For this year’s spring musical, the Central Theatre program performed the emotional and moving story about tradition, progress, and prejudice in the life of Tevye the dairyman: Fiddler on the Roof. The shows ran from March 20th – March 22nd. Senior Max Ruiter Lopez captured the ever-traditional essence of Tevye accompanied by a star-studded supporting cast and ensemble. All four performances captivated the audience and earned the first-rate actors a standing ovation every time, adding to the tradition of a wonderful Central show.
Nearly unrecognizable in a fat suit and fake beard, Ruiter Lopez fully embodied the role of the doting father and pious patriarch while also conveying his fear and uncertainty during times of great change and oppression. His ability to command the audience’s attention even while alone on stage coupled with outstanding and unique vocals is a testament to Ruiter Lopez’s commitment, experience, and simply raw-talent. He had the audience hooked from the iconic prologue in the opening number “Tradition” to the solemn “Finale.” The incredible stage presence of the seasoned actor was especially evident in his solo number “If I Were A Rich Man” in which he confidently squawked like a duck and strutted like a peacock all the while delivering incredible vocals about yearning for the pleasures of a life in luxury. Coupled with precise comedic timing, Ruiter Lopez’s ability to truly share his internal struggles with the audience made for an outstandingly impactful show and brought the character of Tevye to life.
In addition, senior Veronica Mulhern absolutely wowed the crowd with her phenomenal vocals, acting, and humor during her adaptation of Golde. In her final show, Mulhern had a beautiful tone set in her voice, and clearly put much effort into the accent she used consistently throughout the entire musical. Her capability to use her strengths and completely captivate the audience with her wonderful acting, while still extraordinarily providing the comic relief. Mulhern’s energy as the mother of four was beautifully warm, while still staying authentic to an early 20th century Russian mother. The pair of Ruiter Lopez and Mulhern could bring anybody to tears were their vocals in the duet “Do You Love Me?” as well as in “Sabbath Prayer.” Mulhern did a wonderful job as Golde, and definitely went out with a bang for her final senior show.
Seniors Olivia Budd and Logan McFadden amazingly captured the pairing of Tevye’s oldest daughter Tzeitel and the tailor Motel Kamzoil. Budd, with her charming humor when characterizing a young, defiant woman in love with a forbidden match. Her singing and dancing in the number “Matchmaker” were perfectly in the perspective of her character, impeccably displaying the struggles of a young girl facing the negative sides of tradition. Her acting was sensational, filled with deep meaning and emotion while also being able to keep the mood light during this melancholy show. Continuing to humarize the production, McFadden strongly seized the essence of Motel with his outstanding whimsy, superb vocals, and excellent dancing, which were all tremendously shown in his solo “Miracle of Miracles.” The crowd couldn’t help but laugh at his playful manner, and clap for his amazing portrayal of the young, meek tailor. He may have not had enough money for a sewing machine, but McFadden had enough talent to blow the crowd away.
Junior Anabelle Ortiz and senior Max Jasper, playing Hodel and Perchik, were a fabulous duo that marvelously illustrated character development while quickly transforming their tense banter into romantic chemistry. Ortiz’s exquisite voice appeared in her solo, “Far From the Home I Love,” which moved the crowd when having to watch the beloved character leave her home and family. As the second oldest in the family, Hodel was meant to be paired with a husband, but when coming across the foreign teacher brought in to teach her younger siblings, her hatred for his attitude couldn’t last long. Acting alongside her, Jasper was the perfect Perchik, portraying a poor, snarky activist who wanted nothing more than to share his opinions, and dance with Hodel. As a radical Marxist from Kiev, most people in Anatevka had a strong distaste for Perchik, but the audience had nothing but love for the character. In their song together, Ortiz and Jasper tastefully illustrated their taboo relationship with “Now I Have Everything.” If the obvious development between the two of them could even sway Tevye, it could definitely capture a crowd.
As the final and certainly most scandalous couple of the show, seniors Hannah Marney and Lucas Rowland delivered in their performances of Chava and Fyedka respectively, capturing the drama and passion of a forbidden love between a Jew and a gentile. Marney was the picture of grace and delicacy in her portrayal of Chava, with her girlish dreams and fears in “Matchmaker” truly touching the hearts of the audience. Fyedka, the arrogant yet romantic Russian soldier, was executed with swagger and confidence from Rowland, with the actor even fashioning an incredibly impressive Russian accent for the role. Not to mention the truly remarkable Hopak dance performed by Rowland in the number “To Life”, which had audiences praying for all of the actors’ joints after four consecutive shows. Their brief yet powerful scenes together had impactful romantic chemistry and truly conveyed the negative boundaries that young people faced at the hands of tradition. Marney drove this message home to the audience with “Chava Ballet Sequence”, in which Tevye reminisces on the sweet memories of his middle daughter and mourns her coming absence. In the scene, Marney performed a beautiful ballet arrangement, reminding the audience of Chava’s youth and innocence despite the very adult decisions she was forced to make in the musical. Both Rowland and Marney put on an incredibly memorable performance and successfully had every audience member rooting for a forbidden love, leaving everything they had on the stage and more.
Two outstanding characters that could not go unnoticed were senior Violet Caruso as Yente and junior Olivia Acosta as Fruma-Sarah. Caruso took the opportunity to capture the humorous, old matchmaker, and ran with it. The audience had nothing but laughter and love for this portrayal, leaving the crowd sitting on the edge of their seats waiting for her return in each scene. Her appearance in “The Rumor” added humor and tension to the plot, keeping the viewers entertained and enthralled in the story. Furthering on this enthrallment, Acosta shocked the crowd with her almost unrecognizable costume as Fruma-Sarah. Her vocals were phenomenal, along with the all-around scene during “Tevye’s Dream.” It was wonderful to see Acosta in a role like this and truly see her voice and acting ability blossom. And, of course, you can’t have Fiddler on the Roof without a fiddler. Ellie Kourkoulakos from West Morris Mendham generously joined Central’s cast for this show, and did a beautiful job at it. The sophomore violinist has been very accomplished throughout her career as a violinist and the West Morris Central Theater Program was very lucky to have her as the extremely talented and valuable fiddler.
In addition to this, junior Mikey Vespignani put on an incredible performance as Lazar Wolfe, portraying the spitting image of the wealthy butcher and bringing the drama when the marriage proposal between Lazar and Tzeitel falls through. His sheer commitment to the role and energy that came alongside it made for an incredibly engaging performance from Vespignani and made the comedic rivalry between his character and Tevye all the more emotional. On another note, the show featured some exceptionally notable numbers, one of these being “Matchmaker” featuring Budd, Ortiz, and Marney as their respective characters as.Their voices combined were simply enchanting and did a wonderful job of simply expressing the fears and hopes of three young girls unsure of their futures. In addition to this, the iconic Bottle Dance was a crowd favorite, with the audiences giving loud cheers and rounds of applause as the actors precariously yet confidently spun and danced with glass bottles on their heads as choreographed by WMC’s very own Dana Harrington. Sophomores Axel Barnett, Lucy Mastrandrea, and Rae Greenly along with VanCoevering and Jasper had every audience member on the edge of their seats in every performance
Overall, Fiddler on the Roof as performed by the Central Theatre Program was an incredible success. This show was especially remarkable due to its sheer number of Seniors involved in both the main and secondary cast. All of the seniors involved are as follows: Ruiter Lopez, Mulhern, Caruso, Budd, McFadden, Jasper, Marney, Rowland, Ella VanCoevering, Maya Janssen, and Kieran Jackson. The Central Theatre program and its audiences will be incredibly sad to see these stars leave the stage but are delighted to find out what their futures will hold when it comes to their theatre careers. Bringing joy, comedy, tragedy, and so much more to WMC, the Central Theatre Program truly brought the small town of Anatevka to the stage with its professional-level cast, ensemble, lighting, set-design, choreography, vocals, and overall production. The show was exceedingly entertaining and carries on the tradition of a wonderful show in the Central Theatre.
