The first thing you ask yourself when thinking about high school actors doing ‘Fiddler on the Roof,’ is can a teenager transform himself into the play’s central character Tevye, who has the gravity that comes from having suffered and survived and yet the sense of humor of one who has learned a thing or two about life? ”The answer is yes. The moment we meet Tevye (Adam McCrory), a poor dairyman trying to eke out a life in an impoverished Jewish village in Russia on the eve of the Revolution, we are convinced that this Palisades High School production hits the mark. ”’Every one of us is a fiddler on the roof, trying to scratch a pleasant little tune,’ Tevye says in his quietly paced and thoughtful prologue speech. ‘Why do we stay? We stay because Anatevka is our home and tradition’ Everyone of us knows who he is and what God expects.’ ”PaliHi junior McCrory, who in real life is a ‘wee Irish Catholic boy,’ dissolves under his whiskers and hopsack into the much-nuanced character the musical demands. McCrory entered PaliHi as a freshman after emigrating with his family from Belfast. He appeared in his first ever musical two years ago in the lead role in ‘Crazy For You.’ ” ”His task in ‘Fiddler’ is to keep the momentum buoyant’after all, this is not ‘Les Miserables,’ yet to be able to convey his fear and confusion as his world’kept together because of tradition’is disappearing. ”As Tevye explains in the prologue, God’s law provides balance in the villager’s lives under the pressure from outsiders, including the constable, the priest and countless other authority figures. ”’We don’t bother them and so far, they don’t bother us,’ he says. He ends by insisting that without their traditions, he and other villagers would find their lives ‘as shaky as a fiddler on the roof.’ The book by Joseph Stein, based on a short story by Sholom Aleichem, is imbued with the humor and folk wisdom that one would expect to find in a rural Russian village at the turn of the century. The action is concerned primarily with the efforts of Tevye and his wife Golde (Amy Gumenick) and their five daughters to cope with harsh existence under Tsarist rule. ”Change is inevitably thrust upon Tevye as his daughters, one by one, test the iron grip of tradition by wanting to marry for love, instead of by preordained agreement. In contemplating the announcement that the young revolutionary Perchik (Brian Koteen) and his daughter Hodel (Gilli Messer) have announced their engagement, Tevye muses ‘He loves her. Love, it’s a new style. On the other hand our old ways were once new, weren’t they?’ ”Whether you’ve seen ‘Fiddler’ ‘which opened on Broadway in 1965 followed by a movie in 1971’ or not, most everybody knows the music, and what a rich score it is. From ‘Tradition’ to Matchmaker,’ the music by Jerry Bock and lyrics by Sheldon Harnick are forever hummable and have become a tradition! ”The cast and orchestra, under the direction of Terry Henderson, are confident and strong. Each of the leading ladies’including Tevye’s oldest daughters Tzeitel (Taylor Fisher) Model (Gilli Messer) and Chava (Kia Kurestski)’and his wife Golde (Amy Gumenick) have beautiful soprano voices, that whether in a solo or in chorus enrich the musical numbers’especially ‘Matchmaker,’ ‘Sunrise, Sunset’ and ‘Anatevka.’ ”This production, directed by Victoria Francis, has taken a couple of challenging risks, and because of them delivered a rich, dramatic theatrical piece. Of note are the Russians, particularly Terrel Briggs, whose daring, aerial lifts and jumps are stupendous, overseen by choreographer Monique Smith. And who will ever forget the terrifying specters Fruma Sarah (Melissa Lerner) and Grandma Tzeitel (Tia Lebherz) conjured up in Tevye’s dream? ”The orchestra, particularly the clarinets, brings such life (l’ chaim) to the Klezmer feel of this Chagall-like village. ”One cannot discount the look of the show; both the sets and costumes are of a piece. From babushkas to shoes, the hues of brown and gray play counterpoint against the wonderful, sprightly optimism of the fiddler on the roof (Brittany O’Neil), dancing and fiddling in her Kelly green duster and red cap. ”’Fiddler on the Roof’ plays Thursday, Friday and Saturday, June 3, 4 and 5 at 7:30 p.m. in Mercer Hall at Palisades High School, 15777 Bowdoin. Tickets are $10; reserved seats for $20. Contact: 454-0611.
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