The latest production of classic musical Fiddler on the Roof is heading to Dublin. John Byrne meets Matthew Woodyatt, who plays the iconic lead role of Tevye.
Spectacular is a word that’s often overused. Especially in the hyperbolic world of entertainment. But when it comes to the current revival of Jerry Bock, Sheldon Harnick and Joseph Stein’s Fiddler on the Roof - a musical about a milkman in a fictional town in early 20th Century Imperial Russia - 'spectacular' is just a statement of fact.
Following a win for Best Musical Revival at this year’s Olivier Awards, as well as Best Set Design and Best Sound Design, this timeless and tune-laden classic is heading to the Bord Gáis Energy Theatre in October.
Featuring one of the most memorable scores in musical theatre history, Fiddler on the Roof boasts songs of the calibre of If I Were A Rich Man, Tradition, Matchmaker and Sunrise, Sunset. And it’s got a pretty universal story to tell.
It’s 1905 in the tiny, fictional village of Anatevka where Tevye, a Jewish milkman, lives his life by being faithful to his community’s proud traditions.
For each of his five daughters, that means a visit from the matchmaker.
As each daughter challenges his beliefs, against the backdrop of a changing world, can Tevye hold on to his roots, or must he bend to the will of his children and learn to embrace the unfamiliar?
Leading the cast in this production - direct from its summer season at London's Barbican Theatre - is Matthew Woodyatt as Tevye, Jodie Jacobs as Golde and Olivier Award nominee Beverley Klein as Yente.
Woodyatt's holding court in the BGET's Circle Club and cuts an imposing figure. A friendly smile and warm handshake tell a different tale.
John Byrne: Hello Matthew! I’ll give you an easy five-pointer to start the quiz. Are you looking forward to bringing Fiddler on the Roof of the Bord Gáis Energy Theatre?
Matthew Woodyatt: I really am! I’ve never played Dublin before, so I’m very excited. I’ve never even been in Dublin before now.
Coming from Cymcellen in Wales . . .
A tiny village in the middle of nowhere . . .
. . . were you always going to be in musical theatre? Were you one of those annoying kids who was always ‘performing’?
No. I might have been an annoying kid - but not in that way. I joined a youth theatre when I was 14 and that’s when it started. I thought, ‘Hmm. I can do this.’ It was run by a professional theatre company, and that was our only access.
In Wales at the time, in the valleys where I grew up, there wasn’t a lot of theatres.
If you see something, you can go, ‘Oh, maybe I’ll have a go at that . . .’ So I joined the youth theatre and stayed with them for about six years, until I left home.
I was going to do English, or whatever it was, at university. And then I decided that I’d like to have a go at drama school. And ended up going to the same drama school that the two men who ran the youth theatre went to 30 years before.
So, you know, full circle. And then I moved to London to train - and I’ve been there ever since.
Was singing always a part of your repertoire or did that come later?
I’m a Welshman. So singing - it’s there.
What is it with the Welsh and singing? I mean, even when you guys speak, it seems to be quite melodic? You just can’t do monotone . . .
The male voice choir culture - maybe less so now, as choirs get older - there’s always been an Eisteddfod, which is the competition for singing and speaking and poetry in the Welsh language.
I sometimes wonder if it’s to do with - I’m from the Valleys, and coal mining is central - and I wonder if it’s about people who live slightly grim lives. I think it was an escape for a lot of people.
Fiddler on the Roof’s been around for 61 years - and people still flock to see it. Says it all really, don’t you think?
Exactly. It’s a masterpiece.
One thing that struck me. It’s set in 1905, so 59 years later the Broadway musical arrives, and that’s now 61 years ago. It shows that it’s got a timeless quality.
When you watch these relationships on stage - because ultimately it’s a musical play about families; mothers and daughters, husbands and wives, lovers - every conversation, every argument in that show, somebody in the audience understands one side of that.
It’s so beautiful in that one side of every conversation goes in deep with someone. Everyone in the audience has someone who they champion, or that resonates with them.
As the father of a 15-year-old boy I never thought I’d be in Tevye’s position. But it’s very true, you know. My son experiences the world in a very different way to me. I feel like the world hasn’t changed - and yet his approach to the world and technology and all of those things is completely different to mine.
It’s tough being a parent. But it’s always been tough - it just gets different!
That’s the thing! Just different challenges.
You’ve taken on this truly iconic role. When you think of Fiddler on Roof and Tevye, you think of Topol from the movie, Zero Mostel on Broadway. I can only imagine what it was like seeing Zero Mostel in that part!
Extraordinary! And I think the later you saw the show, the longer the show was. He was quite naughty. I think some of the throwaway lines - the cast and I had a chat about this the other night - are Zero.
And they just wrote them down. Those little off-hand quips were all down to him. And they made their way into the script.
And isn’t that what smart writers do? Add in cast ad-libs that work?
Absolutely! If you’ve got Zero Mostel, all you’ve got to do is wind him up and send him off.
But pitting yourself against these guys, you obviously see it as a challenge. 'I want to nail this part!'
It is a challenge. It’s absolutely a challenge. And it’s an honour, really. For an actor of my age, and casting type - it’s the one. It’s Shakespearian in its scope and I get the chance to figure that out every night. Go through those machinations every night. I’ll go through those arguments and tie myself in knots. And then try to undo them.
It’s glorious.
And you get to sing a few decent tunes as well . . .
Just a couple . . . sometimes I wish I had less tunes to sing (laughs). I mean, the score is brilliant. It may be deceptively simple, but ultimately it’s so folky, it’s so simple in its brilliance, that you can’t not sing them.
Once Rich Man’s in your head, it’s in your head forever. You’re not getting rid of it.
And the choral singing in the show . . . like I said, it’s not leading from the front, it’s leading from the middle. When that full company of 30 are singing Tradition or Sabbath Prayer, it’s . . .
I stand at the front in the opening of the show and Tradition starts behind me, it never fails to get the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end.
That’s it, though. It’s primarily about family but ultimately about community . . .
It’s absolutely about community. And the relevance/resonance of it. Adam Dannheisser, who played Tevye at The Barbican - my predecessor - we chatted about this quite a lot.
He did the production on Broadway in 2015, and I did the production in Chichester in 2017. And obviously I’m doing this now, ten years later. And somewhere, somebody is going through what they’re going through. For whatever reason.
A community somewhere is having the same troubles.
That bigger resonance is very important. But what I love is the family/community, the nitty-gritty, very close-knit community that is the lifeblood of the show.
Fiddler on the Roof runs at Bord Gáis Energy Theatre from Tuesday October 7 to Saturday October 18 and tickets are on sale now through Ticketmaster.
