Fiddler on the Roof is one of the most hyped musicals of the year, with the Sydney production taking Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre production from London and staging the show for a larger-than-life event at the Theatre Royal in Martin Place. Opening night was packed to the rafters with a swathe of musical theatre luminaries and anticipation was high as the cast took to the stage for one of the most loved musicals in the theatre canon. 

The show is set in the fictional town of Anatevka just before the Russian Revolution and tells of a Jewish family in the town who try to protect their traditions, even as the children in the family begin to do different things and it quickly becomes a chasm between the traditional and the new. This is set against a backdrop of increasing prejudice, which ultimately forces the family to leave the town and the second act is a testament to the defiance of the community and their attempts to fight back against oppression. 

In the titular role, Ben Adler is absolutely extraordinary as the Fiddler, bringing panache, pizzazz and huge amounts of flair and showmanship to the role. Interestingly, apart from the symbolism of the role, there is very little plot point to the Fiddler role, but Adler brings so much stagecraft and showmanship that it really makes the whole production sing.

The production is also heavily reliant on Troy Sussman as Tevye, who is absolutely fantastic in the main role and brings real weight and power to the difficult part. All things considered, his vocals are largely quite strong and his version of “If I Were a Rich Man” was an early highlight of the show (I forgot that Gwen Stefani sampled the song which is quite an interesting titbit and further shows the reach of this musical).

The score is one of the things that really makes this musical stand out, with so many hit songs and so much great music that it really does feel like a fantastic celebration of the discipline. Alexis Fishman is excellent as Golde, while Freya Boltman is also very strong alongside Caity Plummer as Chava. Sigrid Thornton also brings plenty of personality to Yente, adding to the colourful community that surrounds the family.

The strength of the production also comes from the ensemble, who create a real sense of community throughout Anatevka. The large cast makes the town feel alive and gives the larger musical numbers a real sense of scale, while Julia Cheng’s choreography is particularly impressive, with the famous Bottle Dance bring one of the standout moments, with the ensemble showing off excellent precision and musicality (I still couldn’t work out if they had any magnets on the hats because it really was extraordinary physical skill).

With that said, there were quite a few vocal mishaps on opening night, with not quite enough strength and security especially for some of the supporting characters to really make the production sing. In a show that is so reliant on its hit songs, the lack of vocal strength at times did detract and did make the show feel like it plotted along, especially in the 90-minute long first act, which perhaps would have benefitted from being cut into two separate acts as it really did feel like the first act dragged a little too much.

The production (directed by Jordan Fein, with set design by Tom Scutt and lighting designed by Aideen Malone) really is bombastic and larger than life, with one of the best sets of the year that fit perfectly into the Theatre Royal stage and really gives the production an extra bit of flair. The musical direction of Dominic Woodhead was also great and befitting of the Theatre Royal stage while Nick Lidster’s sound design further added to the ambiance.

Overall, this is a strong production which is another highlight on Sydney’s theatrical calendar. At a time when musical theatre is struggling in this country so much, to have a big-budget production with such extravagant sets and a large cast is a real blessing and something that shouldn’t be taken for granted. Led by Sussman and Adler, there are some wonderful moments in this show which really show off the power of the genre and while some of the singing and supporting acting is a little lacking at times, this is still an excellent production, which is a really exciting addition to Australia’s theatre community.

Rating: ★★★★

Fiddler on the Roof plays at the Theatre Royal until 3 October before touring nationally. For more information, click here.

All photo credits: Daniel Boud