Fiddler on the Roof, Broadway Theatre, New York — ‘Nostalgic’

Fiddler on the Roof is, as the puff-mongers claim with some justification, an American classic. With a catchy yet often poignant score by Jerry Bock, smart lyrics by Sheldon Harnick and a toughly sentimental book by Joseph Stein, it treads a precarious path between comedy and tragedy. Since its premiere in 1964, it has sustained a nice historic image and returned in numerous, mostly popular guises.

Mostly? To some, the conflicts of the plot seem too pat, the agonies too picturesque, the finale too optimistic. Writing in The New Yorker, Philip Roth called the show “shtetl kitsch”.

The tale of the eternally philosophical dairyman Tevye, based on Sholem Aleichem, does toy with the tribulations of rural Jews in Imperial Russia. Contrary to industry predictions, however, the essentially unpleasant subject exerted mass appeal from the start, and the original staging lasted 3,000 performances. One wonders about the survival power of the current revival.

Directed by Bartlett Sher (who understands plays better than operas), the production bears an odd credit: “Inspired by the work of Jerome Robbins”. The master’s trademarks are recognisable. Still, one notes a certain blurring of focus. Narrative sometimes gives way to choreographic frenzy, and pathos is reduced to period-piece ritual. Hofesh Shechter, the choreographer on duty, keeps everything moving, moving, moving. Michael Yeargan’s decors strip the stage to bare requisites, ignoring the erstwhile charm of folksy realism. Catherine Zuber’s sanitised costumes dress the poor Anatevkans a bit lavishly for credible comfort.

Zero Mostel, the first Tevye, was indisputably magnetic but often a self-indulgent clown. At least one Fiddler collector preferred his successor, Luther Adler, who restored revelatory degrees of dignity and solemnity. Danny Burstein, the newest heir to the hero’s milk cart and paternal woes, is agreeable, self-effacing and, alas, somewhat dull. Call him smaller than life. He enjoys sensitive support, however, from Jessica Hecht as his long-suffering wife, Alix Korey as the town matchmaker and, perhaps best, Adam Dannheisser as Lazar Wolf, the would-be amorous butcher.

The nostalgic crowd at the preview on Thursday appeared to love everything.

To July 3, fiddlermusical.com