KCTribune: Fiddler on the Roof

The Starlight opened its one-week run of Fiddler on the Roof to perfect weather and a good-sized crowd for a Monday. Tevye, a Jewish father of five girls in Czarist Russia, waxes philosophical about the choices his girls make in their quests for love and the consequences that ensue. Not one of the daughters chooses a match that a father would have made for her, yet, when the constable comes to kick the cast out of town, it becomes clear that love was just as good a reason as any to choose a mate.

The huge lead role, played by Lewis J. Stadlen, carried the show. It would be easy to slip into an exaggerated stereotype to get cheap laughs with Tevye’s many quips (Villager: “An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.” Tevye: “Very good. That way the whole world will be blind and toothless.”), but Stadlen managed to get all the laughs and still create the subtle beauty of a funny father that any culture could relate to.

Honestly, the entire cast was strong, though I had a few favorites because of their singing abilities. Leslie Denniston, who played Golde, the mother, had a gorgeous mezzo-soprano voice without the brassy, strident tone that is often the norm in live theater. Sasha, the Russian soldier played by Justin Scott Brown, sang a lovely tenor solo that came out of nowhere and knocked everybody’s flip flops off. The ensemble songs, however, sometimes lacked…ensemble. Though they recovered well, the “Sabbath Prayer” in the first act had parts that sounded like a kid trying to gather runaway marbles. And I refuse to blame the pit orchestra. Any group of freelance musicians that can play that well in tune can’t be blamed for anything.

The dancing was enjoyable overall, though I think the men stole the show. The four guys in the “Bottle Dance” in the first act actually balanced bottles on their heads. I don’t know why that’s so cool, but I was transfixed. The two little girls, who played the younger daughters, kept up with the adults like pint-sized pros.

Barring a few glitches with the wireless microphones and the occasional party crashings by erroneous bats dive-bombing the sparse, yet effective set, I had a great time. It is wonderful to see such energy and professionalism onstage.

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars.