Fiddler on the Roof - Regents Park OAT

[BurlyBeaR]

Jul 30, 2024 9:06:28 GMT Dr Tom said:

Is there really no separate thread for Fiddler on the Roof?

Managed to get Rush this morning (£30), which for me is side row G for anyone interested. This has sold well. I don’t think it will rain. Will report back. It will be hard to top the Andy Nyman version, but shall see.

There is now!

[ladidah]

This seems to be selling well

[thedrowsychaperone]

SPOILER: Click to show

Tzeitel doubling as Fruma Sarah is a lot of fun,

I like it!

[anthony40]

Jul 30, 2024 14:49:42 GMT ladidah said:

This seems to be selling well

To be fair, I've never seen a production- profession, or amateur- that hasn't sold well.

[Dr Tom]

Interval thoughts. Too many people in this audience just don’t have a filter. But that is the challenge of putting on a tragedy in a summer party venue. The ushers have been busy running around stopping filming and photography.

Mixed views so far. They’ve tried to direct it differently, now that the original choreography no longer has to be used (apart from in the bottle dance - which is a highlight here and I think required). Some of the accent choices are a bit grating and it’s a shame they’ve portrayed Motel as being unable to sing, as it changes Wonder of Wonders from being a highlight to an ordeal.

This is much more effective when it gets dark (and you can’t hear kids laughing outside). I would not recommend a matinee.

Where I’m sat at a row end, the lights are dazzling.

One side of the front row isn’t on sale, possibly due to sight lines.

A lot is modern and minimalistic. Plastic chairs where the cast sit around. Russians in denim etc. But some bits are very effective, like the Act One close.

An excellent band too.

Overall, more of a hit than a miss so far, but I do think there are bits that should be reconsidered during previews. Looking forward to Act 2.

[showtoones]

Jul 30, 2024 20:36:23 GMT Dr Tom said:

Interval thoughts. Too many people in this audience just don’t have a filter. But that is the challenge of putting on a tragedy in a summer party venue. The ushers have been busy running around stopping filming and photography.

Mixed views so far. They’ve tried to direct it differently, now that the original choreography no longer has to be used (apart from in the bottle dance - which is a highlight here and I think required). Some of the accent choices are a bit grating and it’s a shame they’ve portrayed Motel as being unable to sing, as it changes Wonder of Wonders from being a highlight to an ordeal.

This is much more effective when it gets dark (and you can’t hear kids laughing outside). I would not recommend a matinee.

Where I’m sat at a row end, the lights are dazzling.

One side of the front row isn’t on sale, possibly due to sight lines.

A lot is modern and minimalistic. Plastic chairs where the cast sit around. Russians in denim etc. But some bits are very effective, like the Act One close.

An excellent band too.

Overall, more of a hit than a miss so far, but I do think there are bits that should be reconsidered during previews. Looking forward to Act 2.

Thanks so much for your review during the interval. Talk about using your time wisely. 

I hated Fish's Oklahoma. Does this have a similar feeling of that? Are they trying to comment on the Israeli war?  How are the leads?

[Dr Tom]

Act 2 better. Much darker and they pace through it. It’s as if they are trying to do as much as possible differently to traditional productions. Some of it works. The problem is, this all depends on knowing other versions.

Regarding Oklahoma!, funnily enough I hadn’t twigged that it was the same director, but as I watched the last 15 minutes or so, I was thinking how similar the style was. Saying the lines very fast, no staging, no pauses (thankfully) for badly placed audience laughs. I guess the same influence is there with some of the earlier staging too, with the cast sat around on chairs while they’re not performing rather than leaving the stage.

The biggest problem is a lack of coherence. The amended ending is a bit weak too and lacks the impact of other versions.

The vocals are generally strong in the group numbers, but less polished for solo numbers. I’m not sure why, as there are people in the cast who I know are strong singers. There’s also some difficulty keeping pace with the band (and avoiding the unplanned birds flying around).

When I go again, I will take sunglasses, particularly at the side of the stage.

Lara Pulver is really strong. It was good to see Greg Bernstein in the cast, but I wish he had a bigger role.

I didn’t pick up on any political commentary. If it was there, it was too subtle for me.

All finished at 22:35. I don’t have a rating yet. To be fair, I’d want to see this after previews when they’ve had time to work on the vocals and tidy up some more of Act 1.

[marob]

About the political context… Isn’t it set in Ukraine?

[Dr Tom]

Jul 31, 2024 7:55:44 GMT marob said:

About the political context… Isn’t it set in Ukraine?

I am sure there are many possible interpretations. I’m not sure what was intended here.

As I understand it, the setting of Anatevka was a fictional village in the Russian Empire. The exact location is ambiguous and could be in several current countries that did not exist at the time. A real refugee village of the same name was established in Ukraine in 2015.

Please do correct me if I’m wrong. There are obviously very powerful parallels between the persecution in the musical and the world of today. Despite what I believe many in the audience thought, it is not just a funny family comedy.

[Someone in a tree]

Tom Scutt's design is really impressive, think Oslo opera house and Serpentine summer pavilion. Then with a hint of brutalism and 'the bread basket of europe' chucked in for good measure.

Lots to enjoy -

Adam Dannheisser is great as Teve

Great use of UK accents

The role of the female clarinetist

Choreography

Band

Costumes

However Teve aside no one else and their story stood out for me. Hopefully this can change in previews.

***

Dr Tom please can you tell us about the amended ending ?

[Steve]

Aug 3, 2024 7:05:41 GMT Someone in a tree said:

Dr Tom please can you tell us about the amended ending ?

I saw it Wednesday night and have yet to find the time to write my thoughts. I loved it more than you did, but agree on how wonderful this Tevye is.

Nobody should be put off by worrying that the Director has used the same alienation techniques he used in "Oklahoma." Far from it, this is a lovefest for this musical, not a critique of it. It is incredibly faithful to the show as written, with only the ending very slightly but brilliantly amended.

I'll put the ending bit (as of Wednesday night; this is previews so the ending might change) in spoiler tags, so as to answer your question without spoiling it for those who want to enjoy the surprise of it:-

SPOILER: Click to show

As I see it, there are two amendments, one bigger than the other:-

(1) The minor one is that Yente no longer talks about her excitement about using her matchmaker skills to populate the Holy Land. In light of the minister in charge of policing the West Bank today, Itamar Ben G'Vir, openly advocating for "voluntary migration" for the Palestinian population, these lines would no longer play as unambiguously optimistically as intended when the musical was written;

(2) The major amendment, and in my mind it is utterly brilliant, is in having the Fiddler swap places with Chava at the end. The Fiddler must himself "voluntarily" migrate from Anatevka along with Tevye and the others, but Chava, who need not do so, having married Fyedke, decides to move to Krakow, where we know hell will descend 40 years later. While we cannot know her fate, she ends the show as the new Fiddler living precariously among those who might consider her an "other."

In the way this new ending points towards today's world, and the precariousness of living as "the other" anywhere and everywhere, I think it's remarkable. And what's truly wonderful is that not one line of the book need be changed, just the image of Chava on that roof playing the Fiddler's last notes with her wind instrument. . .

[Dr Tom]

Regarding the ending and the spoiler tag, I didn't pick up on (1) at all. I was thinking about (2). I hadn't thought about the wider implications too closely, but well observed by Steve.

[Someone in a tree]

Got ya Steve. I was intially thinking different text or music as used.

Point 1 passed me by but 2 i got and loved.

Id be interested in seeing this towards the end of its run and see how its developed.

[ladidah]

Silly question, but is this a modern version?

[unseaworthy]

It seems like this was interrupted by protesters waving flags last night... Was anyone there? What happened?

[BVM]

Aug 6, 2024 7:44:47 GMT unseaworthy said:

It seems like this was interrupted by protesters waving flags last night... Was anyone there? What happened?

Don’t think show was interrupted. Looked like was small ish and outside main gates by box office. Tracy Ann Oberman was posting about it on Twitter which is where I saw it. Few people shouting at each other.

[Steve]

Aug 5, 2024 9:48:46 GMT ladidah said:

Silly question, but is this a modern version?

No.

Some spoilers follow. . .

The book has not been added to. Nobody walks around with an iphone. There are no "swipe right, swipe left" reinventions of matchmaking.

The dress is not modern.

The only moment I was a little edgy was at the beginning when I saw people sitting on chairs stage right, and I worried they were going to go Brechtian, but that doesn't happen, and the chairs were simply utilised for a scene in which people were actually sitting down.

So, while the choreography is updated, and the movement (and omnipresence) of the Fiddler, in particular, is brilliantly done here, my answer is no, this is not modern.

[zahidf]

4/5 stars across the board for this. Got a ticket on the strength of the reviews

[ceebee]

I booked front row restricted view for this. Will I miss much (to anybody who has seen it)? Am six foot so hoping I'm tall enough to see above the edge of the stage. Thank you!

[coco]

Aug 8, 2024 22:23:14 GMT ceebee said:

I booked front row restricted view for this. Will I miss much (to anybody who has seen it)? Am six foot so hoping I'm tall enough to see above the edge of the stage. Thank you!

I sat at A 18 today and am 5 feet 7 inches tall. To me, it was fine. I can't see their feet a lot of the times, but there really isn't much going on at the stage level, so I think it's a real bargain. 

[capybara]

Although Timothy Sheader’s final work as artistic director at Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre may not reinvent Fiddler, staging the piece outdoors in such a vast ampitheatre forces the issue. Even the show’s start time of 7.45pm, in early August, means audiences are plunged into a brooding darkness as the story shifts from one of celebration to fear and persecution.

Adam Dannheisser gives a sparkling performance as Tevye, seemingly able to shift with ease between quick-witted one-liners - often aimed at his wife and daughters - and a quiet devastation as his people and town come under fire from the pogroms. His ‘If I Were a Rich Man’ is gently understated and sets out his stall for the rest of the piece.

Opposite Dannheisser is Lara Pulver as his wife Golde. The pair share a beautifully performed moment with ‘Do You Love Me?’ early in the second act, in the face of trouble brewing for the people of Anatevka and their daughters’ romantic choices. Overall, it is an exceedingly talented cast and the three daughters exemplify that.

Liv Andrusier is charismatic and fiery as Tzeitel, showing flashes of the energy that made her so captivating as Annie Londonderry in Ride last summer. Likewise, Hannah Bristow (Chava) and George Bruce (Hodel) put in strong performances to complete the family dynamic. The trio provide one of the show’s highlights, combining for a spellbinding rendition of ‘Matchmaker’.

David Allen’s set design works a treat, with the vast openness providing ample space for scenes to play out while the orchestra provides the musical backdrop under the literal roof. Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnick’s music and lyrics permeate all the more as the light fades and the focus hones in on the narrative.

A special mention must also go to Julia Cheng for her hypnotic choreography. The ensemble numbers are truly captivating, culminating in the famous Bottle Dance scene at the end of Act One. In whole, ripping Fiddler away from the confines of an indoor auditorium leaves this highly-emotive musical even more exposed. Adapting a musical for outdoors performances is undoubtedly a challenge but one the Regent’s Park creative team have risen to and then some.

Five stars. Can we get a poll?

[BurlyBeaR]

Poll added

[ladidah]

I'll be trying to see this soon, looks amazing.

[theatrefan77]

Saw this on Monday and enjoyed it even more than the the production at the Playhouse a few years back

[ceebee]

Aug 8, 2024 22:28:12 GMT coco said:

Aug 8, 2024 22:23:14 GMT ceebee said:

I booked front row restricted view for this. Will I miss much (to anybody who has seen it)? Am six foot so hoping I'm tall enough to see above the edge of the stage. Thank you!

I sat at A 18 today and am 5 feet 7 inches tall. To me, it was fine. I can't see their feet a lot of the times, but there really isn't much going on at the stage level, so I think it's a real bargain. 

Thanks coco - very much appreciated!