And not long after that show closed, she wanted to delve into this story of a Jewish milkman eking out a living in early 20th century Russia once again. “Not too long after we did our show, a really great Broadway production came to town, and it got me thinking about doing ‘Fiddler’ again,” she said. “It took us a while to obtain the rights to the show, because they weren’t available as long as it was out on tour.
” The rights to produce “Fiddler on the Roof” became available right around the time that Russia invaded Ukraine — where the fictional town of Anatevka, where the musical takes place, is located. “’Fiddler’ is one of those shows that contains so much,” Phoenix said. “It deals with all sorts of universal themes — about family, about faith, about love, about politics, about individuality, about community — that resonate with so many people.
And the world has changed so much since 2016 that it brings a new perspective to this show and how I wanted to approach it.” “Fiddler on the Roof” is being presented as part of TPAC Produces, a program of the Tulsa Performing Arts Center to present theatrical productions ranging from free shows for children to full-scale musicals, such as 2022’s acclaimed production of “Daddy Long Legs.” Mark Frie, who starred in the 2016 Theatre Tulsa production of “Fiddler on the Roof,” returns to portray Tevye, the village milkman who occasional converses with God about his struggles to provide for his family, to preserve the religious traditions that underpin his small community and to deal with a trio of headstrong daughters of marrying age and their seemingly unsuitable suitors.
“Mark being cast as Tevye might make it seem as if we’re ‘getting the band back together’ with this production,” Phoenix said. “But the truth is that there are only two people from the 2016 production that are in the current show — Mark and Nate Madden, who teaches theater at Metro Christian Academy, and who was so wonderful as Mordcha the innkeeper the last time. “We have about 40 people in the cast, and this is the first time I’ve worked with about half of them,” she said.
“And I haven’t worked with any of the people in the production team, so this is a new adventure for all of us.” Phoenix said she did a lot of research into early 20th century Russian Jewish crafts and was surprised at the beauty and colors of the textiles these people created. Listen now and subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Spotify | RSS Feed | SoundStack “We tend to think of ‘Fiddler on the Roof’ as almost a monochromatic show — everything is some variation of brown,” she said.
“But I knew I didn’t want that for this show. I wanted to give people a sense of how rich and colorful and complex these people’s culture was and is. “Strictly on a visual level, I think the people who come to our show are going to see something they’ve never seen before,” Phoenix said.
Phoenix added that her attitude toward the story told in “Fiddler on the Roof” has changed with the intervening years. “It’s really been like looking at this piece through a different set of lenses,” she said. “My children are eight years older than they were, so they’re getting to be the ages of Tevye’s daughters.
“And I’m seeing the women in the story in a different way,” Phoenix said. “There are all these scenes about women wanting to be treated equally, to have a say in determining their own lives, their own futures. In the very messy world we’re living in now, all these ideas seem to resonate even more.
” In addition to Frie as Tevye, this production features Lillie Taylor, Sophie Rose and Gigi Jenkins as Tevye’s daughters, Tzeitel, Hodel and Chava, respectively. Their potential husbands are played by Paul Dower as Motel, Dawson Fullingham as Perchik and Trace Herrera as Fyedka. Scott Black portrays Lazar Wolf, with Ashlee Osborn as Yente, Chloe Kennedy-Paris as Fruma-Sarah, Cristen Burdell as Grandma Tzeitel and Allison Johnston as the Fiddler.
Tevye’s wife, Golde, will be played Frie’s wife, Kim. It will be Kim Frie’s first time on stage since she appeared in Theatre Tulsa’s 2020 production of “A Little Night Music” — which had a single performance before it was shut down because of the COVID-19 pandemic. “So this is really like her first time to perform on stage in years,” Phoenix said.
“And she is quite a force of nature. Mark has always said Kim is the more talented performer, and it’s been a real joy watching them work together, because they have unique connection of understanding how the other person works.” The Tulsa World is where your story lives.
