Cast (in order of appearance) Tevye, the dairyman Golde, his wife His daughters: Tzeitel Hodel Chava Shprintze Bielke Yente, the matchmaker Motel, the tailor Perchik, the student Lazar Wolf, the butcher Mordcha, the innkeeper The Rabbi Mendel, his son Avrahm, the bookseller Nachum, the beggar Grandma Tzeitel Fruma-Sarah Constable Fyedka Shandel, Motel's Mother The Russian The Fiddler Ted Blake Jennifer Georgia Trisha Tebbatt Mary Moscrop Sarah La-Plain Sonal Teli Rachel Dashwood Shirley Emmanuel Andrew Murray Jonathan Hassell Chris Abbott Stephen Smails Peter Fidler Simon Crowley Ray May Rex Whitehurst Vera West Jackie Lack David Wynne-Jones Robert Spolander Helen Dashwood Ray May Louise Griffiths The Villagers and Russians Sarah Blackstaffe, Glenys Blake, Alan Bunner, Samantha Dolding, Angela Dunnett, Janette Edwards, Les Elliott, Valerie Faiman, Kath Gannon, Laura Gee, Celia Glanville, Jackie Lack, Rachel Lack, Anthony Mitchell, Sue Mitchell, Margaret Morisson, Andy Nutkins, Jill Schrodel, Dawn Sikora, Jack Sikora, Nigel Simpson, Andrew Watts, David Watts, Vera West, Alan Whitworth Russian Soldiers Ginge Anderson, Stewart Everett, David Murphy Production Team Director Musical Direction Val Fardell Tom Rainbow

NODA Review

SOCIETY; WEMBLEY OPERATIC SOCIETY
PRODUCTION; "FIDDLER ON THE ROOF"
DATE; 26/11/99
VENUE; WINSTON CHURCHILL HALL, RUISLIP
REPORT BY; JENNY GOLDING

"Fiddler on the Roof" has the edge over other Musicals, in that although the characters are fictitious, the story is based on real life events, and is believable from beginning to end. Wembley Operatic Society brought the story to life, and tears were shed by the audience over the moving tale.

The set was simple, yet effective, and Stuart La-Plain steered the changing of scenery swiftly and capably. Just one or two suggestions. Although 'many hands make light work', it is not a good idea to have members of the cast moving large items, e.g. Tevye's house, while wearing lightish colours. The white garments with fringes, worn by the men, were visible in the 'black-out', and tended to spoil the illusion.

The Lighting, by John Jetten, was skilfully managed most of the time, but there were at least two occasions when one performer was scurrying off stage when lights came on again. I particularly liked the spotlight picking up Tevye during his two soliloquies while his daughters and their suitors were 'frozen'. The idea of the 'fire' on the backcloth at the end of the Act 1 Finale was a clever touch, and the cries and screams off-stage produced a dramatic effect. The sound was the best I've heard since coming to Wembley's shows. Congratulations to Denis Cater and Ron Laver.

Costumes were excellent, except for the white flowered shawl worn by Tzeitel at the very end. It was too colourful and modern-looking, especially compared to the correct drab clothes of the rest of the cast.

Props, collected by Sarah Blackstaffe and helpers, were authentic on the whole, but I was a little doubtful about the authenticity of the goblet used for the wedding scene! I also missed the sound of broken glass at the end of the actual ceremony.

Make-up - designed by Jean Lloyds and carried out by Ginny Hardy and Rebecca Farmer - was just right.

Without a credible Tevye, who is the pivot of the whole story, "Fiddler" falls flat on its face, but Ted Blake set his mark from his very first entry. It is a marathon of a role, but he coped admirably, and we could sympathise with the dilemmas he was compelled to face.

Jennifer Georgia portrayed the nagging, domineering Golde very well, but needed to show more warmth when admitting her love for Tevye in their duet in the 2nd Act.

As Tzeitel, Trisha Tebbatt acted with grace and sincerity, but could have mimicked Yente's mannerisms and actions more closely in the "Matchmaker" trio with her sisters.

Mary Moscrop sang and acted very convincingly, but although her scene with Tevye at the railway station was extremely moving, her speech seemed to be delivered in 'cut-glass' English!

Sarah La-Plain was a delightful Chava. One could imagine her being 'everybody's favourite', as Tevye sings in his soliloquy, when he is remembering her as a child.

Sonia Teli and Rachel Dashwood are two young ladies with great potential. As Shrpintze and Bielke they were ideal, fitting in and really being part of the family.

Yente, the matchmaker, is a gem of a part, and Shirley Emmanuel made the most of it. She deserved the acclaim of the audience.

Andrew Murray, as Motel the tailor, blossomed from being timid and scared, to being a fairly successful breadwinner with aplomb. There was an empathy between Tzeitel and Motel which was evident, and added to credibility of both characters. Congratulations too, Andrew, on compiling an attractive and informative programme.

I was very impressed by Jonathan Hassell's delivery of the scripts throughout the show. His intonation seemed just right, and his interpretation of the role of Perchik was exemplary. His rapport with Hodel was excellent, and we could applaud the courage of his convictions.

Lazar Wolf, the butcher, is a difficult role to perform convincingly, and he has one of the most difficult numbers - "To Life!" - to sing with Tevye. Chris Abbott made a good effort to bring this character across.

Mordcha, the innkeeper, is rather a thankless part, which Stephen Smails undertook nobly.

One of the best performances of the evening came from the cameo role of the Rabbi, portrayed by that experienced performer, Peter Fidler. He played the tottering learned man to perfection, and looked every inch a Rabbi!

Simon Crowley is yet another young performer with potential. His delivery of lines and pompous manner were very good, but he could not conceal his extreme youth, and one could not credit him being the son of the doddery old Rabbi.

Rex Whitehurst played Nachum the beggar, and Ray May was Avhram the bookseller and the Russian. There is little anyone can do to stamp personality on these incidental roles.

Vera West, as Grandma Tzeitel, as capable as always, made her mark in the role.

Fruma-Sarah - a wonderful OTT character - was played with perfection by Jackie Lack. Her delivery of words, her make-up and movement across the stage - very executed by two unknowns! - were absolutely terrifying! No wonder the Chorus seemed petrified by her!

David Wynne-Jones was very credible as the Constable, who hated carrying out the Tsar's orders, but had to do so or suffer the consequences. Fyedka is not an easy character to play. Our sympathies are with him, but we can understand the trauma his association with Chava causes Tevye. Robert Spolander brought out these feelings with great success.

Helen Dashwood as Shandel showed pride as Motel's mother, and Lousie Griffith, the Fiddler, moved gracefully.

Mention must be made of the 4 male dancers who performed the Russian Dance at the inn and the Bottle Dance at the wedding. Neither of these dances is simple to perform, so congratulations to the quartet for their prowess. Ginge Anderson, Stuart Everett and David Murphy were ideal as the bullying Russian Soldiers! They appeared to enjoy their roles, and made us hate them! Well done!

The Chorus's involvement throughout was admirable, thanks to the imaginative direction of Val Fardell, and the authoritative conducting of Tom Rainbow, whose orchestra was well-balanced and supportive of the singers.

Thank you for inviting me to "Fiddler on the Roof", and particularly to Ethel for her warm welcome and hospitality to my companion and myself.

Good luck for your next production, "All Night Strut!". Vic and I look forward to attending it.