For Troy Sussman and Alexis Fishman, being cast as Tevye and Golde in the Australian production of Fiddler on the Roof feels beshert. When The AJN spoke to the seasoned performers, they both said that the timing now feels right to take on the titular roles.
Fishman, who first performed in Fiddler on the Roof aged 11 at Sydney’s Moriah College, said taking on the role of Golde is multifaceted. The performer moved to the US 18 years ago and has performed on stages around the world ever since. So to be returning home and taking on a role as important as Golde feels both professionally and personally gratifying. She also said that performing the production in the current climate is going to be emotional.
“Singing ‘Anatevka’, where these people are being forced to go live somewhere else with just a few days’ notice, that is something that every Jew across the world has thought about in the last two and a half years,” she said. “It’s no longer a history lesson. I think it’s going to be emotionally very real in a way that I would never have thought a couple of years ago.”
Besides playing daughter Shprintze at Moriah College in 1994, performing in Fiddler during her time at WAAPA and then being cast to play Tzeitel in the Yiddish version of the production before it was shut down due to COVID, Fishman shared another little anecdote connecting her to the famous play. Fiddler on the Roof was written by Joseph Stein and Jerry Bock in a house in New Rochelle, where Alexis currently lives. Going one step further, it’s the house directly opposite hers.
Yet another reason this match seems beshert.
Fishman went on to explain though that being in the role of Golde inspires her to be a mother-figure to the company, saying both herself and Sussman are keen to shepherd the cast and crew into the Jewishness of the story. It’s something that Sussman spoke about too.
“Fiddler is a unique show. Not only are we showing community on stage, but the cast needs to be a community too. And the two leaders of the cast are Jewish, which is going to give us an opportunity to educate those who don’t know,” Sussman said, explaining that they plan to say the Shabbat prayers so the cast feels not just the Jewishness on stage, but off it as well.
“Singing ‘Anatevka’, where these people are being forced to go live somewhere else with just a few days’ notice, that is something that every Jew across the world has thought about in the last two and a half years. It’s no longer a history lesson. I think it’s going to be emotionally very real in a way that I would never have thought a couple of years ago” Alexis Fishman
Sussman told The AJN that in all of his years performing, he has never been part of the Fiddler on the Roof production. Now, he said, the timing feels right.
“I’ve never done it,” he said, explaining that there was a little bit of fate involved in his casting as well, with Back to the Future finishing its run in Australia. “I’m at the right time, in the right place, to play a role that I needed 40 years of experience to be able to pull off,” he laughed.
Both Sussman and Fishman also sang the praises of Jordan Fein with Fishman saying she is excited to work with the “brilliant director”. Sussman described him as “the next generation of directors”, saying he puts the microscope on communities and conversations, which is exactly what happens in Fiddler.
“It’s almost minimalist,” Sussman explained. “We really hear the words and the text. We still get the music that we know of Fiddler, and the songs are still there, but I think people will really see the conversations. And for me, as Tevye, it’s a beautiful opportunity to understand a father’s growth in his conversations with his daughters who he empowers to make decisions.”
Fein is bringing the production to Australia following its award-winning run at Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre in London. Fiddler on the Roof was the first production he ever saw. Importantly, he explained that the production doesn’t rewrite the original, but rather brings it into modern times.
“We were never interested in reinventing the wheel, but really making sure that modern audiences can appreciate it as much as we do,” he told The AJN when he was in Australia for auditions.
For Fein, Sussman and Fishman, Fiddler on the Roof is a story that endures because of its universality.
“I think the reason why this show has such universal appeal is that there is this theme of ‘how do we hold on to who we are and also exist in the world around us?’ It’s very relevant always, to all people,” Fishman said, explaining that Fiddler is beautiful because it shows the joy of the Jewish spirit despite everything the Jewish community has and continues to endure.
“We live with the pain and the joy. We have a wedding, and then it gets smashed to pieces, and then we have a baby. We move on, we keep going,” she said.
Fein also pointed out to The AJN that the musical, even though it was written in the 1960s, is ultimately about progress and respect.
“The young women in this piece are just extraordinary and really brave. And something that I found really profound was just that of course it is about tradition, but it’s really about progress and how those things have to exist hand-in-hand.”
The sentiment was echoed by Sussman, who is the first Jewish Australian to play Tevye.
“Every conversation that Tevye has, for me, is about respect,” Sussman said. “Respect for himself, respect from G-d, respect from the community, respect from his daughters and respect for his daughters. The conversations are very much about hearing and respecting their views, his views, and then the growth that we can all have from that. And I think now’s the time when we all need to listen as much as we talk.”
As for stepping into Tevye’s shoes, Sussman knows there are some big ones to fill – including those of Chaim Topol and Anthony Warlow – but Sussman very much plans to make the role his own.
“Within Australia, to be the first Australian Jew [to play Tevye] is exciting and daunting, and a challenge. But one that I think I’m ready for,” he said.
Sussman also spoke to the relationship between Tevye and the fiddler, played by Ben Adler. Describing it as almost a “Shakespearean Puck–on-the-shoulder situation”, Sussman explained that Adler will be musically underscoring the way Tevye feels throughout the piece.
“We still get the music that we know of Fiddler, and the songs are still there, but I think people will really see the conversations” Troy Sussman
“I think that’s a really lovely expression of that art,” Sussman said.
As for what they hope the audience connects with while watching the production, Sussman and Fishman said they ultimately hope it shows joy.
While Sussman said he knows the Jewish audience will see themselves – their history, their traditions and their emotions – reflected back in the piece, he said he hopes the non-Jewish audience gets a sense of how Jews have to come to be where they are today.
“But also, to see the love of community, tradition and culture, the rituals and the beauty of Judaism. I hope they take that away.”
Fishman echoed Sussman’s feelings. “I’m hopeful that maybe we can win some hearts and change some minds just by being who we are.”
Sussman and Fishman will be joined on stage by a stellar cast, including several Jewish faces, with Freya Boltman as Tzeitel, Maxwell Simon playing Perchik, Ritchie Singer as Lazar Wolf, Romy Juliette Glass as Shprintze and Rubin Matters as Mendel. The cast is also backed by resident director, Gary Abrahams.
Fiddler on the Roof will be at Theatre Royal Sydney from July 31, before heading to Brisbane in October and then to Melbourne’s Her Majesty’s Theatre from October 31. For tickets, visit fiddlerontherooftour.com
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