Fiddler On The Roof

Thank you Saddleworth Musical Society for the warm welcome and hospitality shown to me and my guest at your recent production of Fiddler On The Roof. Though both avid theatre goers, neither of us had seen this production before, so had no preconceived ideas as we sat in our seats.

The stage was open with a beautifully detailed painted backdrop which suited the production all the way through. A ramp led off the corner of the stage across the front which was used throughout. Personally, I feel it was slightly overused as it was distracting and at times a little noisy. The Fiddler was motionless on the roof of the house front on the stage, this was visually impressive and at the beginning did leave quite a number of the audience questioning whether he was real, as we found out when he was finally able to move he was very much real. He kept time well with his violin counterpart from the orchestra as he mimed his playing. The house front was a double sided truck which also provided us with the interior of the house. I did find some of the blackouts for scene changes quite lengthy and moving the truck seemed to take a while at times. The set throughout was minimal which worked perfectly in this production. 

There were two stand out scenes for me - Tevye’s bedroom and the Exterior of railroad station. Huge well done to all involved in either, everything worked. I particularly loved the simplicity of the snow and the sound of the howling wind. Saddleworth Musical Society are very much a singing based society and we (the audience) were grabbed from their opening number “ Tradition” where we were also introduced to all the characters. Ian Ball as Tevye was an absolute joy to watch, his characterisation was excellent and his portrayal of the challenged, loving father was very moving to watch. He was very generous on stage and gave his counterparts plenty to play against. We could see his inner turmoil and felt everything with him, his deliverance of “ If I Were A Rich Man” was beautifully executed and ably accompanied by Peter Wakefield and his band. It was never rushed and you could see the partnership between the two gentlemen as they worked as a perfect team with Ian always keeping a careful eye on Peter’s metaphorical baton. Kathy Duffy played Tevye’s strong willed wife, Golde. Her timing throughout was very good - she had some excellent one liners and never once did she throw a line away. She was strong and unbending, yet still managed to show us a gentle emotional side to her character.  I particularly enjoyed “Do You Love Me?”, it wasn’t technically perfect but for me it was emotionally perfect which can sometimes mean more.

Brent Andrews showed me an endearing character with his portrayal as Motel. He was well matched with Amy Milovanovic as Tzeitel. I also enjoyed the performances from Mary Carsberg as Chava and Arthur Hewitt as Fredka. Both couples kept their scenes moving well throughout and used their stage space to their advantage. Chloe Whatmough was perfectly cast as Hodel, her facial expressions all through let us know exactly what she was thinking. She also gave us some great vocals. Her love interest Perchik was played by Daniel Cope with intensity and strong belief yet we were also able to glimpse some raw emotion during their rendition of “ Now I Have Everything”. Greta Shellard was a treat as the interfering matchmaker, Yente - her comedic timing and deliverance was spot on.

At this juncture I must also mention the Orlyk Dance Ensemble. They certainly brought a special something to this production and it was a genuine treat to watch them flinging their legs here, there and everywhere. My guest is even thinking of joining their dance troupe!

The whole cast must be commended on includence and deliverance of accents -  it can be a brave decision by a director and in this instance it paid off - well Done Anita Stuttard. I must also mention the quality of the singing from the whole cast - I particularly enjoyed Martin Bradbury’s drunk singing as Lazar Wolf in “To Life” .

I very much look forward to seeing you all again very soon.

 

 

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