FIDDLER ON THE ROOF (TWO OLIVIER AND EVENING STANDARD NOMINATIONS/BEST REVIVAL OF A MUSICAL AND BEST ACTOR)

FIRST PERFORMANCE AT THE SAVOY THEATRE ON 29 MAY 2007

ABOUT THE MUSICAL

A fiddler on the roof. Sounds crazy, no? Well, not any more. The scrawny fiddler, precariously balancing on a housetop while “trying to scratch out a pleasant, simple tune without breaking his neck,” is nowadays a universally accepted image. Not so back in 1964, when Jerry Bock, Sheldon Harnick, Joe Stein and Jerome Robbins joined together to create their landmark Broadway musical. The painter Marc Chagall had already visualized something of the sort on canvas. The Fiddler authors transformed it into far-more-accessible words and songs, with Robbins creating theatrical magic by literally putting a fiddler on the roof of the stage set. Generation after generation of audiences – in theatres, movie houses and watching in their living rooms worldwide -- have embraced the image. That fiddler on the roof doesn’t sound so crazy, forty-odd years after he first climbed on the ceiling.

Move forward to November 2006, when a new production of Fiddler on the Roof was staged by the estimable Sheffield Theatres at the Crucible. The West End’s own Henry Goodman led the cast as Tevye, joined by Beverley Klein as Golde and a hand-picked ensemble of formidable London actors under the direction of Lindsay Posner. Producer Kim Poster dutifully made the trip to Sheffield, only to find that this was a very special Fiddler indeed. Poster -- who is best known in London for non-musicals such as “Amadeus” with David Suchet, and the Theatre Royal Haymarket engagements of “The Royal Family” with Judi Dench and “Lady Windermere’s Fan” with Vanessa Redgrave -- was especially struck by Posner’s new perspective on the material. By concentrating on the dramatic elements, audiences once again felt the immediate impact that Fiddler generated when it first appeared, on Broadway in the fall of 1964 and at Her Majesty’s Theatre in the winter of 1967.

Several changes needed to be made along the journey from Sheffield to the Strand. A key element of the original Fiddlerexperience was the choreography by Jerome Robbins; Robbins was not merely a hired hand but an intrinsic part of the original creative team. With the assistance and blessing of the Robbins Estate, Sammy Bayes – the choreographer’s assistant on the original and subsequent productions -- was imported to reproduce the major numbers. It was also determined that special care be taken with the musical aspects. The intimate nature of the new production, along with the physical practicalities of London’s Savoy Theatre, called for a smaller Fiddler orchestra than at Her Majesty’s. The typical approach to a reduced number of musicians is to ramp up the synthesizers, enhancing the volume while diminishing the distinctive colors of the natural instruments. Orchestrator Larry Blank has done the opposite, going back to the masterly original orchestrations by Don Walker and preserving the balance. Instead of having four brass, four reeds and four strings playing at once, he might use two, two and two – all the while retaining the flavorful accordion and mandolin upon which Walker built his sound. The results, under the baton of musical director Jae Alexander, are not as loud as in the original, which played larger venues, but the proportions remain the same. More to the point, the new orchestration has none of the electronic instruments that unfailingly creep into orchestra pits nowadays – and which are especially foreign to the musical world of Anatevka.

The reinstated work of Robbins and the ingenious new orchestrations combine with the careful ministrations of Posner and Kate Flatt (who contributed additional musical staging). They create a Fiddler that is – in the words of Benedict Nightingale of the Times – “the most tuneful blend of innocence, vulnerability, good heartedness, humour, dreaminess, fatalism and, ultimately, outrage you’ll find this side of the Urals.”

Fiddler on the Roof opened September 22, 1964 at Broadway’s Imperial Theatre. The show, starring Zero Mostel, won nine Tony Awards including Best Musical, with authors Bock, Harnick and Stein among the winners; Robbins won two Tonys, as director and choreographer. Fiddler closed on July 2, 1972 after 3,242 performances, making it Broadway’s longest-running musical at the time. Topol headed the London production, which opened on February 16, 1967 at Her Majesty’s Theatre and ran for 2,030 performances. Topol was also selected to play Tevye in the 1971 motion picture version, which won three Academy Awards.

Over the course of the last forty-odd years, Fiddler has been performed continuously around the world. Broadway has seen four revivals. Zero Mostel played a return engagement in 1976, as did Herschel Bernardi (a replacement in the original production) in 1981. Topol made his belated Broadway debut in the role in 1990, twenty-three years after first playing it in the West End. Most recently, Alfred Molina starred in director David Leveaux’s reimagined production in 2004. In London, Topol played limited return engagements at the Apollo Victoria in 1983 and the London Palladium in 1994.

The new, critically-lauded production of Fiddler on the Roof at the Savoy marks the first major West End revival of the show. With the restoration of the original Robbins choreography, director Posner’s concentration on the text, and the bravura performance of Henry Goodman, this is – to quote Charles Spencer in the Daily Telegraph – “a Fiddler to melt your heart!”

The Story of Fiddler on the Roof

Fiddler on the Roof takes place in 1905 in the small Russian village of Anatevka. Tevye, a milkman with five daughters, explains how the villagers gain strength and courage from their religion (“Tradition”). By following these traditions, they believe they’ll be protected from the dangers of the outside world. . . . Yente the Matchmaker tells Tevye’s wife, Golde, that she has found a husband for her eldest daughter Tzeitel: Lazar Wolf, the wealthy, middle-aged town butcher. Tzeitel and her sisters Hodel and Chava, meanwhile, wonder whether Yente has arranged a marriage for them (“Matchmaker, Matchmaker”). . . . Tevye returns from a hard day’s work. While he doesn’t mind being poor, he wonders what life would be like otherwise (“If I Were a Rich Man”). . . . News arrives that there has been a pogrom in a neighboring town, with the Jews beaten and forced to move away. Perchik, a university student, criticizes the villagers for meekly accepting such calamities. Tevye likes Perchik, despite his modern ideas, and invites him to Sabbath dinner. Tzeitel, meanwhile, tells Motel – the poor tailor with whom she is secretly in love -- that he must quickly ask Tevye for permission to marry. Before he can, the family joins together for dinner (“Sabbath Prayer”). . . . At the local inn, Lazar asks for Tzeitel’s hand. While Tevye doesn’t like the butcher, he reasons that at least his daughter will never go hungry and agrees. The village men – and even some of the local Russians -- toast the match (“To Life”). The Constable also congratulates Tevye. They have always been friends, but he warns that the government has ordered an attack on the Jews of Anatevka. . . . When Tevye tells Tzeitel the marriage is arranged, she pleads with her father not to force her. Motel asks Tevye for permission to marry Tzeitel, confessing that they have been secretly engaged for a year. Tevye is stunned that children would break tradition and make such plans for themselves (“Tevye’s Monologue”). Looking in his daughter’s eyes, though, he sees she is in love and reluctantly agrees. Motel is amazed that Tevye has given permission (“Miracle of Miracles”). . . . Now Tevye must face Golde with the news that Tzeitel will not marry the rich butcher. Knowing that his wife is superstitious, he devises a long and involved nightmare in which Lazar Wolf’s first wife comes back from the grave and places a curse on Tzeitel (“The Dream”). This so scares Golde that she agrees to break off the engagement with Lazar. . . . On the street, some Russians taunt Chava, Tevye’s third daughter. Another Russian, Fyedka, stops them. Chava is uncomfortable talking to him; he points out that it is as wrong for her to ignore him because he’s not Jewish as it is for the Russians to taunt her because she is. . . . Tzeitel and Motel get married at a traditional ceremony (“Sunrise, Sunset”). Perchik breaks societal rules by inviting Hodel to dance with him. She does, shocking the guests. Just then, the Constable arrives with a mob. He apologizes to his friend Tevye, saying he is merely following orders. Only Perchik resists; he is clubbed by one of the men, as the villagers flee. The Constable apologizes once again to Tevye, and leaves. Tevye and his daughters start cleaning up as the curtain falls on act one.

ACT TWO

Two months later, Tevye – in another of his conversations with God -- reports that Tzeitel and Motel are happily married. But his horse is still sick, so Tevye is forced to pull the milk wagon himself. Perchik tells Hodel that he is leaving Anatevka to join other revolutionaries who are fighting the injustices of the government. He asks her to go with him and she agrees, to his great happiness (“Now I Have Everything”). . . . Perchik tells Tevye that he and Hodel will be married. Tevye is stunned; they are breaking all traditions, not even asking for the father’s permission (“Tevye’s Rebuttal”). Looking in his daughter’s eyes, though, he sees she is in love and reluctantly agrees. . . . Golde is furious that Tevye is allowing Hodel to marry a poor student, and surprised that he did so without discussing it with her. Tevye explains to Golde that Hodel loves Perchik, and wonders if his own arranged marriage developed into love (“Do You Love Me?”). . . . Perchik is suddenly arrested, and sent to prison in far-off Siberia. Hodel tells Tevye that she is going to Siberia, too, to join Perchik (“Far from the Home I Love”). . . . Next comes Chava, who confesses that she wishes to wed Fyedka. Tevye is stunned that she would consider marrying a non-Jew. Tevye has allowed his other daughters to break with traditions, but marrying outside the religion is one thing he simply cannot allow. Looking in his daughter’s eyes – well, he cannot look in his daughter’s eyes. He disowns Chava, banning her from the family (“Chavaleh”). . . . The Constable comes to tell Tevye that the government has ordered the Jews to leave Anatevka. The villagers are upset, but there’s nothing for them to do other than pack up their meager belongings and leave (“Anatevka”). . . . Tevye, Golde, and his two remaining daughters prepare for the journey to America. Tzeitel and Motel will go to Poland until they earn enough money for their passage. Hodel is in Siberia, with Perchik. Chava comes to say goodbye. Tevye still refuses to speak to her, but at the last moment finally gives his blessing. Tevye, his family, and the people of Anatevka start the long walk to a new life.

CAST &CREATIVE

Tevye - Henry Goodman

Golde - Beverley Klein

Tzeitel - Frances Thorburn

Hodel - Alexandra Silber

Chava - Natasha Broomfield

Yente - Julie Legrand

Motel - Gareth Kennerley

Perchik - Damian Humbley

Fyedka - Michael Conway

Lazar Wolf - Victor McGuire

Rabbi, Avram - Vincent Perillo

Mordcha - Tomm Coles

Fiddler - Adrien Mastrosimone

Constable - Steve Fortune

Shprintze - Nicole Turner, Olivia Ravden, Kate Rawlings

Bielke - Jessica Hargreaves, Jessica Grant, Kirstey Hickey,

Lili MacLeary

Book - Joseph Stein

Music - Jerry Bock

Lyrics - Sheldon Harnick

Director - Lindsay Posner

Choreography - Jerome Robbins

Musical Director - Jae Alexander

Design - Peter Mcintosh

Lighting - Peter Mumford

Sound - Gareth Owen

Original Choreography Reproduction - Sammy Dallas Bayes

Additional Musical Staging - Kate Flatt

Orchestrations - Larry Blank

Additional Orchestrations - Sophie Solomon

QUOTES & REVIEWS

Goodman achieves A TOUR DE FORCE

Telegraph

Henry Goodman is glorious…a comic tour de force

Sunday Telegraph

A brilliant, BIG HEARTED performance

*****Independent

A five-star performance (Topol who?)

****Metro

Terrific spirit, a TWINKLY HUMOUR and a wonderful voice in a role he was born to play

****Mail on Sunday

Henry Goodman is on delightful form. He combines charisma and a lovely shrugging humour…TOUCHINGLY HUMAN AND VERY FUNNY

Independent on Sunday

Henry Goodman’s eyes certainly twinkle but there is always a strong, feet on the ground vigour in his delivery

****Times

HE LEAVES THE AUDIENCE CHEERING. An ELECTRIFYING force, both wonderfully comic and profoundly tragic, wily and witty

The Stage

If I were a rich man, I would back a London transfer of FIDDLER ON THE ROOF

Independent on Sunday

A MUSICAL TO RAISE THE ROOF

****Mail on Sunday

Not just a great musical with terrific melodies – a dazzling score, it’s a fascinating and absorbing story

****Mail on Sunday

I’D WAGER THAT THIS FIDDLER WILL RAISE THE ROOF IN THE WEST END BEFORE 2007 IS OUT.

Telegraph

A witty, vibrant, moving and atmospheric production

****Mail on Sunday

'Poignant, witty ... and spectacular

****  The Times

The entire cast is outstanding

****  Metro

In this SUPERBLY ENGAGING PRODUCTION, the emphasis is on tradition in the best possible sense…even the familiar numbers – ‘If I Were a Rich Man, ‘Sunrise, Sunset” and “Matchmaker, Matchmaker” – have a bracing freshness

*****Independent

BURSTING WITH LIFE

Sunday Telegraph

Sensational Revival…Lindsay Posner’s brilliant production of this masterpiece and its timeless appeal

Telegraph