'Fiddler' springs 'to life!' at Rodgers

FIDDLER ON THE ROOF, Rodgers Memorial Theatre, Centerville, closes Aug. 13 (298-1302). Running time: two and one-half hours (one intermission).

CENTERVILLE — "Fiddler on the Roof," a 1964 Broadway classic (about which the trade paper Variety originally opined that "none of the songs is memorable"), fills the tiny Rodgers Memorial Theatre stage with nearly 40 performers along with folksy old-world wisdom, a lot of humor, energetic dancing and sweet tenderness.

And — as 40 years of audiences are well aware — several of the show's tunes are very memorable, from the poignant "Sunrise, Sunset" to the buoyant "To Life!"

Directed by Leslie Warwood, with skillful choreography by Alane Schofield, this beloved musical provides an intimate look at the life and struggles of the impoverished families in a remote Russian village in 1905, when revolution was changing the land and uprooting families.

The leading performers in the Monday-Wednesday-Friday cast — especially Scott VanDyke as the beleaguered dairyman, Tevye, and Sonia Miller as his hardworking wife, Golde, — deliver some fine performances.

When Tevye talks directly to God, pondering the pros and cons of raising five daughters (and dealing with a lame horse), he is thoroughly believable. You feel his frustrations as he ponders "If I Were A Rich Man" and the tiny Jewish community's adherence to "Tradition."

But things are changing rapidly. As Tevye frequently notes — on one hand, his three oldest daughters (Tzeitel, Hodel, Chava) are going against the grain and choosing their own husbands . . . on the other hand, Jewish traditions must be upheld.

Aubrie Budke is lovely as Tzeitel, who yearns to marry poor tailor Motel (Brandon Cecala), instead of widowed butcher Lazar Wolf (Dick Dilley), despite the official pairing offered by village matchmaker Yente (Meredith Gibson). Inspired by their older sister's boldness, Hodel (Hannah Marie Gibson) warms up to brash young tutor Perchik (Scott W. Butler), and Chava (Heidi Thacker) incites even stronger feelings by falling in love with Fyedka (Justin Bradley), a non-Jewish Russian soldier.

They all deliver strong performances — especially Butler as Perchik, who is joyously in love with life and all of its possibilities.

VanDyke had some sound problems on Monday night. Some of his asides were barely audible. And some of the men's beards are obviously fake.

The "dream" sequence, Tevye's ploy to derail the Tzeitel-Lazar Wolf nuptials, usually drawn out and nightmarish, is brisk and comical.

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