Mazeltov! For a show that feels like it’s going to be bleak, you’re actually pretty darn joyous. Transporting us to Jewish society in the early 1900s within Imperial Russia, you’re a celebration of life. Sure, your costumes are drab, your characters – almost penniless – are subject to violence by those outside their community, and your set is bordered by a sea of foreboding wheat fields. But within that, your music, dancing, and drinking are vivid, expressive, and warm. You’re quite unlike any other musical that exists really.
Tevye, a poor dairy farmer in the fictional village of Anatevka, draws comfort and strength from his faith. He expects each of his five daughters to be married in partnerships arranged by the local matchmaker, Yente (Sigrid Thornton). He is a man of tradition (as your opening number, ‘Tradition’, explains without subtlety), however his views are increasingly challenged by the chutzpah of each of his three eldest daughters.
Troy Sussman as Tevye, is for the most part endearing as the ever-conflicted husband and father. His interactions with wife Golde (Alexis Fishman) are a riot, and entirely relatable. Between the five romantic storylines that evolve across your 2 hours and 40 minutes, it’s hard to form a deeper attachment to your wider cast, but each role is well played nonetheless by Freya Boltman, Ellen Ebbs, and Caity Plummer (as daughters Tzeitel, Hodel and Chava respectively), and their love interests Felix Star (Motel), Maxwell Simon (Perchik), and Jacob Steen (Fyedka). John Waters also puts in a solid turn as lonely butcher Lazar Wolf.
Your overall production quality is high, particularly your spirited ensemble numbers. In fact your choreography, seeped with Eastern European energy, is a crowd-pleasing delight. (To say nothing of your bottle dance!) And musically, you’re a masterpiece. How else would we all already know those key chorus notes of ‘If I Were a Rich Man’, and ‘Matchmaker, Matchmaker’? More broadly though, your entire score – influenced by Jewish folk music and heavily featuring instruments like the clarinet, accordion and flute – is evocative and well played by the on-stage band. Ben Adler, as ‘The Fiddler’, is a treat to watch, setting the tone throughout. He’d be welcome to play on our roof anytime.
Yep, there’s plenty of reasons you’ve remained one of Broadway’s top 20 longest-running shows. (Not bad considering your initial investors feared you were ‘too Jewish to be successful’). Though much like Tevye, we’re torn between which of your key messages we should take the most from you.
On one hand, you’ve reminded us of the comforts of tradition, home and community. But on the other hand, sometimes it’s love and hope that are actually needed most. But then on the other hand, at your core, you’re also a reminder of the remarkable resilience of a people who have been subject to persecution across the centuries but continue to proudly survive, despite constantly juggling a way of life between both hands. L’chaim! To life!
With love from,
Fiddler on the Roof is showing at Theatre Royal Sydney until 3 October 2026. Photos by Daniel Boud.