The audience settled into their seats as the lights dimmed, indicating the opening night performance of “Fiddler on the Roof” was about to begin.
Viewers were greeted with a tune being played on a fiddle, and as the spotlight came on, it revealed the Fiddler, played by senior Tommy Nissen.
Tevye, played by senior Lucas Suchy, led the audience into the story, explaining the Jewish traditions in their small town of Anatevka in Czarist era Russia.
“The show we did is the same as the Broadway original. The only changes we made were simplifying and shortening some of the dances, but otherwise it is the same show,” musical director and conductor Dwayne Dunn said. “We used a reduced orchestration that comes from the publisher, due to cost and space considerations, but the show is often done with this orchestration as it simulates the Klezmer ensembles of the Jewish communities in Russia.”
The cast succeeded greatly in staying true to the original “Fiddler on the Roof.” Suchy completely embraced the role of Tevye, and mimicked the original right down to every dance move and tone of voice. Any viewer would not have guessed that this was Suchy’s first time performing in a play, let alone having a lead role.
The story centers around Tevye. He is the father of five daughters, and struggles with maintaining his family and Jewish religious traditions. His three oldest daughters, Tzeitel, Hodel and Chava, want to marry outside the traditional customs of Tevye’s faith. He has to cope with how to handle the situation with his daughters and with the edict of the Czar that evicts the Jews from their village.
As the 40-45 members of the cast danced, acted, and sang their way through the production, the dedication and pride in their performing was evident.
Even tiny mistakes passed without much notice or criticism from the audience. This happened in the scene where Tevye’s oldest daughter Tzeitel, played by senior Kendra Leet is marrying the tailor Motel, junior Matt Rood, and a traditional Jewish wedding is being acted out. As a part of the ceremony, Leet and Rood are to be simultaneously lifted up into the air while sitting on chairs. As the villagers begin lifting Rood, a leg of the chair broke and they were unable to lift him, but the cast improvised and played it off with ease.
Musical’s are only performed every other year, so not only is this a special opportunity for students but for audience members as well.
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