Fiddler on the Roof

Published Thursday 31 May 2007 at 13:40 by Paul Vale

Cursed with a lame horse, progressive daughters and the onset of the pogroms in his tiny village in Russia, Tevye the milkman decides to move what’s left of his family to America. The joy of this musical is not only to be found in the evocative score, or richly layered characters taken from the Shalom Aleichem stories but in the universality of the simple story of the breaking down of traditions from one generation to the next.

Lindsay Posner’s production, transferred here from a successful run at the Crucible in Sheffield, boasts some stunning choreography, based on Anthony Williams’ original work and some marvellous performances, notably that of Henry Goodman as Tevye. Goodman’s is a solid performance, just about rescued from caricature by his strong grounding in the drama of the piece, particularly in his on-stage relationship with Frances Thorburn, Alexandra Silber and Natasha Broomfield, as his three daughters. Goodman’s final scene with Silber, as they wait for the train to take her to Siberia, brings a tear to the eye. Beverley Klein as Golde adds much comedy and her final fairwell to Yente, as the matchmaker heads for Jerusalem, is another subtle yet truly touching moment in the show.

On a downside, Posner’s direction is often infuriating, with some truly awful moments of upstaging taking place that seriously need to be rectified at this venue, and while much is made of Robbins original choreography, it is sad to see Aleichem’s name and the source work neglected in the official programme credits.