This year’s Senior School musical theatre production, Fiddler on the Roof, runs at McPherson Playhouse from March 2-4. (Tickets are available online.)
Students, teachers and volunteers have been working on stage, backstage and in the pit orchestra full-on for five months to prepare for this three-day run of shows.
We’re pleased to sit down with four of the talented Grade 12 performers who play two of the lead roles: Violet Brownsey and Evelyn Li who play Tzeitel; and Ryan Killoran and Steven Song who play Tevye.
What is Fiddler on the Roof about?
Ryan – The main character, Tevye, has five daughters, and they want to marry the men they want, instead of having matches arranged for them, which goes against the wishes of the father. So he has to cope with that and also deal with the Russians, who are increasingly violent towards the Jewish people in Anatevka in the early 1900s.
Evelyn – It's a story about balance between tradition and your religion, the love for your family, change and stillness, and all that taking place amid the bigger issue of the ethnic dynamic between the Russians and the Jewish community.
What has the process been like working on a musical with religious and political content?
Violet – Mr. Collett [the director] brought in a rabbi to work with the cast and that was an awesome experience. We had had a lot of conversations about the Jewish culture and wanting to do this show in a respectful way, so bringing him in was great. He let us know about a few things just to make sure we knew what we were doing and why we were doing it, especially in scenes like the Sabbath prayer, which is very important.
Steven – We showcased the Sabbath scene to the rabbi and he gave us advice like, "You have to hand the wine to the wife first, instead of the daughters." Details like that really helps to ground our work in the authentic expression of Jewish culture. Those details matter, but so does the intention behind it; not just mindlessly performing them, but actually having a purpose to why we do them.
Violet – He also reminded us, "At the end of the day, it's a musical. You can camp it up if you want." It was really good to get his perspective on what we were doing.
Evelyn – The current events in Ukraine are is also in the back of our minds as we have gone through this. Even though I don't think it's directly impacting the way we play it, there's definitely a heaviness we feel that makes it more relevant.
Ryan – One way the current events have played a part is the way that we pronounce Kyiv, which we say in the show a lot. So the way we've been hearing it in the news and the media is 'Key-ev' with two syllables. But we learned that the way they would pronounce it in Ukranain is 'Keev' with one syllable.
Steven – The rabbi basically told us "less is more." We don't have to try to impose anything to remind people of what's going on in Ukraine. He said, "As long as you are performing this truthfully and making those small details correct, then are making something that is significant to current events. Let the story speak for itself."
What do you enjoy most about being in the SMUS musical?
Steven – I love acting on stage at the McPherson with all the lights, the set, the costumes. It just feels like every time we run through a scene on stage there something different will impact me. This is a little abstract, but I feel like the spirit of Tevye will stay with me for a while after the musical, and I feel that more being on stage.
Evelyn – I love the rehearsals. When I wake up in the morning, I'm always excited to go to rehearsal. I love working with everyone and meeting new people through the musical.
Ryan – I really like the music. We sing the songs in choir, too, so I keep hearing them, and they're always in my head. I enjoy singing them and I'm sure they'll be stuck in my head for months after the show is over – and that's OK.
Violet – Working with everybody in the cast and crew is so great. I also really love seeing the Grade 9s in it and I can tell that they're going to be amazing as they grow into being the leads in their next few years at SMUS.
Why should people go see Fiddler on the Roof?
Evelyn – If you want to laugh, if you want to cry, if you want to have a really great time, Fiddler is the perfect show to go see!
Violet – It's a really great show and it's really quite family friendly. All the songs are so much fun and even though some of the plot is heavy, there's a lot of comedy in it and a lot of laughter!
Ryan – The pit orchestra is one of the most professional groups of musicians we've ever had. The actors and dancers are really some of the most well trained. It's directed and led by teachers with 30 plus years of experience doing this. The costume design and set design are at such a high level. Even though this is a high school production, it's all at a standard you would expect from a professional theatre company!
Fiddler on the Roof runs from March 2-4 at the McPherson Playhouse. There are three evening shows (March 2, 3 and 4) and one matinee (March 4). Buy your tickets now!
