“It’s been very tiring, but I wouldn’t want to be made tired by anything else.”
— Hannah Lieberman (’18)
“It’s been a very challenging and fufilling process with a most excellent end result.”
— Blaire Ebert (‘17)
If you’ve heard any statements like this in the past month, you’re probably friends with a theatre kid here at Davidson. You probably also know what all the fuss is about: The Davidson Theatre Department is putting on the classic musical, Fiddler on the Roof, this spring season. Having gotten through its premiere weekend quite spectacularly, this amazing show and its incredibly talented cast and crew will be returning to the stage for three more performances this upcoming weekend. Directed by Ann Marie Costa and assistant directed by Matthew Schlerf (’16), you know it’s gonna be good. So before it’s too late, Her Campus is here to urge you to attend.
But first, a little backstory. Fiddler on the Roof (affectionately referred to by us laypeople as “Fiddler”) follows the story of Tevye, a poor Jewish milkman living in the fictitious Russian town of Anatevka in 1905, a time in which relations between the Jews and the Russian government were tense. Tevye has five daughters, a passion for cultural tradition, and a delightful sense of humor that prevails throughout the production. If that admittedly intriguing plot setup is enough to convince you to attend one of the shows here this weekend, our work here is done.
But let’s be honest, you can find a basic plot summary like that (with a few more spoilers, of course) on your local Wikipedia page. You can stream the 1971 film adaptation of it on your local Amazon account. But what you can’t find on the internet is the spirit that your local college cast of Fiddler brings to the stage.
As Tevye, Ian Thomson (’15) embodies a 45-year-old Jewish milkman like no other 22-year-old college student ever has. His voice is booming when it needs to be, soft when the audience hasn’t cried in a while, and his “dibby dibby dums” had us laughing like a rich man. But the talent doesn’t stop there. Haley DeLuca (’15), plays his wife, Golde, with a stunning balance of serious motherly love and humorous witty comebacks. Their duet, “Do You Love Me?”, may or may not have brought a certain Her Campus writer to tears. From the hilarious interludes of the matchmaker Yente (Clarise Fischbach Ballesteros (’16) and vengeful ghost Fruma Sarah (Hannah Lieberman (’18)) to heartbreaking and tear-inducing performances like those of bright Chava (Brooke Brazer (’16), Fiddler is sure to take you on a journey through the intricacies of human hardship, joy, and life.
Honestly, we wish we could give every single cast member a shoutout with specific details praising their talent (because we would—in a heartbeat). But in lieu of that, please, for your own good, attend, laugh, cry, and applaud at Davidson’s production of Fiddler on the Roof this weekend.
Still reading, are you? Have we not yet convinced you to drop everything, buy a ticket, and get psyched for Fiddler? Perhaps a bit of behind-the-scenes trivia will get you revved up and ready to go:
—The cane that Ryan Rotella (’17) so flawlessly rocks as Lazar Wolf, the village butcher, is not just a prop. Rotella actually broke his foot midway through the rehearsal process. Luckily, his dance moves are flawless despite his injury.
—Fiddler features the largest cast a Davidson stage has ever seen! Come out this weekend and take part in history!
—As previously-mentioned-vengeful-ghost Fruma Sarah, Hannah Lieberman dons makeup that she is actually allergic to. “It certainly makes my sad faces in the second act more genuine,” she states. If that’s not method acting, we don’t know what is!
—Though Ian Thompson’s beard is real, most are, in fact, not. If for no other reason than this, attend Fiddler this weekend to see the largest collection of fake beards and petticoats you have ever witnessed.
Beards, petticoats, allergic reactions, canes, pure talent—what more could you want in a show? Picture this: You. Fiddler on the Roof. This weekend. We promise—it’s a perfect match.