It was no doubt a difficult feat to honour thousands of years of Jewish history in one show, but with a cast of 50 and a run-time of three hours, Royal City Musical Production’s latest presentation of Fiddler on the Roof certainly warranted the audience’s applause. It has been 34 years since the company last produced this music theatre classic. For Tim Clarke, directing Fiddler on the Roof was an opportunity not to be missed. “I think it’s just one of the greatest works in the musical theatre cannon,” said Clarke, “I was chomping at the bit to direct it, and I’m very thankful and amazed that I got to do it.”
For the past three months, Clarke and his massive cast and crew of volunteers have been hard at work rehearsing for the show, which spanned over five days on the Main Stage at the River Run Centre. With such a culturally significant show like Fiddler on the Roof, there was also a great deal of research to be done in order to properly pay tribute to its origins.
“I’d say the biggest challenge, aside from putting 50 people on a stage and have it look like something coherent, is just the thousands of years of Jewish history that goes into this show,” explained Clarke. “Not just Jewish history, but Ukrainian history, the story of the Pale of Settlement, and all of the incredibly specific rules that these Orthodox Jews had in how they lived their lives and how they related to the people in their community[…]. The greatest challenge [is] just getting it right and never guessing at things.”
By paying attention to these very specific details, the show’s direction allowed the audience to step back in time and experience what life might have been like for the poor dairyman, Tevye, and his family in the fictional town of Anatevka. At a time when religious and social customs were strictly followed, three of Tevye’s eldest daughters challenged these traditions in order to marry for love. Despite his dedication to his faith, Tevye must decide if the happiness of his daughters is more important. Meanwhile, their small village is becoming a target of anti-Semitism, which threatens to force them from their homes and leave behind all that they know.
While Fiddler on the Roof is mostly a musical comedy, it can be “funny and absolutely heart-wrenching at the same time,” as described by Clarke. The cast of the Guelph production catered very well to both aspects of the story, causing the audience to laugh one moment and well up with emotion the next. Max DeNardis, the show’s lead, pulled off the iconic role of Tevye with a level of professionalism far beyond the realm of community theatre. Whether it was an expertly timed drunken hiccup, or a beautifully delivered monologue, DeNardis perfectly embodied the character of Tevye from the moment he set foot on the stage.
The music, arguably the most iconic element of Fiddler on the Roof, was wonderfully handled by the ensemble and the orchestra alike. The entire performance was enhanced with a perfectly timed score and songs that get stuck in your head long after the show is over. The long-lasting appeal, however, is also rooted in the show’s underlying themes that are, unfortunately, still relevant today.
“We have a major crisis with thousands—millions—so many people either being forced from their homes or choosing to leave their homes because it is absolutely not safe for them anymore,” explained Clarke. “The stories that the musical was based on were written in the late 19th century, but it’s amazingly relevant and frustratingly relevant because you would hope that, as a human race, we would have learned a thing or two in a hundred years, but we haven’t apparently.”
The story breaks down universal conflicts of class, religion, and oppression, and also tackles more personal, familial issues that are highly relatable across many cultures all over the world.
“Sholom Aleichem, who wrote the original Tevye stories, wrote in Yiddish […] and he was writing those stories for his people,” revealed Clarke, “I don’t know that [he] could have anticipated what kind of life his stories would have taken on […]. There’s a production happening every day, somewhere on this planet, and it’s been translated into so many languages and [people] all over the world can identify with Tevye, which is amazing.”
While Fiddler on the Roof is likely being performed somewhere in the world right now, the curtain came down for the Guelph production after its Sunday matinee on Nov. 29, 2015. For the cast and crew, it was difficult to say goodbye to such a breathtaking show. “The tradition gets passed on,” Clarke reflected, getting a little choked up, “Tevye is going to America, but he’s not going to abandon the tradition. His life is going to change in many ways […] but he’s still going to pass down the stuff that matters to his kids and so on.”