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Monday, September 19, 2022
‘Fiddler on the Roof’ review: Lyric Opera’s rethinking of classic musical emphasizes its historical reality as well as its wit
Chicago Sun-Times: A boy very much of our time, with a bright green shirt, headphones and a scooter, rolls startlingly onto the stage of the Lyric Opera House and stops in front of a double set of doors. He opens them to reveal an unexpected, mysterious closet from which he withdraws a violin case.
3 comments:
Maggie
said...
I love this concept of having a modern character present in the world of Fiddler on the Roof. It helps to show how relevant the story still is to this day, not only because Antisemitism is still so present in our culture, but also the other themes mentioned in the article such as tradition and ritual vs. modernity and change, family life, and everyday survival. Every culture knows these struggles and has experienced these things, and having a modern character incorporated into this retelling of the story carries it into the current time period. It also seems like the set design does quite a bit to further the seriousness of the subject matter. I have seen Fiddler on the Roof live a few times and the movie many times and there is always a huge lighting shift between the acts as things go downhill for the schtetl of Anatevka, but in the movie the town seems to fall apart a bit as well. This is not as easy to accomplish onstage, but if the town shows that it is somber, it foreshadows what is to come.
I could talk about Fiddler forever. I always love seeing new interpretations of it because it seems to simultaneously be extremely firm in its concept, yet flexible in its presentation, if I’m putting that right. When it comes to the somber set - I’m not sure. I feel like a warmer or neutral set is more appropriate to express and accentuate the joy and love of the show, despite where the Jews are; maybe toward the end of the show it can quietly transition. There’s so much warmth in Fiddler that I would hate for it to be stifled by an overwhelming background. But I love the concept of characters coming in and out of armoires. I saw in the trailer that a sideways armoire serves as Tevye and Golde’s bed (and they close the doors when they go back to sleep), which I think is very clever and fun. It’s also used to reveal Tzeitel and Motel at their wedding. I saw the addition of snow, presumably at least during “Now I Have Everything” and the final exit from Anatevka, as I gathered from the trailer. It adds such a layer of engagement and liveliness to the piece. I am a big fan of “gathered” period sets - I love innovative setups using antique furniture, I think it can add such detail and interest to the piece, while still remaining simple enough to not be the main focus.
I grew up watching movie musicals whether it be Sound of Music, disney movies, Mamma Mia, or Fiddler On The Roof, they were always playing in my moms house. The soundtracks would be on repeat every time we went on our roadtrips. I knew every song like the back of my hand. When I saw the tour of Fiddler On The Roof I was so excited because it was the first time I was seeing it live. I feel like the world and theater is constantly evoling and changing. We have to adapt as theater makers to those changes. I feel like its really important that they moderinzed this production while still staying truw to the original show. The fact that they changed the scenry to be origanal screany instead of bright colors to be expected is intresting. The way the revival changed thing but still stayed true to the origanal show in the ways that were important.
3 comments:
I love this concept of having a modern character present in the world of Fiddler on the Roof. It helps to show how relevant the story still is to this day, not only because Antisemitism is still so present in our culture, but also the other themes mentioned in the article such as tradition and ritual vs. modernity and change, family life, and everyday survival. Every culture knows these struggles and has experienced these things, and having a modern character incorporated into this retelling of the story carries it into the current time period. It also seems like the set design does quite a bit to further the seriousness of the subject matter. I have seen Fiddler on the Roof live a few times and the movie many times and there is always a huge lighting shift between the acts as things go downhill for the schtetl of Anatevka, but in the movie the town seems to fall apart a bit as well. This is not as easy to accomplish onstage, but if the town shows that it is somber, it foreshadows what is to come.
I could talk about Fiddler forever. I always love seeing new interpretations of it because it seems to simultaneously be extremely firm in its concept, yet flexible in its presentation, if I’m putting that right. When it comes to the somber set - I’m not sure. I feel like a warmer or neutral set is more appropriate to express and accentuate the joy and love of the show, despite where the Jews are; maybe toward the end of the show it can quietly transition. There’s so much warmth in Fiddler that I would hate for it to be stifled by an overwhelming background. But I love the concept of characters coming in and out of armoires. I saw in the trailer that a sideways armoire serves as Tevye and Golde’s bed (and they close the doors when they go back to sleep), which I think is very clever and fun. It’s also used to reveal Tzeitel and Motel at their wedding. I saw the addition of snow, presumably at least during “Now I Have Everything” and the final exit from Anatevka, as I gathered from the trailer. It adds such a layer of engagement and liveliness to the piece. I am a big fan of “gathered” period sets - I love innovative setups using antique furniture, I think it can add such detail and interest to the piece, while still remaining simple enough to not be the main focus.
I grew up watching movie musicals whether it be Sound of Music, disney movies, Mamma Mia, or Fiddler On The Roof, they were always playing in my moms house. The soundtracks would be on repeat every time we went on our roadtrips. I knew every song like the back of my hand. When I saw the tour of Fiddler On The Roof I was so excited because it was the first time I was seeing it live. I feel like the world and theater is constantly evoling and changing. We have to adapt as theater makers to those changes. I feel like its really important that they moderinzed this production while still staying truw to the original show. The fact that they changed the scenry to be origanal screany instead of bright colors to be expected is intresting. The way the revival changed thing but still stayed true to the origanal show in the ways that were important.
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