Fiddler on the Roof... a classic?
Fiddler on the Roof... a classic?
AlfieByrne
Stand-by Joined: 8/12/09
#1Fiddler on the Roof... a classic?
Posted: 8/19/09 at 4:01am
I just recently saw the national tour of Fiddler on the Roof starring Topol. Is this production considered a "good" production of the show? The performers were fine (despite some lack of chemistry? That could be due to the book.) but wow, the second act dragged on and on.
I perfectly enjoyed the recent national tour of My Fair Lady, and I was expecting a similar kind of emotional reaction but I was left cold.
#2re: Fiddler on the Roof... a classic?
Posted: 8/19/09 at 4:30amI saw a production of Fiddler with Topol in the early 90's at the London Palladium and it was pretty poor to say the least. Topol(who is now probably the right age to play the part) was fantastic but the rest of the show was awful
#2re: Fiddler on the Roof... a classic?
Posted: 8/19/09 at 7:08am
but wow, the second act dragged on and on.
this makes me laugh, tbh. I always think the second act is so much shorter than the first.
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#3re: Fiddler on the Roof... a classic?
Posted: 8/19/09 at 8:01am
"Topol(who is now probably the right age to play the part)..."
??? Topol turns 74 next month.
"Fiddler on the Roof... a classic?"
Yes.
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dramamama611
Broadway Legend Joined: 12/4/07
#4re: Fiddler on the Roof... a classic?
Posted: 8/19/09 at 8:35am
I can't speak for the production you saw, but it SHOULD be a moving and beautiful piece of theater. It saddens me when folks see lackluster productions of wonderful shows, as it sours them to the show forever.
Fiddler IS a classic.
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After Eight
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/5/09
TalkinLoud
Broadway Legend Joined: 3/3/09
#6re: Fiddler on the Roof... a classic?
Posted: 8/19/09 at 9:53am
Fiddler is one of the top 5 or 10 musicals of all time in my mind.
I can't speak for the current Topol production though.
#7re: Fiddler on the Roof... a classic?
Posted: 8/19/09 at 10:02amFIDDLER is one of those shows that I have never liked, but I respect its place among the classics.
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#8re: Fiddler on the Roof... a classic?
Posted: 8/19/09 at 10:07amI saw that same tour as well in San Diego... I also thought the performers had no chemistry and that the second act dragged on. I didn't care for Topol at all either. I did love the set and scenery thou
#9re: Fiddler on the Roof... a classic?
Posted: 8/19/09 at 10:31am
Fiddler ....classic
No question mark needed!
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#10re: Fiddler on the Roof... a classic?
Posted: 8/19/09 at 10:50am
Topol is way too old to play the part, if you want to go strictly by the numbers. Tevye is, at most, 50, and probably closer to 40.
In the shtetl they married young. Tevye's eldest daughter isn't even 20, and since he and Golde have five children presumably there isn't anything seriously wrong with her fertility. So he's been married 20 years or so. Even if he married as late as 25, that'd make Tevye only 45 or so. Certainly no more than 50.
At 74 Topol is old enough to be Tevye's father. But at 45, someone who's led the life Tevye has, can easily look like he's 73, to our modern eyes.
That said, I've seen both Theodore Bikel and Topol as Tevye and I like Bikel's performance much better (I also saw Harry Goz in the original production in 1968 ). I think Bikel was the warmest Tevye I've ever seen.
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#11re: Fiddler on the Roof... a classic?
Posted: 8/19/09 at 10:59am
In the song "Do You Love Me," Golde refers to them being married for 25 years. So unless he and Golde were married when they were in their late 40s and they had fertility drugs in a 1905 Russian shtetl, Topol is not anywhere close to being the right age to play Tevye.
ETA: And the show IS a classic.
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Updated On: 8/19/09 at 10:59 AM
#12re: Fiddler on the Roof... a classic?
Posted: 8/19/09 at 11:06am
In "Do You Love Me", they also mention that the first time they met was at their wedding. That also makes it highly unlikely that they were anything other than teenagers, making them early 40s in the show.
"It does me no injury for my neighbour to say there are 20 gods or no god. It neither picks my pocket, nor breaks my leg."
-- Thomas Jefferson
#13re: Fiddler on the Roof... a classic?
Posted: 8/19/09 at 1:56pm
As with most older shows, pacing is crucial. In may amateur productions as the story becomes more serious the director allows the pace to slow. Bad idea. You have to keep these older shows moving and building towards the climax.
I haven't seen this tour yet - we get it it in Toronto in November - but I hope it lives up to the show's reputation., Yes it is a classic. The biggest hit of the 1960's and the first musical ever to make it to the very top of the long run charts.
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#15re: Fiddler on the Roof... a classic?
Posted: 8/19/09 at 3:46pmI saw a production of My Fair Lady in L.A. which put me to sleep. Still, both are classics.
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