"Fiddler On The Roof"

Nottingham Royal Concert Hall.

The musical is set in Tsarist Russia in 1905 and is based on the story of Tevye the Milkman by Sholem Aleichem and the book by Joseph Stein.

The story follows father of five Tevye as he tries to uphold tradition in an ever changing political and social landscape. During a period of change for Russian Jews, the family learn to cope with the decline of Tsarist Russia and the tough laws enforced on the family and the village of Anatevka.

This much loved and often performed musical includes many musical theatre classics such as “Matchmaker Matchmaker”, “If I Were A Rich Man”, “Sunrise Sunset”, “Tradition”, the tentative “Do You Love Me” and the melancholy "Far From The Home I Love".

I've seen this musical several times, both local and touring productions, but this is a different staging and that re-ignited my love for this show.

One thing that also hit me very early on is that none of the actors have had the pressure taken away of getting the Jewish or Russian accents correct and the spoken word is delivered, as far as I could tell, in the actor's own accents. This in itself is refreshing.

Tevye is the narrator and the father of five daughters. He is the milkman, a leader in his Jewish community, and husband to the headstrong Golde. He is faced with struggles to uphold the traditions of his people, especially through the marriages of his daughters and is played by Matthew Woodyatt. Matthew's voice is made for musical theatre and he delivered the lyrics with power and emotion.

Golde is Tevye’s wife of twenty-five years and mother of his five daughters. Golde is an efficient helpmate and traditionalist, faced with changes of a “new world.” She has a sharp tongue and wit. Played by Jodie Jacobs she is a fabulous foil for Tevye. Jodie's voice is gorgeous and listening to Jodie's duet with Matthew in the beautiful "Do You Love Me?" is like chocolate syrup slipping down your throat.

Yente, the village’s matchmaker and busybody, is played by Beverley Klein. A very different image, thanks to a marvellous costume and glasses, seems to depict a trendier Yente. Brilliant sense of humour which adds to much of the comedy in this show.

Natasha Jules Bernard plays Tzeitel, Tevye and Golde’s eldest daughter, and in love with Motel, whom she eventually marries instead of Lazar Wolf. All the actors involved have wonderful voices, and especially when they merge with the duets, trios etc. When the three elder sisters sing "Matchmaker" you can hear, with great clarity and separation thanks to the crystal clear sound design and operation, just how beautiful these women's voices are. As with all the "couples" in this musical, the chemistry looks and feels very natural.

Georgia Bruce is Hodel, Tevye and Golde’s second daughter. Hodel falls in love with Perchik and they defy tradition by not seeking her father’s permission to marry, only his blessing. Another wonderful example of getting the chemistry between the characters spot on with Hodel and Perchik.

Hannah Bristow plays Chava, Tevye and Golde’s third daughter who falls in love with Fyedka, a Russian, and is ordered to “never see him again.” You really feel for this coupling because they have found themselves to be a great match but "tradition" stands in their way, in the eyes of Tevye. Tevye's balancing act of pros and cons for this pair really gives you scope for thought. Fyedka is played by Gregor Milne.

Shprintze, Tevye and Golde’s fourth daughter, is played by Ashleigh Schuman and Bielke, Tevye and Golde’s youngest daughter, is played by Georgia Dixon.

Sion Lloyd plays the Innkeeper, Mordcha, who is most prominent with the meeting of Lazar Wolf and Tevye.

Motel is played by Dan Wolff. Motel is a poor tailor and secretly pledged to Tzeitel. Motel gathers the courage to ask Tevye for her hand in marriage as he feels “even a poor tailor is entitled to some happiness.” They marry and start a family, which also includes another “new arrival”. Chemistry really is the keyword for this production and Dan has great chemistry with Natasha.

This production must feel very special for Dan as he is playing to his home town professionally for the first time. I can remember Dan from Bilborough College and first met him when I reviewed "Into the Woods" that he directed at Bilborough College back in 2016, so it's marvellous to see Dan living the dream in a production like "Fiddler". Congratulations on your journey so far and making Nottingham proud of you.

Greg Bernstein is Perchik, a radical student from Kiev who becomes Hodel’s husband. Perchik is a brilliant character and Greg's eyes just seem to light up whenever he appears on stage, none more than when he proposes to Hodel. The joy that he shows as Perchik just gives you a very warm and satisfying feeling. Perchik can only be described, in my mind, as love drunk.

Michael S Siegel plays Lazar Wolf, the rich butcher and widower of Fruma-Sarah. Lazar is the man Yente, the matchmaker, sets as a match for Tzeitel. Wonderfully comical, especially in argumentative role at the wedding feast.

Mark Faith is The Rabbi, Anatevka’s Jewish spiritual leader.

Mendel, the Rabbi's son, is played by Toby Turpin. 

Gareth Davies is Avram, a bookseller, who shows an interest in Chava.

Ed Bruggemeyer plays Nachum, a beggar. 

Shandel, Motel's Mother, is played by Sue Appleby. 

Susannah Van Der Berg plays Rifka.

Mirila is played by Caris McQueen.

The Fiddler is played by Raphael Papo. Raphael really sets the tone for the show right from the very start, and throughout, with his evocative playing.

Karl Wilson is Constable, the man who delivers all the bad news to the community. Torn between being Tevye's friend and doing his duty of being the bearer of bad news, all the while stressing that he is only doing his job.

Sasha is played by Simon Anthony.

The two Russians are played by Jack Osmond and Alex Pinder. 

Directed by Jordan Fein. A play or a musical can seem different, and fresh, through the eyes of different Directors, and this show, in my opinion was like a breath of fresh air. I had expected to see a show that I had always loved in a format that I had seen before, but not this time. The staging was fresh, quite sparse but there were parts that seemed as if this was the first time that I had seen the show, and that kept me hooked throughout. A special blend of the original with some new splashes meant that I fell in love with the story and music all over again. Tevye's dream sequence has always been a hit with me, and this has been staged in a very novel way which Jordan has managed to maintain the comedy element with some very dark and gothic like images with the extended arms and claw like hands.

The Design is by Tom Scutt. Again, a fresh outlook with the set design from the very off. Surrounded by wheat field, which even seemed to have roots growing, the props were moved on and off stage smoothly, giving way for the various scenes to roll in and out, and a very clever section that elevated to provide another level for The Fiddler to perform.

Choreographed by Julia Cheng. This area too seemed to have a fresh coating, creating another layer of excitement. I am still dumbfounded as to how the bottles in "The Bottle Dance" managed to stay on the actor's hats while they performed their dance. 

The Lighting Designer is Aideen Malone. There's a lot of hard work and know how gone into this creative area as we see the wheat fields ablaze, sombre lighting as well as bright and bouncy lighting, all of which create the given atmosphere for each scene.

Sound Designer is Nick Lidster. The Royal Concert Hall can be hit and miss with musicals, but tonight the sound was a sure fire HIT! The sound was so clear you'd have no issues at all hearing every word that this cast sing, and with such wonderful singing from all, this is an absolute treat.

Dan Turek is the Musical Director and Musical Supervision and additional orchestrations are by Mark Aspinall. I've stated that the individual vocal pieces, duets, trios etc are gorgeous, but what I have not stated is just how beautiful the ensemble vocal pieces are. "Sabbath Prayer" is an incredible ensemble piece which sends the hairs on your neck standing to attention.

Wigs, hair and make up design are all by Nina Van Houten.

The production seems to have covered every detail where the background is concerned and even has a Jewish History, Religion and Culture Consultant with Rabbi Rose Prevezer to make sure that the story is as factual as possible, something that has, as far as I can remember concerning credits for this musical has been noted in the shows' playbill.

The musical is rightly cited as being a "classic" and the soundtrack is iconic; it's also one of those rare musicals that does not have a happy ending, but has a great deal of comedy throughout the show. It's also one of those musicals that, even though it's now over sixty years old, it manages to highlight the situations we have in the world today, and that things haven't moved on that much, especially when we think of the current situation between Russia and the Ukraine.

"Fiddler On The Roof" is at the Nottingham Royal Concert hall until Saturday 23 August. Whether it's your first time seeing this show or, like me you've seen this show several times, you will love this new staging because it takes nothing away from other productions, but adds something very special to Fiddler's classic recipe.

Photography by Marc Brenner.