So that was on me. My seat: row A, 112 put me on the aisle stage right. The director placed various members of the cast on the edge of the stage directly in front of my seat which blocked my view of an area of the stage where occasionally a main character or two were preforming. During the entire musical, members of the cast (citizens of Anatevka) perched along the sides and on the left and right edges of the stage watching as those characters in the scene performed their roles. During intermission the two chatty couples behind me (both husbands were doctors, one a podiatrist and the other a dermatologist who were far too "chatty" about extreme recent cases...) speculated on the presence of these non-participating bodies. One of the their wives explained that it was meant to symbolize "community", to wit her husband changed the subject to describing some banal card trick he'd seen at a show they'd gone to in Las Vegas. Ergo, having to leaning into the occupant of Row A, seat 111's "air space" in order to see what was going on? That one's on the director.
Into this space enters three Tsarist guards and then a VERY SLOW stream of peasants begins to enter. They stop to show their papers to one, then advance to another one at a table who inspects their papers and eventually stamps their documents. They then find a seat in the waiting area, where other guards interacting with them mostly about their belongings. All of this is pantomimed while a single droning set of notes buzzes obnoxiously in the background. For stretches of a minute or more, no one new appears, and then some one does. Finally, after a good 10-12 minutes of this, Tevya and Golda and there two youngest daughters appear. Once they undergo all of the official machinations, and find their seats, a photo album is lifted out of a case and becomes the catalyst for the opening number. I have never felt so stupefied by an "artistic" choice in my entire life--and with over 100 productions under my belt. I'm sure that somewhere, someone is calling this "pure genius." I, however, thought is was banal.
Well, assuming your still reading, how about so good stuff?
Besides the gorgeous set design, the costumes were lovely, detailed and worked well with the choreography and staging--especially the Fuma Sara nightmare sequence. Shout out to Pei Lee. The choreography was pitch perfect to the actors who executed it effortlessly and with cultural authenticity. Shout out to Lorna Ventura. There are shows that are full of gifted dancers like "A Chorus Line," and "Anything Goes." Then there are shows populated with average folks who dance for joy like "Come Away From," and "Fiddler..." When you can make the later look like the former? You deserve an accolade or two.
The actors vocals--amazing to a person. Strong, beautiful voices, expressive and on top the orchestration. Great sound engineering, too! (shout out to Matt Rowe). The casting was mostly race blind. This is a thing now, right? Any actor can play any part... And still. This is a quintessential Jewish story. It was reset in Cambodia in 1968. We're still in Anatevka, and the Russians are still the bad guys. So we get a few non-Caucasian/Semetic-ish actors in co-staring roles. For example, the actor portraying Yenta, Cheryl J. Campo, was right out of central casting for Bloody Mary in "South Pacific." And then I shit you not, I read her bio in the program and hell if didn't play Bloody Mary in an earlier production of "South Pacific" right here at Olney Theatre! She was a fine Yenta, too.
So let's draw out this cast a bit. I will start with the end in mind: Tevya. The role went to Howard Kaye. A journeyman actor with lots of credits who is new to the DMV. His voice was magnificient, his portrayal fresh and interesting. His dramatic timing engaging. His physicality commanding. His looks? sexy! His beard? perfectly coiffed. Not a single gorgeous, silver, hair out of place. Did you see what I did there? He was Tevya up until comment...4? The commanding presence thing. The musical revolves around Tevya, there's no argument here about that. But Tevya is NOT...charming, handsome, well-groomed...dare I say it again? Sexy! Howard has all the skills to play an amazing Tevya, if only he could have been directed into actually acting. OMG, breakthrough...bad director.
Of the others, Let me be a little more succinct with my praise:
- Loved Motel (Michael Wood). He delivered with "Miracle of Miracles," and was so neurotically, tenderly consistent. Wonderful!
- A brilliant moment was the duet between Perchik (Noah Keyishian) and Hodel (Sumie Yotsukura) "Now I Have Everything". I doubt any of you can hum the tune, and there's a reason for that--it is absolutely the least of all of these "my children" songs in the show. These to gave it new life, and in doing so, gave Noah his most shining moment in the show.
- Likewise, "Matchmaker" toward the beginning of the opening act was the moment my heart opened to the rest of the show's possibilities. The sisters, Tzeitel (Sophie Shulman), Hodel, and Chava (Ariana Caldwell) were pitch perfect together.
- Ariana Caldwell, the only African American cast member in this color-blind crew was amazing! She completely captured the nerdy, outsider, innocence of Chava. She took a relatively small roll and made it noteworthy.
- But my most exuberant praise goes to Sunie Yotsukura and Hodel. She made every moment on stage transcendent without ever stealing the moment from those around her. I'm not even sure how to describe what it was like watching her preform. Her attention to nuance was so perfect, that her light gave energy to whomever she was with without over shadowing them in the slightest. I kept imagining her in classic leading roles where the lady tames the man like Anna in "The King and I" or Maria in the "Sound of Music." I cannot wait and only hope I get to see her preform in something else.
Bottomline: a spectacular show with warts that don't detract from the overall value--just don't buy a seat in row A! Or B...or C.
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