Wonder of wonders, miracle of miracles! Phoenix Festival Theater is up in production for the fall! And they’re bringing a time-honored classic, some might call it a musical theatre tradition— Fiddler on the Roof. Directed by Eric Bray Jr., whose main stage directorial debut could not have been more successful, with Musical Direction by Rebecca Rossello, and Choreography by Karlie Surgeon, this insightfully nuanced and emotionally driven production is truly an extraordinary feat, one well worthy of praise.
There’s no getting around the fact that Fiddler on the Roof is a lengthy musical. But the beauty of Director Eric Bray Jr.’s production— aided indefinitely by Stage Manager Kody Coudon and the Backstage Hand du of Malia Williamson and Ethan Godfrey— is that the show doesn’t feel lengthy. The pacing of the show is nothing short of sublime. Scenes flow effortlessly from one to the next and it’s a true combination effort of the ensemble and run crew helping carry scenic furnishings on and off, the masterful design of Scenographer Sammy Jungwirth (who is responsible for both set and light design for this production) and Pit Conductor Rebbecca Rossello who covers those moments with score-appropriate vamps. The pacing isn’t just smooth; it’s effective. It doesn’t feel rushed, the scenes and dialogue exchanges are clean but with heightened senses of emotional urgency— you’re getting a story in addition to a musical and it’s an impressive experience all across the board.
Bray Jr. continues to dazzle the audience with his spatial awareness in blocking and staging. Whilst in residence at The Amoss Center, PFT has before them a vast, cavernous proscenium. Even when Tevye is alone with his cart standing center stage, the space doesn’t feel as if its overwhelming or consuming the actor. A play space like that can create a great many pitfalls— particularly the yen to block and play every scene downstage center— but Bray Jr. utilizes the space in a more inclusive fashion, spreading out the ensemble, making use of depth in his blocking, and providing a spatial awareness amongst his players. This is again augmented by the simplistic beauty of Sammy Jungwirth’s set design, which is dominated by a painted scrim across the back and a huge overhanging almost simple-log-cabin-style frame at the edge of the proscenium. Jungwirth’s backdrop scrim is painted with stunning detail, and absorbs the various color schemes he uses in his lighting design work to create striking visual moments all throughout the performance. There are large furnishing pieces— the door, the tables, the antique sewing machine (whose pedal works!) and a handful of others— that round out the scenic aesthetic, all of which move easily and readily in and out of their respective scenes. It’s almost like a deconstructed approach and yet it feels like it fits the libretto of Fiddler on the Roof like a glove.
But what’s really impressive, though not to say that everything I’ve said already isn’t also equal parts impressive, is Bray Jr.’s little nuanced moments of connectivity. Taking a deeper look beyond the play’s surface, Bray Jr. has found all of these striking moments— often played out in the background— to really wholly ensnare your attention to the bigger picture of the story. The most striking among them— and honestly it’s a hardcore tie for me on this— is the moment near the very end of the first act when the “little demonstration” busts up the wedding and Fyedka— a Catholic not of the Jewish faith— stands staring in shock. Until the stare-down from the Constable, which forces Fyedka into unwilling action. Everyone is on stage in that moment but all eyes are on Fyedka (Daniel Koncurat), The Constable (Jonathan Bennett, who should be praised for his subtle but clear Russian accent), and The Fiddler (Matthew Peterson)— it’s chilling. The other moment, also featuring Matthew Peterson, our Fiddler, is the final moment of the play— with only his bow, now handed to Tevye, the pair exchange a look, and each take up a side of Tevye’s cart to trudge onward. The deeply moving symbolism of that moment— Tevye and this precarious ‘everyman-Fiddler’ are one in the same, sharing the same burdens and woes— is truly breathtaking. And there are dozens of little moments like this peppered all throughout the production. It showcases a wealthy of knowledge, research, and emotional understanding on Bray Jr.’s part.
Keeping with the thematic overview of nuanced vision, Scenographer Sammy Jungwirth has used his role as Lighting Designer to create remarkable vignettes— almost photographic moments of certain scenes, most often at the end of musical numbers. Jungwirth plays a lot of shadow and the absence of light to create stunning visuals onstage, using the absorbent backdrop scrim to aid in this aesthetic exercise. One of Jungwirth’s most impressive lighting effects is used during the end of “Anatevka”, which is the final song of the production. As the company is standing, singing through the end of the number, the main lights go out on the performers, casting them into obscurity and darkness with just a hint of under-lit and back-lighting so that the audience can still see their shadowy silhouettes on stage. Jungwirth captures the emotional and symbolic turmoil of the characters’ plight in that moment— the light of hope has gone out on them, but still they carry on. It’s really impressive. There’s also ghastly ghoul lighting for “The Dream” and a lot of smoke and haze effects for that number as well as “Chavalah (Little Bird)” which is another dream-like number.
Rebecca Rossello, the show’s musical director and orchestra pit conductor, is doing wonders for this production. (Shout out to Audio Board Op. Asher Weir for that impeccably balanced sound-board and fully functioning mics!) Rossello, who not only encourages full, hearty and robust sounds from both principal cast members and the ensemble, ensuring that some of Jerry Bock’s more questionable harmonies come together in a beautiful fashion, is master of musical ceremonies for this production. The orchestra sounds beautiful, keeping excellent time, infusing their talents directly up to the stage to inform the performances; it’s excellent. And her Pit— Chris Hofer on bass, Kirsten Walsh on cello, William Zellhofer on piano, Matthew Peterson on viola, Darwin Ray on violin, Mary Eilerman on percussion— creates praiseworthy music from the overture through to the show’s conclusion.
While Fiddler isn’t the ‘big, splashy, Broadway show’ that needs huge tap routines or full-company dances, Choreographer Karlie Surgeon works a miracle here and there to infuse the emotional integrity and experience of these characters into her choreography. This is most notable during the opening number, “Tradition” where you get lines and circle-sweeps of characters spinning around the stage with Klezmer music informing their traditional Yiddish dance moves. You get a full-on party atmosphere during “To Life!”, which is less choreography and more drunken celebration but this reads perfectly with the atmosphere that Bray Jr. has inspired amongst his cast during that scene. And of course, it wouldn’t truly be Fiddler without the ‘Bottle Dance’ (spearheaded by Alex Bock) at the wedding. And those bottle-dancers are pretty tricky on their feet. You also get a lot of fling-kick moves during “To Life!” which are neat to watch in action.
The Villagers— Elena Bennett, Liza Bennett, Nicole Bennett, Reuben Bennett, Alex Bock, Tamia Brown, Eliana Devoe, Victoria Devoe, Caroline Ervin, Kelly Koncurat, Mark Koncurat, Megan Koncurat, Peter Lein, Daisy Mears, Emily Morey, Victor Scigala, Lindsay Sowards, Alexandria Stevenson— are a powerhouse vocal force. When they sing in numbers like “Tradition” and “Sabbath Prayer” you get this overwhelming emotional tide that washes out over the audience, it’s a gorgeous sound filled with full-bodied pathos and remarkable vocal splendor. It’s striking. Several of the villagers are named characters, like Victor Scigala who plays Avram, the Bookseller. And he gets his 10 seconds in the spotlight during “The Rumor” where his dramatically informed verse might just be the funniest one in that number. Or Nachum, the Begger, played by Peter Lein, who gets to amuse the audience during “Tradition” with his quippy comeback. And keep your eye on Daniel Rusin, as the Rabbi, because he’s good sharp comic timing and when he’s finally persuaded to dance at the wedding, it’s delightful to watch!
Featured performers Kaitlyn Wissel and Calvert Necker, playing Fruma-Sarah and Grandma Tzeitel respectively, both get their moments to shine physically and vocally during “The Dream.” Necker, who toddles onto the stage looking like a ghostly granny, delivers her little ditty with that uncanny ‘granny-knows-best’ sound in her voice while Wissel appears as a gory apparition atop a high-wheeling structure for dramatically spooky effect, wailing away. And my goodness gracious when Wissel gets into her ghost-shrieks (you can thank Jerry Brock for that particular arrangement) you get some true coloratura sounds happening from her that are just gobsmacking. While both may be tucked away outside of this number in the ensemble somewhere, it’s this number that gives Wissel and Necker their 15 seconds of fame and rightfully so.
The good lord saw fit to bless Tevye with five daughters— five! Among them the two lesser-featured but equally impressive Bielke (Sophia Libertini) and Shprintze (Carly Greaver.) While they flit and float about the stage during scenes in Tevye’s household, there’s a hilarious moment with the two of them and two younger, unnamed boys at the end with Golde and of course Yente (Barbara Kasecamp.) There is something adorably sweet and yet irksome about Kasecamp’s performance as Yente, striking a perfect between being the town gossip and being the town matchmaker. The way she warbles vocally, trembles and shudders physically gives an excellent representation of the character’s age, and her interactions with Golde, and later with Tzeitel before delving into “The Rumor”, is just priceless.
Little Chava (Julia Eakes), is the middle child— and truly so considering the younger two are all but forgotten about in Joseph Stein’s libretto while her older two sisters seem to get exactly what they want though not without consequence— and she’s a delightful songbird of a character. Paired up against Hodel (Jess Simonson) during “Matchmaker, Matchmaker”, their playful duet gives both of their vocals a chance to shine. The camaraderie and silly playfulness that floats between Eakes, Simonson, and Samantha Jednorski, playing the eldest daughter Tzeitel, is pure sororal glee. When you watch Jednorski take up her caricature-mockery of Yente during “Matchmaker, Matchmaker” and the way that immediately spins the tone of that song right around, as is readily reflected in both Simonson and Eakes’ body language and facial expressions, it’s just wondrous to watch. These three impressive performers each find their own moments to make their characters pop from the stage into your hearts as well, often with their respective love-interests.
For Eakes’ Chava it’s with the astonishingly voiced Fyedka (Daniel Koncurat.) When Koncurat bursts out in the middle of “To Life!” with that glorious and superbly held sustained belt, you’re half-near fainting with applause. And while Eakes plays fussy and hard to get, the cute chemistry burbles between them at a low-simmer early on. Watching the dynamic between Koncurat and Eakes in the second act, after the horrific aftermath of the act one finale, is fascinating. And Eakes also has her moment of soul-ripping anguish when she begs Tevye to see her and accept her. There’s a similar moment of Jednorski’s Tzeitel, fraught with emotional desperation as she flings herself around Tevye’s arms, crying in heart-ripping hysterics to not marry Lazar Wolf, the Butcher. (This could be an awkwardly comic moment because Jednorski is incredibly tall and Tevye not so much, but she’s so deeply invested in the emotions of that moment that your heart just breaks for her.) Of course, for Jednorski just watching her all throughout the performance is a delight because she’s so naïvely joyful. Particularly at the community level, there comes a tendency to want to play Tzeitel as just a little less than intelligent, a little gooey with childhood love for Motel, and a little absent-minded (and how could it not, when other characters say things like “Tzeitel, don’t forget the baby!”) but Jednorski gives Tzeitel a depth, one that is rich with the simple joys of life and she’s constantly smiling, a genuine, congenial smile. You won’t be able to take your eyes off of her at her wedding. Or when she’s being charmed all around the stage during “Miracle of Miracles”, the only song sung by Motel (JJ Devoe), her childhood-friend-come-soulmate.
With Simonson’s Hodel it’s her fierce and fiery meeting with Perchik (Haydn Floros), a radical! From Kiev! Floros is firm of voice, bold of character, and well-suited to play opposite of Simonson, who is known in the area for her winsome princess vocals. Their duet, “Now I Have Everything” (which is arguably one of the ‘less-pretty’ sounding songs that Jerry Brock composed for this show, and yet they make it sound as pretty as those awkward harmonies possibly can) is a delightful expression of their feelings toward one another. Floros isn’t so bombastically over the top, as is the penchant for the character (again, Director Eric Bray Jr. has done an extraordinary job of finding balance in the levels of emotions expressed, hitting the ultra-highs and ultra-lows in balance with each other), but has his moments, particularly when he’s stirring up a little chaos, like at the wedding scene. There’s an absolutely adorable little moment that Floros and Simonson share, right before their duet, where Simonson’s Hodel keeps saying “…and affection…” as she discusses marriage with Floros’ Perchik, essentially pushing him down onto his knees for a more romantic proposal. And of course, Simonson floods everyone’s tear ducts up and over with her rendition of “Far From the Home I Love,” which gives her her own individual moment with Tevye at the end of the number when she flings herself at him in true melancholic woe of not knowing if they will ever see each other again.
Golde, Golde, Golde! Have we got some news for you. Cathy Koncurat is strongly voiced, strongly opinionated, and fully embodies the grumpy, albeit lovable, character that is Golde, Tevye’s wife. Although there are moments where Koncurat’s Golde seems a little modern, more like a 2000’s Golde instead of a 1905 Golde (though this has been the case in the last several productions of Fiddler I’ve seen, so it does call to question how Golde is now being perceived in the grander theatrical picture), it doesn’t ultimately deter from her impressive performance. You won’t be able to take your eyes off of her during the wedding, once the ‘dancing’ begins. Her facial expressions are hilarious as she begrudgingly gets dragged along into the merriment. She’s bristly and obstreperous, holding her own against Tevye, showing the edge of her patience-break when it comes to Yente, and mouths quick-wittedly at her daughters all in good time. But the really remarkable thing to note about Koncurat’s performance as Golde is the moment of raw discovery. Her voice is beautiful, no question, and it services “Do You Love Me?” with real emotional sincerity. But it’s that moment deep in that song where the sudden realization that this man that she’s been married to for 25 years— that she actually, earnestly loves him? When that moment hits her, it’s breathtaking and the smile that crosses her lips and stays there through the end of the number is wondrous too.
It is a gargantuan role to tackle, Tevye. And it is a challenge that James Gilbert not only rises to but soars through. With Zero Mostel and Chaim Topol as ever-looming shadows over the principal role, Gilbert manages to present a textbook Tevye that goes just enough off-piece to feel like it’s his own creation. The truly remarkable thing about Gilbert’s Tevye is the balance. All too often there’s too much over-the-top with the humorous asides to God, (or in an attempt to course-correct that notion, the character downplays them to the point that they’re too minimalized), and a lot of shouting. Gilbert does have moments where he shouts as Tevye, but they’re balanced and feel like they strike an emotionally exacting dagger to the moments in which they occur. His voice is fulsome, hearty and robust— as is expected of a Tevye— but also earnest, for a lack of better wording. Carrying “If I Were a Rich Man” in the fashion that he does becomes not only this humorously engaging moment but Gilbert takes up all the air and space on the stage, even though he hardly moves at all in that number. It’s wild. The entire scene before “Sabbath Prayer” where Gilbert interacts with the villagers and meets Perchik for the first time is incredibly nuanced, comedically charged, and heartfelt.
When Gilbert’s Tevye gets giddy drunk with Lazar Wolf (Sam Brooks) during “To Life” it’s a wild ride for sure. And Brooks, who gets to feature heartily and heavily in that number, does a fine job in the role. (Watch his shenanigans as he exits the stage the wrong way, spins his drunken-character-self around, announcing in that ‘loud whisper’ that he’s going the wrong way, and wobble-marches himself off-stage at the end of that scene; it’s hysterical!) Or when he has those moments with The Fiddler (Matthew Peterson), who appears frequently throughout the crowd scenes, ever-present, reminding Tevye that they are one in the same, Gilbert really makes these solid, albeit silent, connections with that character. There’s much to be said for Gilbert’s stage presence, command of character, balance of humor, and of his impressive voice— but we’ll leave much of that to be discovered by you— ticket-holder, so that you can enjoy his talent and feast upon the excellence being brought to the stage in this production.
Phoenix Festival Theater has a superb production of Fiddler on the Roof on their hands; it’s a must-see but there are only four performances, so do not wait to venture out this weekend and catch it!
Running Time: Approximately 2 hours and 45 minutes with one intermission
Fiddler on the Roof plays through September 22nd 2024 with Phoenix Festival Theater, a part of LIVE! At Harford Community College— currently at Amoss Center— 200 Thomas Run Road in Bel Air, MD. Tickets are available by calling the box office at 443-412-2211 or purchasing them in advance online.
