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<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: center"
align=center><B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><FONT size=3>‘Fiddler’ milestone mere
icing for GLTG production<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns =
"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></B></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: center"
align=center><B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><o:p><FONT
size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></B></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: center"
align=center><B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><FONT size=3>Bob
Abelman<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></B></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: center"
align=center><I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN
style="COLOR: #1f497d; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><FONT
size=3>News-Herald, Chagrin Valley Times, Solon Times, Geauga Times
Courier<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></I></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: center"
align=center><SPAN
style="COLOR: #1f497d; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><FONT size=3>Member,
International Association of Theatre Critics <o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: center"
align=center><I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><o:p><FONT
size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></I></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: center"
align=center><SPAN
style="COLOR: #1f497d; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><FONT size=3>This
review appeared in the <I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">News-Herald
</I>3/20/09</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><o:p><FONT
size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><FONT size=3>Last Saturday night’s
presentation of the Geauga Lyric Theater Guild’s <I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Fiddler on the Roof</I> marked the
1000<SUP>th</SUP> <I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Fiddler</I> performance
for Marty Ross Moskow, who plays the lead role of Tevya.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>As monumental as this is, it is not
Moskow’s most significant contribution.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN>Rather, for two and a half hours, he helps the sleepy bedroom community
of Chardon be in touch with its Semitic side.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
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style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><o:p><FONT
size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN"><FONT
size=3>The musical <I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Fiddler on the
Roof</I> tells a tale of the hardships of Jewish life in the fictional Russian
village of Anatevka in 1905.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>It
centers on </FONT><A title=Tevye href=""><SPAN
style="COLOR: windowtext; TEXT-DECORATION: none; text-underline: none"><FONT
size=3>Tevye</FONT></SPAN></A><FONT size=3>, a dairyman and the father of five
strong-willed daughters.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>He
struggles to maintain the day-to-day existence of his family and the integrity
of his faith’s traditions while the modern world and a tsarist government seek
to terminate both.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN><o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><o:p><FONT
size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><FONT size=3>Nothing could be further
from the ancestry of most of the folks on either side of the Geauga Theater
stage.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Yet Moskow’s marvelous
performance of one of the most cherished roles in one of the most well-crafted
Broadway shows in history manages to hit home.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><o:p><FONT
size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><FONT size=3>His bold baritone
supports every ensemble number and is the foundation that sustains this
production.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><o:p><FONT
size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><FONT size=3>His boundless energy and
passion for this play lifts and carries the more than 50 members of this
cast.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><o:p><FONT
size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><FONT size=3>His understanding and
communication of the spiritual roots of this story help transport both the cast
and the audience to another time and a far-away place to gain insight into a
heritage that is not their own.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><o:p><FONT
size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><FONT size=3>Sure, there are moments
when this community theater production falters.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Some of Moskow’s motions and motivations
lack spontaneity, the consequence of having reenacted them 999 times.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Some of the lead role performances pale
by comparison, the consequence of having a ringer in the room.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Some of Lisa-Marie French’s choreography
suffers simply by having more than 50 bodies simultaneously crammed into the
same small space, causing joyous scenes to be less
joyful.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><o:p><FONT
size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><FONT size=3>Nonetheless, this is a
monumental effort by director Karen Porter and her production team of Bruce
Locke, John Hazard, Jim Koehnle, Pat Ingram, Kerry Allenby and Terri
Zernechel.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>The entire show looks
and sounds beautiful, and there are many marvelous moments to be proud
of.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><o:p><FONT
size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><FONT size=3>The bottle dance during
Tzeitel’s wedding is superb.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>The
“Do You Love Me” duet between Tevya and his wife Golda, played by Julie
Douglass, is tender and moving.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>The
staging of the very poignant pilgrimage out of Anatevka at the end of Act 2 is a
masterful combination of traffic control and theatrical wherewithal.
<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><o:p><FONT
size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><FONT size=3>In addition, stellar
performances are delivered by Jim Ray as Lazar Wolf the Butcher, Mayim Hambeln
as Tevya’s middle daughter Chava, Civia Wiesner as Yenta the Matchmaker, and
Anthony Nedelman as Mendel the Rabbi’s son.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Brief cameo appearances by Cindi
Verbelum as the dead Fruma-Sarah and Patricia Osredkar as Grandma Tzeitel are
superb.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN><o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><o:p><FONT
size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><FONT size=3>Perhaps the finest and
most genuine performance during the evening of Moskow’s 1000<SUP>th</SUP> was
turned in by a novice to the community theater stage, four-year-old Jeanna
Sukey.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>She danced with absolute
abandon, was in the moment every moment, and stepped out of the ensemble curtain
call to take her very own bow.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN><o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><o:p><FONT
size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=3><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN">This musical’s
title was inspired by a wall panel painting by Marc Chagall.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>It depicts a carefree fiddler sitting on
a chair perched on a roof and playing in a state of imbalance and peril—a
metaphor for survival by maintaining an enthusiasm for life and clinging fast to
tradition.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>The <SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>GLTG tapped that metaphor, in large part
due to big </SPAN><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'">Marty Ross
Moskow reliving it and little Jeanna Sukey learning about it</SPAN><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN">.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN"><o:p><FONT
size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=3><I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN></SPAN></I><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">Fiddler
on the Roof<I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"> continues through April 5 at
the </I></SPAN><I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'">Geauga Theater, 101 Water St.,
Chardon.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>For tickets, which are $12
for students/seniors and $14 for adults, call 440-286-2255 or visit <A
href=""><FONT color=#0000ff>www.geaugatheater.org</FONT></A>.</SPAN></I><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
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