Theatre Review: Fiddler On The Roof at The Alhambra, Bradford

Famed for Starsky and Hutch, Paul Michael Glaser, originally played the role of Perchik in Norman Jewison’s film adaptation of Fiddler On The Roof only to return to the hit musical more than thirty years on as the lead in Craig Revel Horwood’s new stage version now touring the UK

A smokey gauze screen with two narrow houses either side of the stage desecrated with Yiddish words is accompanied by live Jewish sounding fiddler music before the curtain rises and the play’s protagonist narrates his story. Based on a collection of work by Soloman Yakov Rabinowitz (1895-1915) published as Tevye’s Daughters, Fiddler On The Roof tells the tale of a Yiddish milkman living in a Shtetls (village) in an area of Russia now part of the Ukraine. Tevye’s family are part of a small community who follow halakha, their culture’s age-old system of law, refusing to assimilate with the wider community.

Director, Craig Revel Horwood instantly makes the show a lively affair with his raucous but summative ensemble piece, “Tradition”, perfectly setting the scene, before Designer Diego Pitarch’s larger central house swivels and opens up to Tevye’s packed three-storey interior. The tone remains fun and playful in the “Matchmaker” song as his three eldest daughters sweep together all the while mimicking the village matchmaker, Yente: “He’s tall – that is from side to side”.

Stand-out particularly comical first act scenes are plentiful. A conversation between Tevye (Paul Michael Glaser) and Lazar Wolf (Paul Kissaun) involving an absurd misunderstanding over whether Lazar wants to buy Tevye’s milk cow or marry his daughter is particularly funny. Watching Motel (Jon Trenchard) ask Tevye awkwardly for his daughter’s hand is equally amusing, as is Revel Horwood’s light-hearted choreography as the ghost of Lazar’s first wife flies above. Other laughs are to be had from Revel Horwood’s choreography in an amusing washing wrapping scene and a cossack dance involving balanced bottles.

The first act ends with intimidation techniques arbitrarily exercised by political authorities against Tevye’s community, suggesting a much darker second half. For a production exploring racial cleansing and Siberian prison camps what follows remains surprisingly light, including the very slapstick “Do You Love Me?”, amusing snowballing of village gossip and a bizarre sewing machine blessing by the local Rabbi.

There are plenty of humorous and interesting ruminations on Jewish tradition/culture and clear links to the show’s title: “Without tradition our lives would be shaky as a fiddler on a roof.” For an outsider of the Jewish community, cultural titbits are fascinating as characters perform wedding rites and spit aplenty while jokes about what the “good book” says run throughout.

Freeze-frames are used for Tevye’s dilemmas, allowing him to express his thoughts out-loud and seek God’s advice. Multi-talented on-stage musicians (some playing eight different instruments!) fluidly move between acting, playing and dancing, ensuring scenes move seamless from one to the next and the whole production flows. The clarinet features heavily, alongside guitar, violin, saxophone, accordion, flute, piccolo, double bass, trombone, trumpet and bassoon creating hypnotic wedding music and a chance for male/female vocals to complement one another.

An extremely versatile cast bring enormous energy to the show, inspiring audience participation and mid-production claps. As Revel Horwood summarises it’s a show “about love, greed, hunger, pain and human emotion” clearly providing something for everyone. In its battle of the sexes, interesting inter-cultural racial stories and unsavoury finale, the main weakness of Revel Horwood’s adaptation is merely that it is a little too entertaining and perhaps less hard-hitting than it should be.

Fiddler On The Roof shows at The Alhambra until March 1 before continuing its UK tour.

Leo Owen