34 | FEBRUARY 27 • 2020 Arts&Life theater Fiddler 2.0 Israeli actor brings diverse talents to his role as Tevye in this stage revival. SUZANNE CHESSLER CONTRIBUTING WRITER I sraeli actor Yehezkel Lazarov jokes that he understands why this tour of Fiddler on the Roof needed a second year. The first year did not take him to Detroit. At last, Lazarov will appear at the Fisher Theatre, where the original show had its 1964 trial run before heading to Broadway. “I never see things [as isolated]. There’ s always something before and after. I can’ t wait to be on that stage, ” said Lazarov, who stars as Tevye when the musical revival comes to town March 10-15. Fans of the classical production will find some changes in this touring version, based on the Sholem Aleichem story of family relation- ships as experienced by a milkman, his wife and their five daughters living in a Russian village during the early 1900s, before the rev- olution. Lazarov’ s character sings “If I Were a Rich Man” in a show filled with enduring Jerry Bock-Sheldon Harnick numbers that include “To Life (L ’ Chaim), ” “Sunrise, Sunset, ” “Matchmaker, Matchmaker” and “Tradition. ” “Part of what makes it new is the choreog- raphy in a more modern style and the stage setting, ” Lazarov explained. “The stage is very clean and minimalistic, and it looks more modern because of the sim- plicity. ” Fiddler is directed by Tony Award- winner Bartlett Sher and choreo- graphed by Hofesh Shechter, also from Israel, with scenic designs by Michael Yeargan. The beginning and the ending of the play also are a bit different, Lazarov said. For example, the new show starts with Tevye in modern dress, reading from a book in a train station. Then he hears a fiddle and sees a sign identifying Anatevka, the village where the story takes place. As the production moves into the 1905 setting and Tevye slips into peri- od wear, Lazarov said he finds special significance in the connections he can make to his own family. Like Tevye, he also is a husband and father, but with only three daughters. His family is traveling with him on tour. Another similarity is that Lazarov is of Russian heritage and passes Jewish observance to his children. “I come from a religious family and can remember going to the synagogue with my grandfather, ” said Lazarov, 46, who has an interfaith marriage — as does one of Tevye’ s daughters in the musical. “My grandfather used to tell me all the stories about when he was a kid. There were 11 brothers and sis- ters, and they moved from a little vil- lage in Russia because of the pogroms. “My grandfather and grandmother kept to their faith. Knowing this in the back of my mind and soul, I say the word ‘ Tradition’ and know exactly what I’ m talking about. ” Lazarov also values the plot in the context of current socio-political themes. Thinking of today’ s refugees forced to leave their homes, he believes that situation makes the Fiddler story important to tell now. MAN OF MANY TALENTS Talking about his life, Lazarov described a multidisciplinary career Yehezkel Lazarov stars at Tevye in the revival of Fiddler on the Roof. JOAN MARCUS