You won’t see a fake beard in the bunch when Fiddler on the Roof opens in April.
It’s a small thing, perhaps, but for Warren Kimmel it says a lot about the commitment level of the cast members in Royal City Musical Theatre’s spring production.
“Everybody is really, really keen to be there,” he says, admiration for his castmates evident in the sincerity of his tone.
Kimmel is one of the few professionals in the community theatre cast. He stars, of course, as Tevye, the irrespressibly optimistic milkman whose family and traditions are threatened by forces outside his control in early-20th-century Russia.
The role was made famous by Topol in the 1971 film in what has gone down as one of the great musical theatre performances of all time.
“I’m intimately aware of the musical, I grew up watching it,” Kimmel says. “It’s a wonderful role. It’s a wonderful gift. ‘I hope I’m getting it right’ is the feeling that I have.” (See more in sidebar.)
For director Valerie Easton, there’s no doubt in her mind about the rightness of her leading man.
“He’s such a wonderful actor. He brings so much heart to the show,” she says.
She’s been impressed with Kimmel from the get-go, when he insisted upon being part of the rehearsals from the beginning instead of coming in later in the process – which, as a professional, he could have taken the option to do. She’s been particularly thrilled to watch his interaction with the younger members of the cast, in particular the performers who play his daughters (Natasha Zacher, Jenika Schofield, Julia Ullrich, Maia Hoile and Arta Negahpan).
“He’s just amazing with them,” Easton says.
For his part, Kimmel is equally complimentary of his young co-stars. “The young performers, they’re very well trained,” he says, noting they’re all equal parts singer, dancer and actor. “Everybody is really accomplished.”
As with every Royal City production emerging performers looking for careers in the arts – such as the three elder daughters, plus William Tippery and Zachary Wolfman, who appear as two of the girls' young love interests – have a chance to work alongside pros like Kimmel.
“It’s great for those people to see the work ethic of the professionals out there,” Easton says.
One of the things Easton loves about Fiddler is the way it allows the entire cast to shine, rather than having an ensemble that simply appears to sing the occasional song.
“Everybody has an important part to play in the village,” she says. “Everybody is an important part of the process.”
Easton is philosophical about the potential risks of staging one of the most beloved musicals of all time when it’s already been done so often and so well. That’s where she loves having younger performers in the cast – performers who can now create their own interpretations of the people who populate the village of Anatevka.
“Every time you do a show it’s different,” she says.
And, she notes, the underlying historical context – the Russian pogroms and the displacement of the Jewish villagers – is a theme that sadly remains contemporary. Watching the villagers pack up their carts to leave Anatevka can’t help but bring to mind images of Syrian refugees making the long trek to hoped-for safety and a new life.
“You can’t help but watch this show and have that in the back of your mind,” she says. “It would be nice to think that the world is not still in that place, but it is.”
For those who have seen the show before, Easton promises a couple of surprises – one of them is in the famous “dream” scene, but everyone’s lips are zipped until opening night – but, for the most part, she’s confident in the timelessness of the show itself.
“It’s wonderful storytelling,” she says. “The music is absolutely amazing. It’s one of those classic shows that’s never going to go away.”
FIDDLER FAST FACTS
Where: Fiddler on the Roof is onstage at the Massey Theatre, 735 Eighth Ave.
When: April 9 to 23, with previews April 7 and 8. Shows are 7:30 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday, with 2 p.m. matinees on Sundays, April 10 and April 17, plus Saturdays April 16 and 23.
Tickets: $47 regular, $38 seniors/students, $29 children under 13. Reduced prices for previews April 7 and 8 and for April 10 family matinee. Buy through www.ticketsnw.ca.
More information: www.royalcitymusicaltheatre.com.
Watch for: Your New Westminster neighbours in the cast: Colleen Byberg, John Cousins, Maia Hoile, Emma Ciprian
