To theatre! To theatre! L’chaim! To Beth Tfiloh Community Theatre! L’chaim! After an eternity of waiting, they’ve finally been granted the rights from on high…up in New York or wherever MTI is headquartering these days! After many denied applications for one reason or another, Beth Tfiloh Community Theatre has finally been approved to produce Fiddler On The Roof! L’chaim! Directed by Diane M. Smith with Musical Direction by Charlotte Evans Crowley and Choreography by Rachel Miller, the iconic and classic Jewish musical finally finds its way to the stage of BTCT this summer!
Director and TD Diane M. Smith, working with Scenic Designer Evan Margolis, bring a living, breathing Anatevka to life. The backdrop of the stage is covered in tremendous, full-stage length (from up above right down to the floorboards) Torah Scrolls. Several of the scrolls even have the actual scroll-handle at the bottom, resting on the floorboards. There are six scrolls in total with Hebrew words printed on each scroll (and a beautiful interpretation guide in the program for those of us that do not read Hebrew.) Words like ‘tradition’ and ‘family’ strengthen the overall effect of the show simply by hanging reverently in the background. Evans, Smith, and a deep-bench construction team along with Properties Persons Dassi Cohen and Anna Tsakalas cobble together Golde’s Kitchen and Tevye’s infamous cart! (Whose wheel was so blessed as to be wanting to join Tevye’s horse for the Sabbath!)
The transition of the scenes and the show’s overall pacing was good; there’s simply no getting around the run-time of this particular show, but you don’t really notice it until you check your modern-day devices at intermission and at the end of the performance. Tyrell Stanley’s lighting is also a delightful touch to several of the scenes, particularly when it comes to Tevye’s Dream and the more haunting moments, like when Hodel sings her solo or Tevye is trying to reconcile his memory of Chava. Lizzie Jaspan and her costume team of many craft the iconic look of a Jewish community in Imperial Russia at the turn of the 20th century. The marvels of Diane M. Smith’s production team never seem to cease when it comes to this production; it’s high-quality and well worth noticing every step of the way.
Of course the noteworthy production team elements don’t stop at just the show’s design. Charlotte Evans Crowley, who is the show’s music director and live orchestra conductor, keeps the vamps rolling so that during those aforementioned scenic shifts, you don’t really notice the amount of time in darkness on the stage. Crowley and her orchestra (Lisa Wood on percussion, Helen Schlaich on reed1, Darwin Ray on reed2, Wesley Freeman on trumpet, Rachel Daudelin on violin) add a lively zest to beloved numbers like “Tradition”, “To Life” and the more reverently subdued “Sunrise, Sunset.” Rachel Miller lends her seasoned choreographic knowledge to the show as well, particularly when it comes to the celebratory stylized dance routines featured in numbers like “To Life” and “Tradition.”
There are a few moments— some really striking, others more curious— that stand-out in this production as unique. The particular choice to leave Chava standing on stage alone at the end of Act I (after the disruption of the pogrom at the wedding) and have Fyedka enter and stare at her is certainly one of the more striking ones. Having The Fiddler (Sarah Kheel) almost actively pursuing Tevye, particularly at the ending, is a choice that falls into the latter category. It almost makes the audience wonder if the Fiddler is real. Showcasing Golde and Tevye in two separate beds leading into “The Dream” feels appropriate and suits the cultural narrative of the time. Having Tevye look out and address the audience rather than the more traditional ‘up to the heavens’ every time he’s having a discussion with God is another choice that falls in the ‘curious’ column.
Vocal standouts among the company include Lilah Messing, who has a featured solo displaying her glorious voice during “The Rumor.” And also Molly McVicker as the shrill-shrieking and terrifying ghost of Lazar Wolf’s late wife, Fruma-Sarah. McVicker has a powerhouse voice perfectly suited for this frightening moment in “The Dream” where she looks her ghastly best, sending ‘messages’ from beyond the grave. You get a hearty sound from Brian Singer, as Lazar Wolf, though in the earlier number, “To Life!” And although they don’t get any singing moments all their own, little Shprintze (Juliette Spivack) and little Bielke (Molly Ponczak) are adorable and blend very well when they show up towards the end of “Matchmaker” and during the ‘daughters’ bit of “Tradition.”
With an astonishing voice, that you get to hear belt out with glorious sustain during “To Life”, Kemuel Vander-Puije as Fyedka makes a very good impression upon the stage, even if the character is ‘outside the faith.’ Convivial and congenial in his interactions with Chava (Talia Lebowitz, whose character isn’t given nearly enough chances to showcase her lovely voice), Vander-Puije is the only one who takes part of the bottle dance that actually looks like the bottle could topple from his head at any moment. (Yes, we all know there’s stage chicanery involved, but this kid is keeping an active look of concentrated worry on his face, constantly going cross-eyed trying to look up through the brim of his hat to see if the bottle will stay in place; he makes the whole thing seem very, very believable, as opposed to the foregone conclusion of ‘it’s magnet/velcro’d in place and I’m good.’)
Perchik (Eitan Murinson) and Motel (Yitzchok Smilowitz) are also gifted of voice and you get to hear their sounds during “Now I Have Everything” and “Miracle of Miracles” respectively. Their matched-female counterparts— Hodel (Ayala Asher) and Tzeitel (Hannah Elliott) respectively— are also of extraordinary vocal talent. Elliott, as Tevye’s oldest daughter, rarely gets to showcase her superb sound (maybe when they all move to America come the show’s conclusion…Elliott will land herself… in New York…) but you do get a shining moment of her Tzeitel in the singing spotlight during “Matchmaker.” Asher’s Hodel is giving little moments of duet here and there singing opposite Perchik, but she also delivers the harrowing and haunting tune “Far From the Home I Love” with a resounding sorrow that lingers in the audiences’ minds long after the song has concluded.
Wearing a perpetual expression of annoyance, frustration, and overall ‘tired-of-life’s-daily-crap’, Kendra Keiser as Golde is definitely making a statement. It may be Tevye’s narrative, but every time Keiser is on the stage, the show dramatically shifts to put the focus on her. It’s an interesting approach. She reads with a larger-than-life personality in this role and it makes the dynamic between her and Tevye a really intriguing one, particularly when the pair finally get around to singing “Do You Love Me?” which she’s perfectly vocally suited for. By comparison, Gabe Lewin’s Tevye feels almost small and somewhat cowed by her immeasurable presence. There’s definitely a spirited channeling of “Tevye’s who have come before him” particularly when it comes to doing the little dance moves during “If I Were A Rich Man.” Lewin has a robust voice that is well-suited for the role, but there something— and it isn’t a bad thing, just a unique way of experiencing Tevye— something nubile about his approach. So many Tevye’s are seen as this broken-down, tired but still faithful man who’s living up to the title of the show’s epitaph— ‘trying to scratch out a living without breaking his neck.’ But there is something about Lewin’s portrayal of Tevye, and I regrettably lack the words to say specifically what, that makes him read— raw. Not in a bad way like he’s unprepared (he clearly knows the lines, the meaning of the show and the songs) but as if this is a man who has never really experienced this level of strife and he’s bringing fresh eyes to dealing with the strife of being poor, having five-daughters, a hen-pecking-larger-than-life-wife, and the notions of love verses tradition thrown upon him all whilst trying to scrape by. It’s an unusual experience but not an unwelcomed one.
Tradition! Tradition! One great quality musical each summer! Beth Tfiloh Community Theatre has it happening this summer with their production of Fiddler On The Roof. Don’t miss out— please note the special performance dates and times!
Running Time: 3 hours and 5 minutes with one intermission
Fiddler on the Roof plays through August 27th 2023 with Beth Tfiloh Community Theatre located in the Mintzes Theatre of the Rosen Arts Center on the Beth Tfiloh Congregation and Community School Campus— 3300 Old Court Road in Pikesville, MD. Tickets are available for purchase at the door, by calling the box office at 410-413-2417, or in advance online.
