RECOMMENDED
Any time I encounter “Fiddler on the Roof,” I wonder what Sholem Aleichem would think of Tevye. After all, the beloved musical by Joseph Stein (book), Jerry Bock (music) and Sheldon Harnick (lyrics) is based on Aleichem’s short stories. The story of Tevye the milkman, his wife and five daughters, and all the Jewish people he lives beside in their shtetl. Informed by his own life growing up in Russia (modern-day Ukraine), I often wonder what he would think of Anatevka—the fictional one or the real-life Ukrainian refugee settlement named for it. Would he recognize this staged Anatevka? A fiction of his semi-fictional Yehupetz he built up around his little hometown outside of Kyiv?
Then again, that’s part of what “Fiddler” tries to teach us. Change is always just over the horizon. Perhaps Aleichem not recognizing it is the point.
For Tevye (Sam Nachison) and many of the townspeople of Anatevka, change is to be reviled. Look no further than the first showstopping number subtly titled “Tradition.” This ubiquitous push-pull relationship between the new ways and the old ways is part of what has kept “Fiddler” relevant for so long. So too has its universal themes of love, family, faith and identity. From my first encounter with Tevye and his town, at sixteen, to now, this show never fails to capture my heart. And Music Theater Works’ latest production is no exception.
Nachison is a natural Tevye. With all the bravado of a loving papa and a velvety baritone that booms through a room, you will never forget this papa. By his side as wife Golde, Mitzi Smith is just as well matched. Her mama’s gaze, which is often thrown at Tevye when he hasn’t done as she’s asked, elicits soft chuckles from audiences who know precisely what that silent stare means. Fascinatingly, Tzeitel (Madison Uphoff) and Hodel (Elissa Newcorn) embody their parents as they strike out on their own. Uphoff’s Tzeitel is loving, kind and wise just like her mama. In contrast, Newcorn’s bold Hodel is witty, charming and heart-centered, just like her papa. Between these four and Jacob Simon’s sassy (but on-point) Perchik, I couldn’t stop smiling.
One issue with this show is that the cast felt uneven. Some performances were spot-on and strong, while others felt stiff or distorted. Even in short scenes, this discrepancy was impossible to ignore, and it was distracting.
What makes director L. Walter Stearns’ production remarkably prescient, though, is how he has bookended the show. It begins and ends in the same sequence. Although much of this incredible story is as relevant as ever, the displacement theme hits a little bit harder right now. As people all over the world are forced out of their homes, including in our very own country, it’s hard not to think about it. Tevye’s quoting Moses by way of Abraham in saying he is a “stranger in a strange land” put a lump in my throat.
Over 120 years stand between us and the time of Tevye’s life. Even so, people are still losing their identities, their traditions, and their homes. Negotiating a place between the world they know and the ever-changing world of tomorrow. So long as mankind pushes through these cycles of change, we will all have something to learn from Tevye.
“Fiddler on the Roof” runs through August 17 at Music Theater Works, 516 4th Street, Wilmette. Tickets are $19.50-$89, available at musictheaterworks.com.
