Revivals Galore!
By Cris Franco
Two remarkable revivals are now running on Broadway. Both are startling new takes on familiar properties; productions so daring and different they are better described as magnificent re-imaginings.
Oklahoma!, Tony-nominated for Best Musical Revival, has recreated Rogers and Hammerstein’s folksy chestnut about young love on the open plains of 1900. Now set in a timeless American landscape, a small country western band on a bare thrust-stage accompanies the 12-person ethnically diverse cast in this shockingly-contemporary and completely “woke” production. Scores of ominous gunracks are mounted throughout the theater, some scenes are played in complete darkness, and huge “night vision” video projections punctuate the antagonist’s mental breakdown. This brazen approach has garnered both praise and condemnation by R&H purists who question the artistic liberties taken by Tony-nominated for Director Daniel Fish, in his bold new Oklahoma!
But it’s these jarring devices lead us to go beyond the tuneful tale and get under the skin of the determined (and violent) nature behind the dogged pioneers who trailblazed the Oklahoma Territory in America’s quest to stretch from “sea to shining sea!” An extraordinary complement of players takes us on this uncharted journey, but of special note is Best Supporting Musical Actress Tony-nominee Ali Stroker, in the role of the flirtatious Ado Annie. Although in a wheelchair, she delivers a humorous, vocally-rich and sensual performance.
All your favorite songs are here, but from the opening number Curly’s moody rendition of “Beautiful Mornin’” seems to welcome us to a wilder time and place where unbridled desire and ambition rule. Later, the womenfolk advocate resisting settling down to the tune of “Many a New Day” as they aggressively husk, break and, in essence castrating ears of fresh corn. But the most notable artistic stroke is the emotionally-raw solo dream ballet by African-American dancer (the mesmerizing, shaved-head Gabrielle Hamilton in a spangled t-shirt reading only, “Dream baby dream.” Everything is infused with a dark rich subtext that makes you wonder if you ever really saw Oklahoma! before. So evocative is this interpretation that it will color every Oklahoma! you’ll ever see again. This production gets this reviewer’s highest recommendation. oklahomabroadway.com
Fiddler on the Roof is one of the most-often produced theatrical properties since its Broadway debut in 1964. The tale of Tevye the milkman has been presented on amateur and professional stages in numerous languages worldwide. (In Latin America it’s known as El Violinista en el Tejado). A story of love and loss, tradition and change, adversity and faith, community and exile, filled with wondrous songs that have entered the lexicon of the American musical. Director Joel Grey found how to reinvent this perfect classic. In Yiddish! Who knew?
Based on a translation by Shraga Friedman, this powerful production by the National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene beams with a renewed strength, taking us back to that Russian shtetl in a language both new to the audience and of a very distant past. All dialogue and lyrics are projected in English on either side of the simple set. You’d think seeing a play in a foreign tongue would alienate the non-Yiddish speaking viewer – but the effect is quite the opposite. Because we all know the story so well, the Yiddish rhythms create the most authentic and intimate Fiddler this reviewer has ever seen.
The characters, the jokes, and the songs are reborn in this ancient tongue. “Traditsye” (“Tradition”), that sets the story and introduces the characters. “Ven Ikh Bin a Rothshild” (“If I Were a Rich Man”) giving Tevye a chance to dream of escaping his poverty. The melancholy “Tog-ayn, Tog-oys” (“Sunrise, Sunset”) left not a dry eye in the house. The spiritually uplifting ballad “Shabes Brokhe” (“Sabbath Prayer”) and the exuberant celebration of life “Lakhayim” (“To Life”) in Yiddish brought these scenes to life in a revelatory manner.
Heading the cast of talented bilingual actors is the brooding yet charming Steven Skybell, as Tevye who brings a heartfelt truth to lines like, “God, I know we are the chosen people, but once in a while can’t You choose somebody else?” Skybell (this year’s Lortel Award-winner for Outstanding Actor in a Musical) lovingly guides the story until the crushing culmination when the Russian pogrom expels the townsfolk from Anatevka. Though defeated, we see in this devastating tragedy the concept come full circle as a tribe packs and transports their traditions and language across the Atlantic. It’s an inspiring realization. This Fiddler on the Roof is not to be missed. https://nytf.org/fiddler-on-the-roof/
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