Fiddler on the Roof almost didn’t make it from the page to the stage. The backers were leery. A musical with a sad ending? Isn’t it too Jewish? What will we do when we run out of Hadassah groups? And yet, since its debut in 1968, Fiddler has become a staple of theatre with translations in Japanese and, more recently, back into its original Yiddish. The complications of marriage, raising children, the tug of war between tradition and modernity, and the yearning for justice in an unfair world are universal themes. And now, Fiddler has come to Music Hall via the Cincinnati Opera accompanied by the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. I saw the closing performance on July 27th, 2025.
I grew up listening to Fiddler, and I was a little worried that the opera treatment would take away from its earthiness. Indeed, the rustic set, designed by Andrew Boyce, stands in stark contrast to the elegance of Music Hall. However, while some of the singing is more elevated, the story itself remains firmly rooted. Levi Hammer conducts the orchestra with an ebullience that is delightful to behold. In the opening number, Tradition, the whole shtetl is abuzz with activity, and we are invited into a bygone world.
One standout favorite performer was Janice Meyerson, who imbued Yenta the Matchmaker with a musicality that flowed through her voice and body language, charming and amusing us from her entrance. Victoria Livengood was one strong, no-nonsense woman as Golde. Scratching out a hard scrabble life has toughened her up on the outside, but the tender heart of a mother beats within.
To play Tevye, an actor might choose to mimic one’s forerunners, such as the larger-than-life Zero Mostel or the more subtle Topol. And yet, Max Hopp found tones and colors that made his Tevye uniquely his own. That said, if I can pick one small bone, Hopps’ prayers in preparation for the Sabbath sounded more like a Gregorian Chant than Chabadniks davening Ma’ariv. Prayers are not taught so much as lived.
Arnold Livingston Geis is sweet as Motel, the nervous nebbish who finally mans up enough to ask for Tzeitel’s hand. The other side of the coin is Simon Barrad’s Perchik, whose chutzpah and unquenchable thirst for justice land him in Siberia.
Two actors who break our hearts are Rachel Blaustein as Hodel and Jennifer Zetlan as Chava. Far from the home I love is one daughter’s tearful farewell to the family she will never see again, while Chava is shut out, declared dead for following her heart and eloping with a gentile. Does this make Tevye a bad father or just a man too set in his ways?
Tevye’s Dream is always a highlight of the show, going from earthy Naturalism to the phantasmal. Sarah Folsom has a ball as the late Fruma-Sarah, who is violently jealous of any woman who might replace her. I also enjoyed the choreography of the ghosts, as Michael Pappalardo pays homage to the dancing zombies of Michael Jackson’s Thriller.
For the wedding scene, they did their homework by including the uniquely Jewish rituals of the chuppah, the groom checking under the veil, the bride circling the groom, and the stomping of the glass. When the pogrom breaks in, the tone abruptly shifts from joyful celebration to wanton destruction. During L’chaim!, we get the impression that the Ukrainians don’t want this tumult any more than the Jews. On the other hand, when the orders come, they don’t refuse them either.
Fiddler on the Roof is a show that has always had broad appeal beyond the Jewish community. The house was packed, and I was glad to see quite a few youngsters in the audience. I wish the run were longer. The timing of this production is fitting indeed as both Israel and the Jewish people face mounting criticism, bigotry, and even violence. The more people experience this show, the better they will understand what we have had to endure for centuries. In that context, maybe they would also realize what having a homeland of our means to us and why we fight so hard to keep it.
