FIDDLER ON THE ROOF revival (whats YOUR opinion??)

I saw this at the beginning of the summer with no understudies. After reading some reviews, I realized they were mixed. I thought the show was so-so. It was nothing special, but it wasnt totally awful. The sets were astonishing as were the orchestrations and ligting. The cast was not very good, in my opinion. Almost everyone seemed to be miscast. The show is just so fantastic, though, that its nearly impossible to totally screw up.
I would give it a B-, sticking by my opinion that Little Shop was by far the years best revival.

What did you think of the show? What would your 'letter grade' for it be?

Updated On: 8/11/04 at 10:36 PM

what i seen on the tony's looked great to me

I saw it and I thought it was okay. It wasn't wonderful but it wasn't awful. It seemed to me to be an "okay" revival of an excellent show.

---

I saw it this weekend. I enjoyed the staging, very creative and beautiful set and lighting design. IMO Alfred Molina's Tevye takes a little while to grow on you, but eventually it does. Unlike Topol, whom I saw in London, who wins you over two minutes into "Tradition". I think Molina misses some of the subtle touches of Topol, which you can even see on film. He seems to be in a hurry to get through some scenes. I thought the rest of the cast was pretty good, except for the actor playing Motel the Tailor. He is funny and very effective, but is sometimes overdone and seems determined to steal EVERY scene, even when it's completely inappropriate and distracting. Nancy Opel was good but nothing really outstanding, and the new song is mediocre, but mercifully brief.

I liked the show and I am not sorry I sae it. I had a good time and the show is practically foolproof anyway. This revival does not have "soul" as much as it does style. While it will not be a memorable revival, it is worth a visit if you have the time and money.

---

When I saw the show, I kept thinking what a BRILLIANT musical this is. The construction of the show amazed me. I thought the set was beautiful but the show, to me , lacked passion. FOTR is a moving show - it didn't do that for me!!!

I think it was just too soon re-revive it. I know it's universal and it crosses generations, but it helps when generations are ready to see it for the first time. It was just on Broadway in the late 1980s... And, it was FANTASTIC! People really loved it!

Let's remember that part of the rights for Fiddler is that you cannot change the original choreography. In fact, this production hit some bumps because it does NOT use the brooms for Matchmaker. So, since the average theater goer is hearing the same notes and seeing the EXACT same thing... People can easily lose interest.

Personally, compared to the other greats who played Teyve- Alfred Molino was meh-y!

---

Why oh why did they put the orchestra on stage? I have no problem with that in other shows - Chicago, Wonderful Town - but in Fiddler it's an alienating device that destroys the illusion in key scenes, especially in the 2nd Act. The final farewell tableau, which should be a heart-breaker, isn't, because when everyone has left Anatevka and scattered to the winds, there's that band sawing away in front of us. To me it was a crucial bad decision.

---