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

