WERS 88.9 fm - Performance Wrap-Up: Fiddler On The Roof

December 7^th, 2009

Topol has recently ended his run with the touring company of Fiddler On The Roof at The Boston Opera House. The actor who created the role of Tevye had to drop out of the production because of a shoulder injury. Tony Award winner Harvey Fierstein is replacing Topol.

On this matinee performance, audience members piled into a sold-out Boston Opera House for what was expected to be a landmark performance in the show's history.  And indeed it was. In this final production, Topol was more relaxed, more weathered, an old man who is contemplating his changing life. He doesn't impose himself on life; life seems to impose itself on him. This Tevye approaches the twists and turns of life with sharp wit and weary contemplation. Topol's voice is resonant, deep, and lyrical – the highness and lowness of his voice gives the text strong color. The show's very essence seems to flow out of Topol. And how could it not? He has appeared in the production more than 2,500 times.

With the use of the original Broadway staging, this production serves as a grand tribute to Topol and the show that changed Broadway.

- By Alex Ates