Fiddler on the Roof

We went to to Barbara B. Mann theatre tonight to see Topol in his farewell tour of Fiddler on the Roof. He first appeared as Tevye in 1967 in London. Then he played Tevye in the movie in 1971. The program says that he has performed this role over 2500 times! He must be able to say the lines and sing the songs in his sleep. Ok, so he's a little older now. My daughter joked that maybe he should be the grandfather rather than the father. And I have to admit that I had trouble understanding some of his lines and he was a bit of a ham but he is still great in the role. And of course, he got applause when he made his first entrance and a standing ovation for his curtain call.

The rest of the cast was excellent too. Everyone in the cast were Equity actors. The choreography was the original choreography by Jerome Robbins. The To Life number in the bar, the Dream scene with Fruma Sarah and the dance numbers in the wedding scene were amazing. They had a special floor with grooves in it and many of the set pieces moved on and off on their own--or so it seemed.

I had hoped to take more pictures. There was no announcement before hand and nothing in the program but after I took the picture above one of the ushers tapped me on the shoulder and told me, "No pictures!" So, at least I got this one. I did get a picture of the curtain before the show started. It is a bit fuzzy but I'm posting it anyway because I thought it was so neat.


Anyway, we had a great time. We are so lucky to have this theatre here in Ft. Myers. They get lots of big productions there. In the past we have seen Les Miz and Lion King as well as other shows. Wicked was there this year but we missed it. Hopefully we can take in a couple more shows next season.