Stage-and-screen actor Jason Alexander may be headlining “Fiddler on the Roof” –performing at La Mirada Theatre through Dec. 1 – but in fact the entire ensemble shines in a gorgeously staged production of this classic musical.
With its book by Joseph Stein, based on stories written by Sholom Aleichem set at the turn of the 20th century in Russia; music and lyrics by Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnick; and choreography by Jerome Robbins, the 1964 Broadway “Fiddler on the Roof” and subsequent revivals have won several Tony Awards, including for best musical.
And La Mirada Theatre’s production does not disappoint! Co-produced with McCoy Rigby Entertainment and directed by Lonny Price, acting and staging are both nearly flawless.
Alexander makes a perfect lead Tevye, milkman of Anatevka – a small Jewish town in Russia around 1905 – who has five daughters (oy!). With an unassuming demeanor and twinkle in his eye, Alexander’s Tevye is sympathetic, with occasional humorous tics that made his character George on television’s Seinfeld funny as well.
Alexander's singing voice is warm, and he eases into the iconic song “If I Were a Rich Man” with conversational simplicity. Similarly, the potentially cloying or awkward duet “Do You Love Me?” between Tevye and his wife Golde (Valerie Perri, a formidable stage presence) is both natural and sweet.
The booming prologue number “Tradition” makes clear where Tevye and most of the villagers stand when it comes to preserving their time-honored ways of life based in the Torah – the Jewish holy book to which Tevye amusingly attributes many sayings, regardless of whether they are actually in there.
The main tradition that drives the narrative is marriage, namely those of Tevye’s three older daughters, Tzeitel (Rachel Ravel), Hodel (Alanna J. Smith) and Chava (Emerson Glick), though even the two younger girls (played by Catherine Last and Ava Giselle Field) are apparently fair game for matchmaker Yente (Eileen T’Kaye).
But interspersed among the villagers are non-believing (and mostly taller) Russians, to whom the villagers must remain deferential, especially to the Constable (Gregory North), who has a soft spot for Tevye but conveyes the ominous threat of a rapidly changing “outside world,” increasingly hostile for Jews.
Tevye must navigate his own world, though, as family patriarch and that means coming to terms with his three older daughter’s untraditional marriage choices. In “Tevye’s Monologue,” he deliberates drolly with God with “on the one hand” and “on the other hand,” ultimately letting the looks on his daughter’s faces melt his heart. Instead of giving permission, he can only give his blessing, then only accept, but finally draw a line he can’t cross.
Along the way, we are treated to familiar favorites such as “Matchmaker, Matchmaker” and “Sunrise, Sunset,” dynamic choreography by Russians at the tavern and a truly amazing scene evoking the ghost of Golde’s grandmother as Tevye tells his wife a fake dream to try to convince her that Tzeitel should marry poor tailor Motel (Cameron Mabie) rather than rich, older butcher Lazar Wolf (Ron Orbach).
Throughout, the stage is dense with the characters and life of Anatevka, created not only by the actors but by a detailed, mostly wooden set (designed by Anna Louizos and Kevin Williams, with lighting by Japhy Weideman). Actors seamlessly rotate set pieces as scenes shift between Tevye’s home, a tavern and a tailor shop, assembling tables and chairs for Shabbat dinner, the tavern and Tzeitel’s traditional wedding.
The entire village is made a visual communal presence through houses floating above the stage – until that is, the Russians decide they must all leave – a violent possibility hinted at by Perchik (Remy Laifer), a revolutionary student passing through the town who sweeps second daughter Hodel into a relatively radical life.
The richness of the story and songs, combined with the fluidity of the acting and staging, makes La Mirada Theatre’s “Fiddler on the Roof” a must-see production. If you are still weighing “on the one hand” and “on the other hand,” you’ll know by the look on your own face afterward that – mazel tov! – you made the right choice by going.
“Fiddler on the Roof” continues at La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts, 14900 La Mirada Blvd., La Mirada, through Dec. 1, with performances Thursdays at 7:30 p.m., Fridays at 8:00 p.m., Saturdays at 2:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m., and Sundays at 1:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. Tickets range from $34 to $109 and can be purchased by calling the Box Office at (562) 944-9801 or (714) 994-6310, or visiting LaMiradaTheatre.com. Run time is 3 hours, including intermission.
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