On the Town with Chip Deffaa: From Anatevka to Wales
"Fiddler"--brilliantly directed by Joel Grey—is an unusually impactful production. It’s emotionally rich, moving, and timeless. And wholly believable. They had me from the first words of the opening number, “Tradition.” (And what a glorious ensemble sound they got!) Steven Skybell playing “Tevye” won the Lortel Award for Outstanding Lead Actor when this production was first presented in 2019. (And the production as a whole won Drama Desk, New York Drama Critics Circle and Outer Critics Circle awards that same season.) He is an excellent Tevye—earthy, naturalistic, struggling to deal with the hardships of life, and able to leaven the hardships with well-expressed humor. This is a big production for Off-Broadway, with some two dozen actors in the company, and Zalmen Mlotek conducting 10 musicians in the orchestra. I don’t speak Yiddish, but the English supertitles would make it easy for anyone to follow along. I’ve seen Fiddler, in various incarnations, enough times—and I’ve savored the original Broadway cast album since Fiddler first premiered back in the 1960’s—I didn’t really need to read all of the supertitles. I quickly got engrossed in the action. This is one of the greatest of all musicals—the book, music, and lyrics are so strong—it always has rewards to offer. [more]