Fiddler on the Roof Previews — Page 15

Curious... how have they handled Tevye's Dream?  Fruma Sarah?

I didn't even notice the stagehands, but I hope they sort that out before it opens.

I got a last minute rush ticket for today's matinee and sat in row R of the Mezzanine (very good view!). 

The Good: The opening sequence is indeed very raw and not very showy, but it works very well. The effect of having masses of people climb stairs to get on stage in the upstage pit was very pleasing to see and indeed felt earthy and ominous. Danny Burstein, Adam Kantor, Melanie Moore are very good in their roles and were stand outs in my opinion. As previously discussed, the choreography is very energetic and fills the theater with the energy that it lacks during its serious scenes. The bottle dance is well executed and you can tell that one dancer drops the bottle before the line formation on purpose and it works, but when the formation starts, there is no room for mistakes (as previously speculated) and it was clear that the bottles were attached to the hats with magnets. The blocking for Sabbath Prayer was very heart-warming.

The Bad: Jessica Hecht needs to play Golde a little more warmer, it was off-putting at points. Her singing voice was probably the biggest disappointment for me, as it completely distracts from the beautiful moment she's trying to have with Tevye. Yente, played by Alix Korey, stood out from the cast and not in a good way. She was playing a caricature of her character and in no way connected with the real humor the character could have. Her accent was very modern American English (some 'Valley girl' mannerism) and it completely misfired. The framing device felt a little too forced for my taste.

The Ugly: Overall, the production seemed very underwhelming. The actors got lost in the huge minimalistic set (in Matchmaker for example) and the huge theater seemed to eat the energy away. The stage hands moving set pieces! Holy Crap was that annoying! They don't seem to have head sets anymore (or at least I didn't see any), but it was still very distracting.

It all felt like a very good production of Fiddler on the Roof, but nothing special. I would definitely say it does not have the sparkle that Sher's other revivals have had.

Updated On: 11/27/15 at 10:53 PM

To me the worst stagehand was the one underneath Frumah Sarah 

Nice critique. I had many comment from friend and they were similar to many you said. Lucky for that rush!

Ripped Man, don't let the stagehand crap stop you from seeing the show. While the stagehand stuff is probably annoying, we probably won't get another fiddler revival for another decade after this. And Danny is great, you'll want to see him play Tevye. 

While this show seems very unorthodox, it does sound like it's the most creative Fiddler to hit the broadway stage. Perhaps some things in the production aren't a home run but experimental theater can be very rewarding to watch.

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Updated On: 11/28/15 at 12:15 AM

Namo, Are you talking to me or ripped man?

Namo, I see the show tomorrow (Saturday)

Well, it's a little hard to tell. LCT is a not-for-profit. Fiddler is a commercial venture. The sad part is that this production of Fiddler, with no crazy scenery or anything, is probably still around $10 Million. Now, what, something like King and I or South Pacific cost, I couldn't tell you. But Sher hasn't had a commercial success yet, correct? Meaning, something not from a not-for-profit? 

How's the rear center mezz?

bwayphreak234 said: "I am seeing this tomorrow, and I am so excited!"

Very much looking forward to hearing your thoughts, bwayphreak!  

it seems that alot of Sher's creativity isn't landing with this production.