Traditions teeter on the brink of total change in the musical adaptation of “Fiddler on the Roof,” a story by Joseph Stein and Sholem Aleichems. The production was theater professor and Director Craig Ferre’s first choice for his last musical production at BYU–Hawaii.
“Craig asked me a long time ago if we could do ‘Fiddler on the Roof’ because that was his favorite, and he asked me if I would play Tevye,” said Music professor and Concert Choir Director Michael Belnap, who accepted the main role. “I told him I would if I could have my wife, Lila, as my Golde and Pononui Cabrinha as my Lazar Wolf, and he did and it worked out really well.”
The play is set in 1906 Russia in a small town called Anatevka where Tevye, the dairyman, and his wife, Golde — as played by the Belnaps — struggle to raise their five daughters in a changing world.
This tight-knit Jewish community included memorable characters such as the rich butcher Lazar Wolf, played by Cabrinha; the nosy, forgetful matchmaker Yente, played by Marissa Jones; the timid tailor Motel Kamzoil, played by William Walter Arnett III; and others. Cabrinha choreographed the dancing for the production.
Not only was ‘Fiddler’ notable for being Ferre’s last time directing a musical at BYUH, but it was also one of his largest productions, said Belnap. “It was 50 to 75 percent bigger than any of the other musicals we’ve done so far; more cast, more people, more community people involved,” said Belnap. “It was a lot larger effort for everybody to pull together to make it work.”
Playing the part of a village daughter named Rachel, Andrea West, a junior majoring in vocal performance from Alaska, said she has performed in nine musicals total, but this was her first at BYUH.
“This was definitely a lot more professional, more upscale, more organized,” said West. “Dr. Ferre did a really good job keeping us on task and on schedule. It was super organized; the lighting, the sounds, the music, the costumes — I’ve never seen it so organized. It all went very smoothly.”
The cast said there was a friendly atmosphere on set. “I love the people,” said freshman English major Sammy Daynes from Singapore who played Anya, an ensemble village daughter. “I got to meet so many people from all different parts of the school, and everyone is so unique and cool — it made me feel special just knowing and interacting with them.”
According to Daynes, rehearsals occurred twice a week and spanned over Thanksgiving and Christmas break. Daynes said much effort was put into remembering lines and cramming as much as they could in the little time they had.
“I was actually amazed how they prepared for the whole show,” said audience member Josh Jung, a senior studying TESOL from South Korea. “They have their school work and assignments, especially the students. I’m having a hard time with time management and all that, but looking at them memorizing all their songs and cues and everything, it was super amazing.”
The musical’s story fell under the guise of comedy, with sarcastic dialogue and humorous bickering throughout. However, darker undertones of conflict and familial struggles remained emotionally attached to much of the play.
“I’ve experienced Concert Choir, so I know Brother Belnap,” said Jung. “So it was awesome to see him perform. The emotions that he delivers – he was so into the character that I was thinking, ‘wow,’ even though I’d seen the DVD version before.”
Costumes, designed by Dani Dooley, and lighting and sets, headed by Bruce Duerden, all contributed to the success of the production.
In one particularly memorable scene, Tevye fabricated a dream that included a host of zany characters from beyond the grave. He told this fake dream to his wife as a way to get out of an agreement.
Because of the lighting, loud squeals, and overall Halloween-like experience, audience member Mary Jane Austin from Wahiawa said she heard people actually got frightened.
“My favorite part was the dream,” said Austin. “It was beautifully choreographed. It was fun, too. There were smiles all around, and some little kids even got scared.”
Austin said besides her niece, who she came to support, Tevye was her favorite character. “I love it when people really get into character and you can tell they studied, and it brings the whole production to life.”
For Belnap, the most rewarding part was being able to work with his students, “to watch them do such a really, really fun job and to be successful — to see where all the teaching has paid off.”
“As always, we struggle with technical difficulties,” continued Belnap, “like not being able to hear the recording of the music, mics not working or falling off, and costumes not fitting the way you thought they were supposed to. So there’s all these little technical things that can be very distracting. But they were all quite minimal, I must say, so it was pretty much just a great experience overall. We had the best people to work with, the best directors, the best cast that we could possibly get and it was a lot fun. Really a lot of fun.”
The cast included members of faculty, such as Dr. David Kammerer as Avrahm the bookseller and Randal Allred as the Russian Constable, as well as other experienced students and community members both on and off the stage.