Ah, Tradition

PASSOVER IS A TIME of tradition. The recent controversy over revisions in the Passover service's Haggadah to include references to the Holocaust, the civil rights movement and other modem trials alongside of the traditional story of the flight out of Egypt has shown that tradition dies hard. But even if you are revisionist, there is one tradition this Passover Season you should not miss-a trip to see the musical Fiddler on the Roof currently playing at Kirkland.

Taking place in the Russia of 1905 at the time of widespread pogroms and persecution of the Jews Fiddler is a play of remembrance, appropriate to the Passover spirit. The setting is Anatevka a little town where tradition governs life, and Russians and the Jews live in peaceful coexistence. Through the experiences of the family to Tevye a milkman, we watch the traditions change as peaceful coexistence become open hostility and violence.

In the opening number, is the various family members explain their roles in the household, the Papa is said to "have the right as master of the house to have the final word at home," True to the tradition, Bruce G. Sabath as Pape Tevye dominates the stage. Sabath grew a beard for his part, and even managers to maintain a Yiddish accent while singing, which itself is extraordinarily strong and solid, especially in Tevye's solo, "If I Were a Rich Man," As Tevye, Sabath brings in a stellar performance as the poor milkman trying to cope with a nagging wife Golde (Ann Pellegrini), five daughters, a perennially lame horse and a changing world.

Pellegrini, too, gets kudos for her performance, Golde is a traditional Jewish mother, nagging her family scheming to marry her daughters to rich man while somehow keeping the house clean and scraping together Sabbath dinners for as many people as Tevye brings home. Pellegrini, for the most part, manages to keep her character from becoming a wooden stereotype, and sings beautifully in her ducts with Sabath.

The children, in the opening number, sing of their subordinate roles in the family. The boys learn the Torah, while the girls learn the First arts of Wilfery, Once again, Fiddler follows the tradition--while the younger generation of characters with in six solid performances, none reaches the game level as those of their elders, Lowis A. Myers does a good Job an Model, the rebellion second daughter, and Jeffrey Cooper makes his relatively small role of Motel the Tailor loss one of the most memorable in the show--his transformation from the sky and stammering neighbor boy into the suitor who boldly proclaims his love for Tevye's daughter Tzeitel (Suzanne M.F. Tanner) rings true throughout. The others hold their own during the individual scenes, but fade into the background when Pellegrini and Sabath join them on stage.

The cameo roles, such as Yente the match-maker (Kamala Soparker) and the Rabbi (Peter Reale) are also noteworthy, While both characters are traditional stereotypes, Soparker and Reale put in enough energy to keep them from going state. In fact, the only minor character that does not transcend his stereotype is the Fiddler himself, whose obviously fake board emphasizes his obviously fake fiddling. But since the fiddler mainly appears on the rooftop, or peaks around the corner of the set, he does not direct from the overall effect.

THE FIDDLER SET IS SIMPLE, as is the staging, matching the serious tone o the musical while the simplicity of the stage adds an air of starkness and austerity the actors themselves dazzle the audience. One particularly effective scene is the song "Sabbath Prayer", where the cast is lighting a Sabbath candle. The small circles of light in the darkness are more effective than glittery scenery would be.

Fiddler in short is a traditional House show. The theatre is "intimate" (read: Crowded) but the strong performances and the immortal book music and lyrics make the evening vibrant cozy and fun in a way unobtainable on the impersonal Mainstage unfortunately, the orchestra gives the traditionally mediocre performance of most House orchestras; but since most people know the score by heart the fact that the players occasionally miss a note does not detract at all from the performance.

"I can't believe I cried," said one theatregoer on her way out the door. I must have played the tape a million times and I still cried at the end. "This is another tradition, Even after seeing Fiddler a million times. You have to get a sort of quivery feeling in the pit of your stomach everytime the family loads its belonging into Tevye's milk cart and leaves Anatevka forever. And after such a time production the tears well up fairly early for the poignant leave taking scene.

Fiddler cannot be called experimental theatre. It is no avant-garde drama in which no one know what to expect. But then again Fiddler is not outdated despite its well-worn themes and the troupe at kirkland stages the traditional musical with sparkle and flair revealing the show's appeal to people of all ages and all times. If you ignore tradition and skip seeing it you will miss something very special.