'Fiddler on the Roof' - My Review

"If you can do only one thing this weekend, come out to see our school’s performance of Fiddler on the Roof.  This play is, hands down, the best student performance I’ve seen in fifteen-plus years of working in schools.  Ted Rogozinski is a star in the making, Danielle Fusco’s vocals are amazing, and everything else from the dance choreography, the acting, and the costumes & set are what you’d expect from a professional production.  It’s inspiring to see what our students are capable of doing outside of the classroom."  

Daniel Tartarelli, Asst. Principal WHS, March 22, 2013

Perhaps because many had seen this little review posted on the school website, the closing performance of  Watertown High School's Fiddler on the Roof was sold out completely. Luckily, I managed to purchase a handmade standing room pass. While I would never want to have to stand in the back for every show I attend, I must admit that the view from the back of the relatively small auditorium was excellent and it was interesting to be near the Director/Choreographer, Foster Evans Reese, and the Producer, Joanne Chenkus. The Choral Director Bradley Scoville sat in and played accordion with the 23 member pit orchestra that was conducted by Kyle Culbertson. Before the show began, I got to say hello to Costume Designer Renee Purdy and her assistant Nancy Harrell.

Mrs. Chenkus opened the show with the usual admonitions (including not to record the show and an invitation to purchase a professionally recorded DVD,) and also by asking all alumni of the Musical Theatre program to stand up to be recognized. The high school has been doing musicals since 1995 and has won various Halo Awards since 2009 (that year for Best Musical for Once on this Island.) She told us how the cast and crew had worked "Sunrise to Sunset" to put this "musical treasure, a true classic" on their stage. Then the musicians dressed in all black entered the auditorium from its side in single file to welcoming applause...a nice touch.

The beautiful story of a poor milkman raising five daughters in 1905 Russia includes some truly beautiful music by Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnick. The students did a great job with all of the numbers, including one that I did not remember being in the movie version. My favorite full cast numbers were the wedding scene, "Sabbath Prayer" and the amazing "The Dream."

The director staged the scenes beautifully and used the elevated portion of the fine set to its full extent. Effective lighting and perfect sound added to the quality of the production, as did the period-perfect costumes. The amazing outfits worn by the ghosts in the dream sequence were impressive, especially those of Grandma Tzeitel played by Miranda Squillace and Fruma-Sarah played terrifyingly by Katherine Ramsey.

The villagers in the ensemble were exclusively female and the Russian Dancers were played by girls; even The Fiddler was played expertly by Olivia Moaddel. Therefore, the guys had a lot of parts to play and they did very well indeed. Nicholas Ciarlo was endearing as Motel, the Tailor and Chris Varanko was a fine Perchik, the Student. Brian Grimm played Lazar Wolf, the Butcher and Dan Nelson was a cute Rabbi.

In the lead role of Tevye, Senior Ted Rogozinski showed that he has talent beyond his years. Last seen in Whimisicality Bye Bye Birdie as Conrad Birdie, this part was a chance for this young actor to shine. He perfected the accent, the comic touches and the presence of Tevye and sang beautifully, especially in "If I were a Rich Man." As Golde his wife, Danielle Fusco showed the necessary strength of a Jewish mother and was a wonderful singer. The five daughters were played by Stephanie El-Massri (as the eldest Tzeitel,) Christine Manalo (as Hodel,) Kristen VanDerlyn (as Chava,) Emma Karpinski (Bielke) and Jordan Townsend (Shpintzle.) Ms. Manalo proved that not only can she play the piano like a pro, she is a fine actress and lovely singer as well. Another standout was the Yenta the Matchmaker of Hailey Chamberlin; this young lady played older, wiser and very funny.

The choreography was not easy at all and the students rose to the challenge. The featured bottle dancers and the Russian dancers were impressive. I found it a bit disconcerting that during "To Life" when only the male characters were onstage, we could hear girls singing along on the microphones. If the vocals needed filling in, perhaps only the altos should have helped out from backstage.

Overall this was a fine production with a particularly touching ending. Congratulations to the 42 student actors involved in the musical. Many of the students had Whimsicality credits in their bios and some even thanked Devin and Denise Brown for giving them their start in theater. Others had Naugatuck Teen Theater credits. Kudos also to the wonderful pit musicians, and all the adults who worked so hard with to get this show on the boards.