As with many musical theatre goers, my exposure to Broadway began in my childhood with the wonderful original cast albums, and in many times, the Movie musicals that they spawned. It was true with me, and one of the first ones I had the pleasure of seeing was Fiddler On The Roof. Along with My Fair Lady, The Wizard of Oz and The Sound of Music, it formed very much the soundtrack to my childhood and teenage years, so I’m always interested in revisiting these, and also hearing new recordings and versions.

Broadway Records, the label that in just four years has become one of the premiere record labels in the industry, has released the 2016 Broadway Cast Album of Fiddler on the Roof. The recording is currently available at The Broadway Theatre, on the label's website, broadwayrecords.com and from major retailers that carry a selection of cast albums (including major download retailers such as iTunes). The album is produced by David Lai, Ted Sperling and Louise Gund. A beloved theatrical classic from Tony Award-winner Joseph Stein, and Pulitzer Prize- winners Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnick, Fiddler on the Roof is directed by Tony Award- winner Bartlett Sher (South Pacific, The King and I); choreographed by the acclaimed Israeli choreographer Hofesh Shechter; inspired by the original choreography of Jerome Robbins; and has musical direction by Ted Sperling.

Fiddler on the Roof is the heartwarming story of fathers and daughters, husbands and wives, and life, love and laughter. This classic musical is rich with Broadway hits, including 'To Life (L’Chaim!),' 'If I Were A Rich Man,' 'Sunrise Sunset,' 'Matchmaker, Matchmaker,' and 'Tradition.' The original Broadway production of Fiddler on the Roof, which opened in 1964, was the first musical in history to surpass 3,000 performances. The show won the 1965 Tony Award for Best Musical in addition to eight other Tony Awards that year. This acclaimed revival proudly introduces a new generation to the iconic musical adored across the globe.

The cast of Fiddler on the Roof features five-time Tony Award-nominee and Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Award-winner Danny Burstein (Cabaret, Golden Boy, Follies, South Pacific) as Tevye, Tony-nominee Jessica Hecht (A View From the Bridge, Breaking Bad, The Last Night of Ballyhoo) as Golde, Jenny Rose Baker (Annie Get Your Gun) as Shprintze, Michael C. Bernardi as Mordcha, Adam Dannheisser (Rock of Ages, The Coast of Utopia) as Lazar Wolf, Hayley Feinstein (Shrek The Musical, National Tour) as Bielke amongst others.

From the very first listen, this is obviously a well thought out, and well delivered cast recording. As is the norm for Broadway Records, the production values are extremely high (higher than the established labels such as Broadway Masterworks in my opinion) both in terms of sound quality, and also the excellent booklet and artwork, designed by Robbie Rozelle. The sound is helped by an enormous (for these days) orchestra of 23 players, under the direction of Sperling, who also contributed the new orchestrations. It sounds, well, amazing.

Performances are good, but I wasn’t blown away by any individual characterisations. It is all sung incredibly well, but I hesitate with some of the accents. Even with Tevye, his singing and speaking accents seem to drift between deepest Russia to somewhere west of Las Vegas, sometimes in the same number. I found this a little distracting at times, but not enough to spoil the experience. The ensemble numbers fair the best on this recording - 'To Life' is a stand out number, both vocally and instrumentally. The three daughters rendition of 'Matchmaker' also deserves a mention. I still don’t think 'Now I Have Everything' fits in the show - it’s too random and enharmonic, and jars across the other tracks - but it’s probably the best I’ve heard it sung. It was also nice to have a couple of bonus tracks, and surprising seen as this is such a large score, and there seem to have been very few cuts made (and, pleasingly, some libretto also recorded to add to the experience).

This is a lovely cast recording, and another success from Broadway Records.

8

Ian Gude