Posted: 1/2/16 at 5:48pm
Hi everybody, there is a new Australian production of Fiddler starring Anthony Warlow that've just started. I've wondered if anybody has seen it and how is the production and Warlow in the role? I'm gonna see it when it comes to Sydney.
To Life: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FnDKLjqDbt8
Posted: 1/2/16 at 6:17pm
i went to grab tickets the other week, and nearly every night that i could go was nearly sold out, only the last two rows of the grand circle had seats left.
Posted: 1/3/16 at 1:40am
I saw it. Thought Anthony Warlow was great. This was my first time seeing Fiddler onstage, so I can't compare him to Zero et al., but I really enjoyed his performance. The many wry/understated moments seemed vaguely similar to my vague memories of Topol's performance in the film. I had bad, distant seats in the grand circle myself, but his 'small', 'private' asides and reactions to God and the audience carried to me without seeming over-the-top. (I'm not basing this idea on any evidence, but I wonder if he'll be under consideration to replace Danny Burstein on Broadway if/when Danny leaves?)
The rest of the cast was fine. TBH, it's a little more difficult to form an opinion on the other performances, as the other roles don't get as much opportunity to sell it to the back row, which was almost where I was. Lior, who's apparently a local indie popstar, was a bit underwhelming as Motel, but he wasn't terrible. Monica Swayne (Hodel) was fine, though IMO she doesn't happen to have the beautiful tone that, for me, might have made 'Far from the Home I Love' a highlight (not her fault of course).
I wasn't in love with the set, which surrounded the stage on three sides with wooden panels as if everything was being played in a small, unattractive town square in Anatevka. Maybe it worked better from the stalls. Or maybe the theatre design limited the set designer somewhat. At the end, when everybody was leaving the village, the back panels pulled back/apart slightly to show slight gaps between the 'houses' with a bit of distant horizon visible behind, but I'm not sure what that was meant to convey. Maybe that was just a technical gaffe in an early performance, and the panels were meant to disappear completely and strand everybody in a daunting open landscape or something.
Updated On: 1/3/16 at 01:40 AM
Posted: 1/3/16 at 2:51am
That was the one reason I didn't grab a ticket, the grand circle in the princess is an awful place to sit, plus the princess has the worst seats of any theatre in Australia.
Posted: 1/3/16 at 2:55am
I saw Jersey Boys at the Princess and it was the weirdest, most uncomfortable seating I'd ever experienced (though the theatre itself is beautiful). I still wish I could see Warlow in Fiddler!
Posted: 1/3/16 at 7:28am
I'd forgotten about those seats...
Posted: 1/7/16 at 5:29am
Here's Anthony Warlow performing "If I Were A Rich Man" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k_XeHLrkwTY and "Tradition" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6nwj8nAYEM4
It's nice they used the original choreography for Tradition
He is amazing as Tevye. I can't wait to see him and this production in person come March!!!
Posted: 1/7/16 at 7:22am
I've got a ticket for April when it gets to Sydney. I managed to snag a 4th row seat during the pre-sale for $81. I think I got a bargain! :)
Posted: 1/7/16 at 2:50pm
Oh that is the best "Tradition" video I've seen. I wish I could see it.
