The last show of the Players 99th season is "Fiddler on the Roof".
Director Alma Fontana breathes new life into this version of the show by
playing up the comic elements to the overwhelming tragic ones giving the
show the needed energy and power to display how a successful musical should
be done. The show takes place in 1905 and is about the milkman, Tevye, his
wife Golde and their five daughters. The expert musical direction is by Ron
Procopio who brings out the best vocal quality of the cast while
choreographer Diana Luchka Ricci creates some splendid dance numbers to
entertain the audience. The multitalented performers shine in their roles,
making this one of the better productions of this well known show.
From the comic Dream sequence to the touching "Sabbath Prayer",
"Sunrise, Sunset" and "Anatevka", Alma knows how to tug
on your heartstrings. Ron not only musically directed the show but plays the
keyboards with his son, Buddy on percussion. Ron obtains some splendid
harmonies in the songs The Fiddler is expertly played by Sandra
Martineau whose violin soars throughout the show. Diana's dance numbers are
splendid especially the bottle dance, the Russian dance and
"Matchmaker". Leading the cast is Dennis Bouchard as Tevye. He
brings perfect comic timing to this role as well as the warmth it needs,
too. His relationship with his wife and daughters are excellent with the
comic and dramatic moments. Dennis' vocal prowess shines through in his
strong delivery of his songs. His rendition of "If I Were a Rich
Man" stops the show and his "Tradition", duets with Golde
including "Sabbath Prayer", "The Dream", "Sunrise,
Sunset" and "Do You Love Me?" are wonderful, too. The
poignant moments with Hodel in her solo and Chava in "Little Bird"
will bring tears to your eyes while the comic "To Life" and
"The Dream" will have you rolling in the aisles with laughter.
Elizabeth Messier as Golde, has a lot of chemistry with Dennis. Their
adversarial relationship comes across and her admittance of love after 25
years becomes more poignant because of it. She gets to show off her voice in
the duets with Dennis while one of her funniest lines is that he frightens
her so much that she'll faint when she gets home. Liz shows off her dramatic
side when she finds Chava has been disowned by Tevye for marrying outside
the faith. The young couples act and sing beautifully. Krista Weller Burns
as Tzeitel and Jonathan Garven as Motel shine in their roles as the eldest
daughter and her true love. Her acting prowess and strong voice comes
through all night long as does Jonathan's. His rendition of "Miracle of
Miracle's is fabulous. Hannah Spacone as Hodel and Dan Tracy as Perchik do
an awesome job in their roles. Hannah's voice sors in "Matchmaker"
and especially in her solo "Far From The Home I Love" one of the
prettiest songs in the show. Dan's tenor voice sounds gorgeous in "Now
I Have Everything" one of the most difficult vocal numbers in the
show. Kelcy Dolan as Chava and Eli Sullivan as Fyedka are wonderful in their
roles. He gets to show off during the Russian dance while Kelcy sings
with Krista and Hannah during "Matchmaker" and gets to tug at your
heartstrings in the "Little Bird" and confrontation scene with
Dennis.
Two of the biggest scene stealers in this show are Roberta Anderson as
Grandma Tzeital and Joan Dillenback as Fruma Sarah. They perform in the
Dream scene to convince Golde to let Motel marry Tzeital. Another scene
stealer is Angie Margiotta as Yente who constantly meddles in the villagers
lives. Her one liners and long speeches are very comical. Stephen Kay plays
the butcher, Lazar Wolf who Yente matches up with Tzeital. Ted Gavriluk
plays the elderly Rabbi while Sam Hood plays his son, Mendel. Ron Mutton as
the Constable, plays the villain of the show beautifully. (Boo, hiss)
Rounding out the talented cast is Sandy Remington as the Innkeeper, Ryan
Hanley as Avram the Bookseller, Richard Nardella as Nacham, the beggar,
Bonnie DerManelian as Shaindel, Motel's mother and villagers, Eva-Marie
Coffey, J. Bradford Kleyla, Roberta Remington and Patrick Saunders. The
youngest daughter in the show are played by Sarah Pothier and Brooke Friday
who played Annie last season. Kudos to the cast and crew who make this a
show to be very proud of. To become a member of this theatre club for their
100th season, give hard working stage manager, Lydia Matteson a call.
Special praise to lighting designer, Ruth Fagan and set designer, Dan
Clement and the multitude of costumes by Sue Bergeron.
FIDDLER ON THE ROOF ( 30 May -8 June, 2008)
The Players, Barker Playhouse, 400 Benefit Street,
Providence, RI
