Perchik in Fiddler

[musicalfandukie]

Posted: 3/28/08 at 12:33pm

is Perchik Russian? or where is he from?

[jrb]

Posted: 3/28/08 at 12:35pm

Perchik isn't the Russian one. He's the educated one.

[musicalfandukie]

Posted: 3/28/08 at 12:37pm

ok thanks. i just got casted in the part at my college and there trying to tell me he is Russian and they wanted me in the to life dance. i didn't think he was but i didn't want to argue with them about it.
Updated On: 3/28/08 at 12:37 PM

[jrb]

Posted: 3/28/08 at 12:43pm

I did the role a few years back...pretty sure he wasn't Russian. I thought the final daughter went with the Russian - Fyedka.
Perchik is the fellow who heads off to protest and convinces Hodel to join her.
Have fun!

[Calvin]

Posted: 3/28/08 at 12:47pm

Do you mean him being in the "To Life" dance with Tevye, Lazar Wolfe and the others? Or actually dancing with the Russians?

Either way, he really shouldn't be in that scene, although I think I've seen local productions in which he's in it.
Updated On: 3/28/08 at 12:47 PM

[acrocksyo]

Posted: 3/28/08 at 1:19pm

Uh what would be the point of him being in that scene, he is hired a tutor for Teyve's daughters. Then he protests and gets arrested and sent to Sibera. Not really pivotal in the whole "To Life" scene. Maybe the director should read the script again.

[StickToPriest]

Posted: 3/28/08 at 1:23pm

I played Perchik in high school. My director put me in the 'To Life' scene, not as a Russian, but dancing with Tevye and Lazar and the others.

I was going to try to explain to him why it made no sense for me to be in that scene, but I figured, whatever, he's the director and it's a high school show. It's not the end of the world. But I racked my brain and could not find even the slightest justification for my character being there. So the scene was always awkward for me.

[Jon]

Posted: 3/28/08 at 1:24pm

Perchick definintely should NOT be in "To Life". In the scene set the following morning, he expresses surprise and disgust when Tevye announces that Tzeitel is marrying Lazar. If he was in the tavern, he'd already know!

[StickToPriest]

Posted: 3/28/08 at 1:25pm

Jon: Tell me about it. Like I said, awkward for me. Kinda threw me off for that whole section. In hindsight, I should have brought it up. But I was just a sophomore and was excited to even have a large part as a sophomore, so I didn't mention it.

Updated On: 3/28/08 at 01:25 PM

[Calvin]

Posted: 3/28/08 at 1:29pm

Some directors just like to put everybody in every chorus scene. When I did JCS, playing Annas, the director stuck me in the crucifixion scene helping to put Jesus on the cross. That made NO sense at all, especially considering the whole point of turning Jesus over to the Romans was so that the priests would not be directly involved with an execution (as put in one of Caiaphas' lines).

I'm sure someone's even tried to stick Motel in the tavern scene, dancing with glee at the news that his beloved has been betrothed to someone else, at some point.
Updated On: 3/28/08 at 01:29 PM

[StickToPriest]

Posted: 3/28/08 at 1:32pm

Yeah, we had a good amount of guys, but not a whole lot. And then when you add four or five to make up the Russians, it diminishes the number. I'm sure he just wanted to fill it up more. Justification be damned. But, no, he stopped short of putting Motel in the scene. THAT would have been funny.

But, it's all good. Like, I said, it was just high school. And, even though I wasn't a huge fan of the part, the next year I got to play Sir Evelyn in our fantastic production of ANYTHING GOES and that more than made up for it.

[madbrian]

Posted: 3/28/08 at 1:34pm

In the movie, they say that Perchik is from Kiev, which is in the Ukraine.

[Jon]

Posted: 3/28/08 at 2:10pm

Re: Motel

In several professional productions, the actor playing Motel has doubled as a Russian in the Tavern scene. You remove the fake beard and the glasses, change your costume and your posture, and no one recognizes you. In a prominent dinner theatre in Chicago, they did four productions of Fiddler during the 70's and 80's, with Motel doubling as the Russian who sang the big tenor solo. They also had Hodel and Chava double as Grandma Tzeitel and Fruma Sarah.

[puppetman2]

Posted: 3/28/08 at 6:59pm

Perchik is a Russian, but he is a revolutionary and that is why he is sent to Siberia. It is also the reason Tevya is so upset, Perchik does not fit the TRADITIONAL Russian family and most important TRADITION (the whole idea of FIDDLER is "TRADITION")

Updated On: 3/28/08 at 06:59 PM

[Jon]

Posted: 3/28/08 at 7:12pm

Ummm... every single character in the play is a Russian. The play takes place in Russia. Anatevka is in Russia. Tevye is a Russian Jew. Perchik is a Russian Jew. Fyedka is a Russian Non-Jew, presumably a member of the Russian Orthodox Christian religion.

[acrocksyo]

Posted: 3/28/08 at 10:25pm

I think that dukie was asking if he was a Russian solider, because yeah all the characters are Russian soliders or Russian Jews. So you know, common mistake.

[ashbash1990]

Posted: 3/28/08 at 11:29pm

For the record, Jews in Russia are not considered Russian, Tevye and Perchik are "Jews" not Russians...

[puppetman2]

Posted: 3/30/08 at 12:29am

But there is the term Russian Jews to seperate them from Jews from other countries. I know it's a small thing and really does not have an effect on the show.
I knpw many Russian Jews who are proud of their heritage.

Updated On: 3/30/08 at 12:29 AM