Fiddle Me This

With hums and laughter, the crowd delivered the verdict on Tulane Summer Lyric theatre's production of Fiddler on the Roof Friday night.

As in any production of the famed musical about the outside world bringing down change on a small Jewish community in Eastern Europe, there were plenty of funny elders and lively dances. The production, however, is primarly built around the strength of its songs - especially the opening trio of "Tradition," "If I Were a Rich Man" and "Matchmaker" - and its outsized protagonist.

On the first front, the Summer Lyric company excelled to the point that those first three tunes were echoing around Dixon Hall during the intermission, and probably through the cars of the attendees for a good while after. While it's typically a slow burn, "Tradition" started the show somewhat off-kilter as it went lightning fast out of the gates. But eventually this standard barer of musical theatre introductions found its stride, allowing the magnitude of the 30-strong chorus to shine through. The performers found themselves fully settled in for the next number, as "Matchmaker" was a highlight of the evening - as it is designed to be. Ali Bloomston's Tzeitel wasn't quite the ham that others have been, but her vocal capabilities allowed her to shine in this legendary number.

Fiddler on the Roof

Where: Dixon Hall, Tulane University Uptown Campus

When: August 4 at 8 p.m., August 5 at 2 p.m.

Tickets: Starting at $28

Randy Cheramie's Tevye was part of the reason for the slow start, but he fully embodied the simultaneously gruff and good-natured focal point of the story by the time "If I Were a Rich Man" rolled around. As he waved his arms with gusto, Cheramie's booming voice rang out through the entire hall. By the time he had to rattle off all of those sayings from the "Good Book" Cheramie was at ease and provoking guffaws from the crowd.

From there, Cheramie never looked back. Like Tevye dragging his milk cart in place of his lame horse, Cheramie carried the play - as the role requires. He moved through the humor of his run-ins with Lazar Wolf (Robert Pavlovich) and into the cloudier and ultimately darker second act with ease. Only the giant Fruma-Sarah managed to upstage him. But let's face it: she's a giant zombie.

When the script did require him to cede the stage, Cheramie's cohorts were up to the task. Daniel Iwrey is a spritely Mottel, falling over himself well enough and then suddenly getting it all together in time for "Miracle of Miracles." The famed dances at the moments of Tzeitel's engagement and wedding did not feature the flips and knee drops of the Jerome Robbins originals, but they still thrilled. And, in the second act, Jenna Wintson's Hodel turned in arendition of "Far From the Home I Love" just in time to stave off that inevitable feeling that the show is dragging on toward its conclusion. Celeste Angelle Veillon's Golde, who literally spends most of her stage time trying to upstage Tevye, was earnest foil to her husband.

Summer Lyric is known for high production value, and this was no different. Aside from the performances, the bar of the production value was raised another level by the presence of a live orchestra, and the sets. Musical director C. Leonard Raybon kept the pace of the show moving, and his players were nimble throughout. Equally, Rick Paul's sets and Julie Winn's costumes featured nary a questionable decision. The sets, which featured skeletal shells made of dusty, aged-looking lumber and earth tones, did not announce themselves. But that's probably the right route in Fiddler, as there's plenty of bombast from the performers.

On the way out, an audience member was overheard remarking that when it comes to musical theatre, Fiddler is "about as good as it gets." Seeing as how it is still performed in high schools and on Broadway, there's virtually no doubt that the strong source material will continue to be a touchstone into future generations. As Summer Lyric clearly understands, not much has to change for the production to delight audiences.. As long as companies are up to the task of carrying the production off as the company did, audiences will be humming familiar tunes and laughing to the same jokes for years to come.

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