About the show:
Fiddler on the Roof is a musical with music by Jerry Bock, lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, and book by Joseph Stein, set in the Pale of Settlement of Imperial Russia in 1905. It is based on Tevye and his Daughters (or Tevye the Dairyman) and other tales by Sholem Aleichem. The story centers on Tevye, the father of five daughters, and his attempts to maintain his Jewish religious and cultural traditions as outside influences encroach upon the family's lives. He must cope both with the strong-willed actions of his three older daughters, who wish to marry for love – each one's choice of a husband moves further away from the customs of their Jewish faith and heritage – and with the edict of the Tsar that evicts the Jews from their village.
The original Broadway production of the show, which opened in 1964, had the first musical theatre run in history to surpass 3,000 performances. Fiddler held the record for the longest-running Broadway musical for almost 10 years until Grease surpassed its run. It remains the seventeenth longest-running show in Broadway history. The production was extraordinarily profitable and highly acclaimed. It won nine Tony Awards, including best musical, score, book, direction and choreography. It spawned five Broadway revivals and a highly successful 1971 film adaptation and has enjoyed enduring international popularity. It has also been a popular choice for school and community productions.
My opinion:
When we were in London in February, we didn't have time to go see this show. It was playing at The Menier Chocolate Factory and because it was so popular they extended the running and moved it to the Playhouse Theatre. I grabbed the chance and booked my ticket.
I absolutely loved this show!!! I don't even know, where to start with this review. It's the story of a Jewish family and their whole village. Tevye And Golde have five daughters and it's time for them to get married. Of course, they get matched with someone, that's tradition. However, the daughters are about to break the tradition. Tzeitel is in love with Motel, her childhood friend. They have never told her parents, so her dad promises her to someone else, someone much older. The shock is big when they finally reveal the truth, but Tevye agrees and comes up with a funny dream to explain everything to his wife. Well, the second daughter Hodel falls in love with their teacher Perchik, a poor student from Kiev. They managed to convince the dad about their love. Hodel then goes after Perchik. And they live away from the family. Chava is the third daughter and she, unfortunately, falls in love with Fyedka, a Christian. She then runs away and eventually the whole village is expelled by the Russians. And they have to leave.
The acting was on point from the whole cast, they really transmitted the feelings and got into their roles. It was real and authentic. I really liked the three daughters played by Molly Osborne, Harriet Bunton and Nicola Brown), their voices were beautiful and their acting was brilliant. Andy Nyman, who played the dad was absolutely phenomenal, great voice, fab actor! I didn't really like Tania Newton, who played his wife, it was the understudy and her voice seemed shaky and not secure. Then we have the men, mainly Stewart Clarke and Matthew Hawksley (Perchkin and Fyedka), they were great! I might have fallen in love with them a little bit myself ;). I actually saw both Andy Nyman and Stewart Clarke in Assassins four years ago, so that was fab.
The company scenes were fantastic, very well staged and the choreography was very effective. I also liked what they did with the stage and the scenery, it's the perfect theatre for this show.
When we were in London in February, we didn't have time to go see this show. It was playing at The Menier Chocolate Factory and because it was so popular they extended the running and moved it to the Playhouse Theatre. I grabbed the chance and booked my ticket.
I absolutely loved this show!!! I don't even know, where to start with this review. It's the story of a Jewish family and their whole village. Tevye And Golde have five daughters and it's time for them to get married. Of course, they get matched with someone, that's tradition. However, the daughters are about to break the tradition. Tzeitel is in love with Motel, her childhood friend. They have never told her parents, so her dad promises her to someone else, someone much older. The shock is big when they finally reveal the truth, but Tevye agrees and comes up with a funny dream to explain everything to his wife. Well, the second daughter Hodel falls in love with their teacher Perchik, a poor student from Kiev. They managed to convince the dad about their love. Hodel then goes after Perchik. And they live away from the family. Chava is the third daughter and she, unfortunately, falls in love with Fyedka, a Christian. She then runs away and eventually the whole village is expelled by the Russians. And they have to leave.
The acting was on point from the whole cast, they really transmitted the feelings and got into their roles. It was real and authentic. I really liked the three daughters played by Molly Osborne, Harriet Bunton and Nicola Brown), their voices were beautiful and their acting was brilliant. Andy Nyman, who played the dad was absolutely phenomenal, great voice, fab actor! I didn't really like Tania Newton, who played his wife, it was the understudy and her voice seemed shaky and not secure. Then we have the men, mainly Stewart Clarke and Matthew Hawksley (Perchkin and Fyedka), they were great! I might have fallen in love with them a little bit myself ;). I actually saw both Andy Nyman and Stewart Clarke in Assassins four years ago, so that was fab.
The company scenes were fantastic, very well staged and the choreography was very effective. I also liked what they did with the stage and the scenery, it's the perfect theatre for this show.
A very special thing was also the cast being on stage and interacting before the show even started.
I wouldn't recommend sitting in the first row, maybe start with the forth, and the seats were really tight and not a lot of space for the legs.
I wouldn't recommend sitting in the first row, maybe start with the forth, and the seats were really tight and not a lot of space for the legs.
Of course, this is still a must-see show in the West End, I would definitely go and see it again.
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