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Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
It is difficult but possible to put your stamp on a role closely identified with a particular performer. Just look at Bernadette Peters taking on Mama Rose in Gypsy or Patti LuPone tackling Mrs Lovett in Sweeney Todd. Alfred Molina had a similar challenge when he signed on to play the Jewish dairyman Tevye: who could forget Zero Mostel in the original production or even Topol in the movie? Molina wisely plays the part down, steering clear of Mostel's hamming, but then he goes overboard in the other direction and too often his characterization is colorless rather than subtle. This actually applies to David Leveaux's overall production, which lacks energy. This recording is mostly for completists, and the original cast album still stands as the definitive one. --Elisabeth Vincentelli
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
41 of 42 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
This CD's THE BEST & Here's Why,
This review is from: Fiddler on the Roof (2004 Broadway Revival Cast) (Audio CD)
When the new Broadway Cast Recording of FIDDLER ON THE ROOF arrived in stores on June 8th, I already had three FIDDLER CD's on my shelf: the Original Cast Recording from 1964 starring Zero Mostel, the film soundtrack from 1971 staring Topol, and a Yiddish recording made in Israel in 1965 staring Shmuel Rodenski. So did I buy the new CD? Immediately! Furthermore, having listened to it several times already, I am certain that, as the years go by, this is the one I will reach for first whenever I'm cooking big dinners or driving long distances.While no one else "deedle dums" as well as Zero Mostel, this recording removes all doubts: despite any buzz you may have heard when the production opened last February, Alfred Molina is a splendid Tevye. Since this is the first version actually made with the long form CD in mind, it contains far more material than any prior version. So while Molina and cast cover all the beloved moments from 1964, we also get Tevye's three soliloquies and Molina performs them all brilliantly. No one who listens to this recording would ever describe Tevye as "a man desperately clinging to Tradition." The soliloquies make it clear that Tevye is a true mensch, a man who gives himself to each new challenge, and makes each difficult decision with a strong mind and a big heart. Robert Petkoff does a terrific job as Perchik the revolutionary (lover of second daughter Hodel). His Perchik is virile and ardent, investing his big number "Now I Have Everything" with all the passionate self-revelation it requires. Norman Jewison eliminated this song from the 1971 soundtrack. Big mistake! Nancy Opel gives uncommon depth to her Yente. At Leveaux's request, Harnick and Bock wrote a new song for her, "Topsy-Turvy," which makes explicit what was implicit in the number they've replaced ("The Rumor"). Yente may say she's doing God's work, but she knows her objection to love matches is purely pragmatic: "The matchmaking business? Finished! Done! I've counted [my blessings]. None!" (Jewison not only eliminated "The Rumor" from the soundtrack, he also took out Yente's attempt to pitch Ruchel the Shoemaker's Daughter during the opening number "Tradition" - another Big Mistake!) David Ayers also does fine work in the critical role of third daughter Chava's Russian lover Fyedka. In this new version, it's now Fyedka's voice breaking in with the Russian words "Za va sha, Zdarovia" while Tevye & his Jewish friends are singing "To Life! To Life! L'Chaim!" Fyedka didn't have these lines in the 1964 original or the 1971 film, but giving him these lines now makes a crucial point. From first to last, FIDDLER's Fyedka is a good guy. This is the most significant change FIDDLER's creative team made to Sholem Aleichem's original. They've put him there to challenge us, and that challenge is more relevant than ever. Finally, this new version also gives us most of the music Jerry Bock wrote for Jerome Robbins' dances. The music for the famous "Bottle Dance" at the end of Act One is especially thrilling, the single clarinet as expressive here as the solo violin which frames the whole musical in its opening and closing moments. Bottomline: If you buy the 1964, you buy it for Mostel. If you buy the 1971, you buy it for Isaac Stern's medley (created for the film's opening credit sequence). If you buy the 2004, you simply get a whole lot more: more scenes (especially the 3 soliloquies + new Yente song) AND more music (for the Robbins dance sequences). I'm a FIDDLER fanatic & now that I have the new 2004 CD, I doubt any of the others will get much play. That's the truth!
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Tevye Reads Shakespeare,
By
This review is from: Fiddler on the Roof (2004 Broadway Revival Cast) (Audio CD)
Having just returned to New York for the express purpose of seeing the "Fiddler" revival, I immediately purchased this recording. I am old enough that I actually saw Zero Mostel in the original production, which I enjoyed, although I was only 16 at the time. But Molina, a classically trained Shakespearian actor, British to the core, has taken the role of Tevye and made it his own by interjecting a huge dose of subtle British irony. His is a joyful Tevye, but with darker inflections. As Tevye, he makes plain the essential conflict in the character. His Tevye IS, in fact, an intelligent man, self-aware, viewing his culture, traditions, and future with a mixture of commitment, curiosity, and - yes - a little detachment and even fear. This Tevye is not a caricature, but a constant reminder that historically, all was NOT well in the Russia of 1905. The true success of this revival is that the manner in which Tevye is played by Molina enables the actors to play as a true ensemble, and so imbue the music with new life, new energy, and new meaning.
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Surprising Tevye,
By
This review is from: Fiddler on the Roof (2004 Broadway Revival Cast) (Audio CD)
Let's face it...Zero Mostel IS Tevye. The same as Merman was Rose in GYPSY. With that said, Alfred Molina turns in a surprisingly good performance...at least on record. When the musical opened his personal reviews were ho hum but a few months later, when the recording was made, he has made the part his own.
Technically this revival is far superior to the 1964 recording. Wisely, a lot more dialogue was included and quite a bit of dance music. As Golde, Randy Graff, a Broadway veteran, gives a nice performance. Nancy Opel, as Yente, is funny and on the spot. Most of the actors were vocally great. But it is Molina who carries the show. His is a subtler Tevye than Mostel's. In fact, his scenes are more touching and warm. This is definitely a plus to any musical theatre library.
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