Rath's FIDDLER Review- Page 2

[melissa errico fan]

Posted: 2/19/05 at 1:37pm

Miriam,
It had a lot to do with John's mannerisms. He was very hammy, and it came off overly gay. You go in thinking Harvey would be the flamboyant one, but John is the only one who seems gay.

[munkustrap178]

Posted: 2/19/05 at 4:18pm

I didn't think John Cariani's flamboyance was over the top at all - it proved much needed comic relief, and there wasn't even that much of it.

Rath, what do you mean about the dream sequence? No, those are definitely NOT things he would dream about - but he never dreamed about anything, he made it up, so it doesn't have to be realistic. He never dreams to begin with....and the design of the dream sequence is based on Chagall's paintings, which I think is great.

[mallardo]

Posted: 2/19/05 at 4:34pm

You can't blame Nancy Opel for not making Yente interesting. She just isn't. And as for Topsy Turvy, the less said the better.

[munkustrap178]

Posted: 2/19/05 at 4:36pm

Yente can be amazingly hysterical - I have seen productions where Yente completely stole the show. It is possible.

[melissa errico fan]

Posted: 2/19/05 at 4:38pm

A friend who attended one of the first previews said that Barbara Barrie made Nancy Opel look positively Hebrew.

[robbiej]

Posted: 2/19/05 at 4:41pm

Are you saying the role of Yente is not interesting??? Tell that to Bea Arthur!

I never really thought Cariani came off as 'gay'. I thought he came off as a BAD ACTOR. The first time I saw the show (in previews), he was quite over the top. I didn't agree with the characterization, but there ya go. The second time I saw it, Cariani crossed the line into offensive...he just didn't act like a human being.

With Molina as Tevye, I guess ya needed a little jolt. With Harvey, he needed to step back, act like a humanoid and ground himself. Now, he just looks foolish.

As for the Dream Sequence, my biggest problem was that it was stagnant. There was very little movement and so the whole thing was about as lively as a painting.

[melissa errico fan]

Posted: 2/19/05 at 4:52pm

Yeah, Cariani's going off like a three year old that just ate a king size snickers, and Molina's catatonic. I remember that one.

[mallardo]

Posted: 2/19/05 at 4:56pm

Robbiej, did you see Bea Arthur in the role? If so I'd love to know how she elevated this character which, in my experience, has never transcended the cliche. Steal the show? No way, no how.

[K8eeyore]

Posted: 2/19/05 at 8:29pm

Mallardo, I'm with you. . .I've seen a bunch of productions of FIDDLER, and Yente always came off as annoying and unfunny. Granted, the part is not a great fit for Nancy, but she was the best one I've seen. The song -- well, I never thought I'd say something GOOD about 'The Rumor', but it worked better than 'Topsy-Turvy'. I never saw Bea Arthur, as the OBC was way before my time, and maybe that would change my opinion, but I think it's the role that stinks.

And I never could figure out why, of the entire cast, Cariani got a Tony nom. My eleven year old little brother with ADHD is less hyper. Updated On: 2/19/05 at 08:29 PM

[melissa errico fan]

Posted: 2/19/05 at 9:08pm

Yes, how did Cariani score that Tony nom?

[Dolly_Levi]

Posted: 2/19/05 at 11:36pm

I was of the opinion that last year's Best Featured Actor/Musical category was one of the weakest in years. Not sure exactly who I would have rather seen be nominated, and perhaps that sums up the problem...


Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical 2004

John Cariani, Fiddler on the Roof
Michael Cerveris, Assassins WINNER
Raúl Esparza, Taboo
Michael McElroy, Big River
Denis O'Hare, Assassins

[melissa errico fan]

Posted: 2/20/05 at 8:44am

In John's place, I might have nominated maybe Mario Cantone or James Barbour. Updated On: 2/20/05 at 08:44 AM

[sanda]

Posted: 2/20/05 at 9:17am

I watched both Havey and Molina's Tevye in this Fiddler production. Before that, I never watched Havey live. What I only know about him is that he is a very talented writer and actor.

But he is a big disappointment. I was more shocked by broadway.com's rave for his performance. I cannot believe my eyes.

I am not an expert. But I listened to 4 different cast recordings and watched both movie and stage. what I can say is that Havey cannot sing the songs of Fiddler. I don't care how great he was in Hairspray. He cannot hit the damn notes!

Because I never watched his other performance no matter how brilliant it was, I have no influnce from him. And when I listen to his singing or performing, I don't feel either funny or intimate. I only feel pain in my ears.

I am not a properate judge for his acting. Everyone has different opinion about acting. But I can tell his singing. "richman", "to life", are such beautiful songs. You cannot allow a person miss the notes while still praise his performance as what-"Perfect". It is not perfect. If someone said that I should say he is lying.

[WISHIHADATONY]

Posted: 2/20/05 at 2:06pm

sanda, lots of theater critics agreed with you at that is what was certainly in evidence when Harvey performed If I Were A Rich Man on tv...

[WISHIHADATONY]

Posted: 2/26/05 at 12:26pm

"Are you saying the role of Yente is not interesting??? Tell that to Bea Arthur"

Bea Arthur would tell you that the role of Yente is dreadful. It was a horrible experience for her. The role of Yente in FIDDLER is simply MINISCULE. It is a tiny part that was originally intended to be much larger and have at least one solo song.

That is why Bea Arthur was hired for the part. She had scored nicely singing in Three Penny Opera and was cast largely for her singing ability.

Yente's part was cut to shreds before the show began previews in New York. Jerome Robbins hated her.

Ms. Arthur left FIDDLER as soon as she was able, when her contract ended. She was not in the original Broadway production for a long time at all. Of course, ultimately, this was probably a good thing for theater lovers..........

Because this led directly to Ms. Arthur being available to costar in MAME and she got to strut her stuff fully, and won a richly deserved Tony award for her performance as Vera Charles.

[wickedrentq]

Posted: 2/27/05 at 1:10am

Okay saw Harvey today, also saw Molina so this might be more of a comparison of the two but I'll offer up thoughts on him as well as other stuff:

I, too, never saw him live so it was interesting. It took some time getting used to the speaking voice, but once I got there, it wasn't too bad. He had more of the Jewish pronounciation down better than Molina, more of the chets and such. Both times I went with my aunt and uncle who are hard of hearing so always sit near the front. For Molina, we sat first row dead center, this time we were third row right, slightly obstructed. But it was good for feeling part of the show and seeing facial expressions. It showed that Molina and Fierstien had very different takes on the roles-Molina's was more dramatic while Fierstien's was more comedic, both of which work for the character. I even appreciated seeing some of the faces Fierstein was making. Both moved, well I don't cry easily, but my family were very moved by each, and it was really interesting to see the difference in even certain scenes like when he deowns Chava, Molina did it in a more angry, screaming way while Fierstein did it in a more sad, crying way. Both worked and really conveyed the emotion. Now I would say Fierstein was slightly better because he was a bit better at working the jokes and making the character warm and making you care if not for one thing...the singing. Now some of the ones I was more worried about he wasn't terrible...Sunrise, Sunset and Chavala he sang very low-key and it was decent. Some of the others....oy. The croacking during man...oy. I say it's a draw between the two, both are good in their own ways, but I'm very glad I got to experience both and would recommend either performance.

Andrea Martin I thought was great and just brought so much more to her role than Randy Graff did.

As for John...I'm kind of mixed on him. When I first saw it, I thought it was amusing at first, but it just went on too long. This time he seemed to take it down a notch and I enjoyed it more. I can't explain why I did.

And the new Perchick...gotta check his name...was really cute.

As for Nancy Opel and Yente...I dunno I see both sides where the role could be better played or it could just be a hard role. I think I liked the way it was done in the movie but maybe it's a different feel on stage. I think Nancy did an adequate job.

And once more the best part of the show and the person who I thought was most amazing was...the clarinet soloist! WHAT a beautiful sound and difficult solo that is. Such great vibratto...too bad I was on the other side and the dancers w/ hats blocked the view of the clarinetist at times. Oh well. I screamed for the pit a lot it was fun.

[WISHIHADATONY]

Posted: 3/2/05 at 10:52am

wickedrentq,,,,,,,,I enjoyed reading your FIDDLER post very much! thanks so much for sharing with us:)