." It's a much better idea to speak for yourself, and, barring that, enlighted your readers as to the identities of "[M]any theaterlovers (sic)" and the "some" who "find it shocking."