Review: Fiddler on the Roof

Yesterday, I went back to Walnut to attend this musical the drama team put up. I went to the matinée coz the tickets were cheaper - $8 instead of $10.

So I went without much high hopes really, coz I thought that school plays are just that...

But boy, was I wrong.

Fiddler on the Roof is about a village of Jews living in Russia, during the Tsarist Regime. The main character, Tevye, a milkman, has five daughters. His wife and him went through a lot of hardships bringing them up, coz they were really poor.

The Jews were really traditional, coz like tradition and religion is a big fat part of their lives, so when Tevye's daughters wanted to marry in a way regardless of tradition - the eldest want to marry a poor tailor and not the rich old butcher the matchmaker found for her, the second wanted to be engaged to a scholar who is going to leave for the revolution, and the third fell in love with a Russian soldier (Tevye forbids this the most because they were not supposed to marry a non-jew) He started to have inner conflicts between tradition and his daughters' happiness. At the same time, the Tsar passes down an edict to evict Jews from the village.

Although the topic is really depressing, the whole musical was hilarious in a good way (but the ending made me sniffle a little). The music was awesome, and even catchy. The live orchestra really makes a difference (although seeing the hand of the instructor popping up every now and then from the orchestra pit can be a little distracting).

The lead actor Zach Braver, who played Tevye, was brilliant. To those who knows the musical Elisabeth *cough cough* he makes a REALLY good Luigi. Not surprised that during curtain call, he got a standing ovation. From what I heard, this is his 7th main stage show in Walnut High, and last year, in the musical Beauty and the Beast (which I heard from my classmates was so good that it seemed even better than the cartoon) he played Cogsworth.

What really surprised me was how amazing the actress, Mariann Papadopoulos who played Tevye's wife was. And she's only a sophomore this year! She played Mrs. Potts in Beauty and the Beast last year as a freshman!! Her voice is so awesome...

Dang it I wanna watch last year's musical...

One other thing that made the musical so good was the props and set designs. Omg they were so real and humongous. And workable too. I was surprised when the fiddler literally sat on the roof of that movable "dissection" of the house, and the door is an actual door, and the cupboards of that fake house can open and close...and a lot more.

The costumes were all really authentic. I love especially the Russian military uniform worn by the Constable (played by this guy in my history class).

Overall, it was a really good show. The 3 hours and $8 were really well spent. Maybe I'll get the movie someday. According to IMDB, the movie earned 3 Academy Awards and another 4 nominations, so it must be good to eh?

Anyways, now I'm hooked to musicals again. I want Takarazuka...Oh and I also want to watch Wicked, now showing. It's like an unofficial prequel to The Wizard of Oz, told from the POV of the Wicked Witch of the West. But I don't think I'll ever get to watch it..it's too expensive T_T

Those who likes spoilers, here's one song from Wicked, called Defying Gravity. It's when Elphaba, the wicked witch of the west, decides to leave the wizard, and Glinda the good witch wanted her to stay (yes, they were friends >.<) It's so good... The first person singing is Glinda.

Well...

End of Post.