“Fiddler on the Roof” opened Sept. 4 at Stockton Civic Theatre and runs through Sept. 29.
The cast gave a strong performance for opening night.
There were a few slip-ups — young women tripping, bottles falling off of heads and a few lines were forgotten — but the actors recovered with grace and kept the play going at an even pace.
“I felt good about it. We really feed off of each other’s energy every night, so if one person is off, it seems to be a chain reaction, but on opening we were extremely focused, and I believe that that showed onstage,” said Jenna Zepponi, an actress in the play.
This classic play, that was first performed in 1964, has brought a unique perspective of life in Tsarist Russia in the year 1905.
It is a story of a man named Tevye, his life with his five daughters and wife as they face the breaking of tradition and the uprising of modern love.
The viewer sees each daughter faced with different challenges and shows how each chooses to get through the hardship.
Tevye struggles with the parenting aspect as he sees his daughters going through these issues.
The main themes of this play are strength, bravery, love and forgiveness.
Stockton’s cast was spectacular, providing jolly actors who could hold their own at any dance party and a young actress who bore an unbelievable resemblance to Belle from “Beauty and the Beast,” in both voice and appearance.
The cast included Tevye’s wife Golde, played by Andie Daste, Motel the tailor, portrayed by John Poncini, teacher Perchik, played by Grady Taylor, Lazar Wolf the butcher, played by Jesse Beltran, and Yente the matchmaker, portrayed by Lin Taylor.
The play included music by Jerry Bock and lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, and was recreated by Jennifer Hastings.
Have you ever heard of Gwen Stefani’s song Rich Girl? I bet you didn’t know she adapted it from “Fiddler on the Roof.”
As this was my first time viewing the play, I was pleasantly surprised to hear Tevye humming the tune as he sat upon his wagon.
There were many surprises in this play, including the fact that it has nothing to do with a fiddler or a roof.
All in all though, I enjoyed the play, but I would recommend a different name.
For more information or to purchase tickets call (209) 473-2424 or visit sctlivetheatre.com. Box office hours are 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tues.-Fri.