Fiddler on the Roof (In Yiddish) NYC Reviews and Tickets
Member Reviews (1,063)
See it if You want to see a classic [albeit in Yiddish with English supertitles] in an intimate setting with great performances and choreography.
Don't see it if You don't like having to read the supertitles; you are not interested in/find the subject matter upsetting. Read more
See it if Feel like experiencing live Jewish history, the joyful wedding the painful eviction, yet relatable for a non-Jewish. Superb ensemble numbers
Don't see it if Lines/lyrics are fast, reading subtitles will miss some stage actions. Set is bare, just chairs mainly. All great actors, some sing better. Read more
See it if Yet another renascence of this 'native tongue' Fiddler still glistens with all its emotional powers intact Skybell (Tevye) & company triumph
Don't see it if New World Stages' space is a little too compact for all the musical's emotional exuberance Feels somewhat cramped esp in its dance numbers
See it if you want a good solid evening of music, acting, family traditions and a reminder of what senseless hate can do. If never seen the show.
Don't see it if History has no impact on you and you can't relate to the close bond of family.
See it if U are a Fiddler fan - get a new perspective; classic show of family, love, faith, traditions kept and traditions broken, beautiful & joyous
Don't see it if You don’t care for the classic show, don’t like shows in other languages or to rely on supertitle translations, you prefer bigger production Read more
See it if if you have (or haven't) seen Fiddler before; if you love the music and the story and want to see a well-sung and well-acted version
Don't see it if if you'd be bothered that reading supertitles might make you miss some stage action; don't care for musicals or the subject matter
See it if you are interested in seeing a new take on a true classic. Hearing the characters speak the language they would've spoken really impacts.
Don't see it if You're unfamiliar with the story and you don't want to read through a show. Or if you're looking for a spectacle production of Fiddler.
See it if You have or haven't seen Fiddler before. It takes on an deeper significance it Yiddish not less.
Don't see it if You can't get past having to read the show, although the titles are well displayed and easy to follow (in english or russian)
Critic Reviews (49)
"Like the production itself, his [Tevye] portrayal is unquestionably beautiful, thoroughly devastating, and completely satisfying."
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Director Joel Grey’s beautifully simple Off-Broadway revival exuberantly embraces the show’sJewishness via this lingual device of the dialogue and songs being performed in Yiddish. Visually arresting and emotionally stirring, this presentation is cause for kvelling and plotzing.
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“Though it features a Broadway-quality Tevye...and, for Off Broadway, a high level of professionalism throughout, the Folksbiene production cannot achieve the status and polish of mass entertainment. Rather, it offers a kind of authenticity no other American ‘Fiddler’ ever has: It’s in Yiddish...Couldn’t sound more right...Outside of the big numbers, it is not as suave as it might be...But when the production hitches a ride on the astonishing craft of the original, it is often thrilling."
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"The show has arrived with its stripped-down aesthetic and emotionally lucid production intact. In fact, it feels even more resonant... This may not be the most spectacularly sung, danced or designed 'Fiddler' ever to hit the stage, but it's likely the most authentic thanks to the use of Yiddish and the focus on genuine feelings. At times it's more like a séance than a show. The turn-of-the-20th-century village of Anatevka may be fictional, but its denizens feel wonderfully, vibrantly alive."
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"Delivering raw emotionality, boisterous humor and cultural authenticity that will stir you whether you're experiencing the show for the first time or the 15th...Steven Skybell brings exuberant charm, warmth, flinty intelligence and even a bearish sexiness...Grey navigates the show's many shifts from comedy to pathos, from elation to fear and desolation, with a supple hand, and the heartfelt investment in the story and characters is evident throughout."
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“Thrilling...So virtuosic is Steven Skybell in that role that he often needs no language at all for us to feel his character swerve from ironic mockery to righteous anger to heartbreak...Illes is engaging and steely and Hoffman is comic and a bit over-the-top...The production’s polish and verve make for an exuberant and touching celebration..But there are also crucial complications. The show’s attitude to the observantly Jewish culture of the shtetl...is itself quite ambivalent."
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"Aside from being performed in Yiddish, this is not so different from a well-acted regional theater production of 'Fiddler'...The production values are minimal, with no scenery except for a few hanging banners and basic props. A 12-piece orchestra sits at the back of the stage. Even though the space is rather cramped, the original Jerome Robbins dance choreography is efficiently reproduced."
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"Transcendent new production of the classic musical brings us closer to Tevye, Golde, and the good, pious citizens of Anatevka than we've ever been before...Even if you don't understand what the actors are saying, once the 15-piece orchestra strikes up those familiar melodies, you won't even need to look at the supertitles. The result is an intensely moving experience...It's a well-balanced staging that goes for the emotional guts but doesn't sacrifice the musical comedy."
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