In the early 1960s, when the creators of Fiddler on the Roof were developing a musical about Tevye the dairyman and his rebellious daughters in 1905 Russia, they assumed it would have limited appeal.
To their surprise, Fiddler was embraced by theatergoers far beyond the Jewish community, becoming at one point the longest-running show in Broadway history and an international hit in scores of nations, languages and cultures. Frequently revived and produced in regional theaters, said to be playing somewhere every day since it premiered on Broadway, Boca Raton’s Wick Theatre is the latest to transport audiences to the humble village of Anatevka.
Directing the show (music by Jerry Bock, lyrics by Sheldon Harnick) is Norb Joerder, who estimates he has been involved with nine productions of the show, beginning when he was an 18-year-old Catholic boy playing the title fiddler. Over the years, he has directed such stars as Theodore Bikel, Chaim Topol and Robert Merrill playing Tevye, to varying degrees of success. “People come to see the star, of course, but it doesn’t always make the show better,” Joerder concludes.
Every time he does the show, it becomes a crash course in Jewish traditions for him, Joerder says. “I still don’t know everything. We’re bringing in a rabbi to tell us the correct way to do the wedding. What’s funny is every time I bring in a different rabbi, they tell me different things. They’ve never been consistent.”
The Wick’s Tevye is Bruce Sabath, who has played the role often from an early age. “I did ‘Fiddler’ in summer camp, I did scenes from ‘Fiddler’ in middle school, I did ‘Fiddler’ in high school, I played Tevye in college,” he says. This will be his third professional production of the show, having recently appeared in the Joel Grey-directed off-Broadway version in Yiddish. There he played butcher Lazar Wolf, but also stood by as Tevye, going on in the leading role some 30 times.
“It is definitely one of the greatest musicals ever written. It always has something new to say in every moment in history, unfortunately,” says Sabath, who sees parallels between the people of Anatevka and the Jews in Israel now. “It’s really interesting, because ‘Fiddler’ is a snapshot of one moment when, once again, the Jews were forced out of yet another place. It will definitely speak to audiences today.”
Sabath has been on this stage before, appearing 15 years ago in the Caldwell Theatre’s Frost/Nixon. “I may be the only person who ever played Tevye and Richard Nixon,” he says with puckish pride.
Playing his long-suffering wife Golde is South Florida veteran actress Patti Gardner, who remarkably has never been in a production of Fiddler.
“I don’t remember ever auditioning for ‘Fiddler’ before,” she says. “When this came up, I campaigned, I begged. I said ‘I’ll do anything, not necessarily Golde. Anything.’ ‘Fiddler’ touches me in a way that no other musical does.”
As to why audiences keep coming back to see Fiddler, over and over, Gardner says, “It’s universal. There’s not a person that can’t relate to this. It’s about family and it’s about change. Things that matter to us all. It’s such a human story. “
Sabath adds, “It’s the fear of change, wanting things to stay the same. Wanting the best for your children, but being scared for them at the same time. The whole family thing is definitely central to it. (It is about) long standing traditions coming smack in the face of a rapidly changing world.”
To explain why theatergoers should come see Fiddler on the Roof, probably not for the first time, director Joerder resorts to double negatives. “No one will not be entertained,” he feels certain. “You cannot not relate to what is happening on that stage.”
FIDDLER ON THE ROOF, Wick Theatre, 7901 N. Federal Highway, Boca Raton. Now playing through Feb. 11. $79-$109. 561-995-2333.