Fiddler0046aThere are Broadway arrivals—and Broadway revivals. This one is as good as it gets, amazingly fresh and timely. The perennial favorite, based on the Russian story ”Tevya’s Daughters,” by Scholem Aleichem, was inspired by the folkloric paintings of Marc Chagall.
The story of Tevya, a poor dairyman in the impoverished Russian village of Anatevka, with five daughters to marry off, documents the joys and sorrows of life in a village. It is threatened by modernism, Communism, vicious politics, all the movements that were swirling throughout Europe in 1905.
Danny Burstein, who plays Tevya to the hilt, takes his place with the great Tevyas, of the past, Zero Mostel and Topol, with his emotional portrayal of a father bewildered by the changes happening all around him, in his family and in his world. Burstein is wonderfully energetic and believable, a man trying his best to honor his god and uphold his traditions. His voice is gorgeous and soaring. Jessica Hecht does a superb job as Golde, and each daughter is beautiful, believable and individual.
The music and lyrics of “Fiddler” have become part of our collective DNA. And the heartbreaking finale, of families forced to leave their homes with only a few meager possessions, is totally resonant, totally of today.
This is a gorgeous production, one not to be missed.

Comments are closed.