I have a soft spot for Fiddler on the Roof. The 1971 film adaptation was the first movie musical I saw on the big screen, and I made my musical stage debut as Motel the Tailor nine years later in a Millville Senior High School production. I can still recite the lyrics of “Miracle of Miracles”.
Thoughts of those experiences were dancing in my head when I attended a recent performance of the Joseph Stein, Jerry Bock, and Sheldon Harnick classic at 6th Street Playhouse. The production runs in Santa Rosa through Oct. 8.
Change is coming to the Russian village of Anatevka. It is an unsettling time to be Jewish in czarist Russia so much so that local dairyman Tevye (Steven Kent Barker) compares it to being a fiddler on the roof – trying to maintain tradition and balance in a precarious position.
Tevye and his wife Golde (Ginger Beavers) have five daughters, three of whom are of marrying age. Local matchmaker Yente (Laura Davies) connects oldest daughter Tzeitel (Ella Park) with widowed butcher Lazar Wolf (Dwayne Stincelli) bit she’s committed to childhood friend Motel (Jeff Coté).
As soon as Tevye brings resolution to that situation, daughters Hodel (Megan Bartlett) and Chava (Lydia Louviere) have beaus of their own. Perchik (Daniel Silva) is a dissident, while Fyedka (Michael Hunter) is a gentile.
Traditions come crashing down while Russian soldiers come crashing through Anatevka.
Change came this show while it was in mid-production and it shows. Director Joe Gellura stepped in after the departure of Jared Sakren and casting was a challenge (partially because of the change in director, partially because of the number of shows simultaneously in production, but that’s a whole other discussion.)
On the one hand, veteran performers like Beavers, Davies, and Stincelli give their all. On the other hand, Barker, who has given strong performances on larger stages, seemed tired and small in the role.
On the one hand, there are a lot of younger, talented performers in the show. Park, Bartlett, and Louviere as the marrying-age daughters are all very strong. On the other hand, many were asked to play town elders while the casting of veteran Coté as twenty-year-old Tzeitel’s childhood friend strained credulity.
On the one hand, the classic score (“Matchmaker”, “If I Were a Rich Man”, “Sunrise, Sunset”) is well delivered by the eight-piece orchestra led by Les Pfützenreuter and the vocals were well handled by the cast. On the other hand, the choreography lacked enough talent and the precision necessary to really carry it off.
On the one hand, there’s a nice minimalist set by Jenny Brazell enhanced with good projection design by Ben Roots. On the other hand, sound issues continue to plague the Playhouse.
On the one hand, I had high hopes after the superb violin work done by Henry Miller in the opening.
On the other hand…
6th Street Playhouse’s Fiddler on the Roof was a valiant effort that, despite some strong elements, fell short to these nostalgic eyes.
‘Fiddler on the Roof’ runs through Oct. 8 in the GK Hardt Theatre at 6th Street Playhouse, 52 W. Sixth Street, Santa Rosa. Fri.-Sat., 7:30pm; Sun, 2pm. $28–$48. 707.523.4185. 6thstreeetplayhouse.com
Photos by Eric Chazankin
This review originally appeared in an edited version in the North Bay Bohemian.
North Bay Stage and Screen 
You didn’t even mention the rabbi who was by far the best thing in the show
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