The Festival Theatre in Stratford

I must begin by saying that this was the best show I've seen all year, and one of the best shows I have ever seen. That ought to give you an idea of its calibre right there! I'm not sure why, but I had an idea that a show at Stratford would not live up to a show on Broadway. I was more than mistaken!

The show opens with Brent Carver as Tevye walking on stage and speaking to the audience. On first sight of him, the woman behind me immediately said, "He's too young!" I'm sure that's what a lot of people in the theatre were thinking - too young, too thin. I knew better. :-) But even so, I wasn't prepared for just how perfectly he would make the role his own. His Tevye is a common man - a bit of a dreamer, but with no real ambition. His love for his daughters is always apparent. One reviewer said that you completely believe that he continues to go about his day even when he is not on stage. I like that, and totally agree with it!

Anyway, back to the opening scene. The choreography was wonderful, and suited the music so well. "Tradition!" is just such a perfect scene-setter. "Matchmaker" was really good as well. I enjoyed all three girls, especially Robin Hutton as Tzeitel. Amy Walsh was Chava, and it was fun to see her again, after seeing her in Phantom and Joseph before. Oh, and while I'm thinking about it, the rabbi's son was played by Gerald Isaacs, who was M. Reyer in Phantom in Toronto for the longest time. I found it very hard to look at him and not expect him to say, "From the beginning of the aria then, mademoiselle". :-)

Me at the outskirts of town

"If I Were a Rich Man" was brilliant. Brent did this much softer than I'm used to, so it was much more of a daydream. I loved it. Especially the part where he laid down in his cart - just perfect! I also adored all of his interaction with Golde, and his daughters throughout the entire show!

Not to mention Tevye's interaction with Motel...when Motel tries to talk to him about Tzeitel, it's just too funny! The "Sabbath Prayer" was really lovely - it began with just Tevye and his family at centre stage, and they were joined by other families at all corners of the stage. It's just a beautiful song.

I keep going on about Brent (and I can't say enough good things about him!), but the whole cast was really perfect. Nowhere was that more obvious than in the fabulous ensemble numbers like "To Life!". All of the dancing was wonderful. I think everyone in the audience wanted to get up and dance with them!

So everything's set...and then Motel finally gets up the nerve to talk to him. The look on Brent's face was priceless. :-) Everyone totally empathized with Tevye too...he wanted to stick with the way things have always been done, but loves his daughter too much not to make her happy. And is too scared of his wife to tell her the truth...so we have "Tevye's Dream". Although the sound was a little too loud, the rest of the scene was great, especially Brent's running around the turntable - I can't describe it, but it was just too funny! And of course in there was also "Miracle of Miracles", which was really sweet as well. Not the highlight of the night or anything, but nice. :-)

I have always loved "Sunrise, Sunset", and this performance of it was as amazing as you might expect based on the show up to this point. Everyone stood in a circle with the wedding taking place in the centre, and the turntable rotated so each character could be seen from every point in the theatre. And the bottle dance here was beyond amazing!! It just kept building, and I think it may have even received the loudest applause of the night (until the end, of course! :-). And then, after all this exuberance, the first act ended on the somber note that carries over into most of Act Two.

Me and Brent Carver

The second act was as perfect as the first one had been, though necessarily involving a lot less laughter. Not that there wasn't any - Tevye's conflict about whether to accept Perchik and Hodel's engagement earned a few smiles. And their performance of "Now I Have Everything" was lovely as well. Tevye's subsequent musings on love and "Do You Love Me" were sweetly amusing as well.

But, this act was more marked by the very poignant moments. "Far From the Home I Love" made me nearly sob, it was so touching. And then when Tevye had to decide to cut Chava off, you could see it was nearly killing him, it was almost painful to watch. There is some light-heartedness in the ending, but it is of course ultimately tragic. I am sure everyone in that theatre wanted everything to work out for Tevye and his family - they seemed so real. It was just a wonderful, wonderful production, and I really feel privileged to have seen it!