The New York Times - Highly Recommended
"...The superb new production, which opened on Sunday at the Broadway Theater, certainly honors the show's ebullience of spirit, as embodied in the central character of the Jewish milkman Tevye, living in a Russian shtetl in the early 20th century, eternally wagging his tongue, shaking his fist and cracking wise at an indifferent God."
NY Daily News - Recommended
"...One of the great and most enduring Broadway musicals. The new revival does a fine job mining this rich vein of material...Performances are very good, as is the lively dancing choreographed by Hofesh Schechter that taps tradition and some contemporary moves. But the curious scenery often gets in the show's way. It makes for a distracting, busy and slow-pokey production of a tightknit musical."
Associated Press - Highly Recommended
"...Vibrant and brilliant and heartfelt...The only odd note in this show is Golde, who is too shrill and one dimensional, and struggles with the vocal requirements. She never reveals her crusted-over warmth and her duet with Tevye is consequently underwhelming. But brilliant touches are everywhere elsewhere...It all adds up to a remarkable achievement. From the first moment to the profound last, this 'Fiddler on the Roof' is a triumph. The show is the star."
Hollywood Reporter - Recommended
"...The revival owes much of its emotional heft to impeccable casting. Burstein's naturally jovial manner is well matched with the invaluable Jessica Hecht's sober take on Tevye's careworn wife Golde, a woman mostly too preoccupied with the responsibilities of running a household and managing five daughters to permit herself even a moment of levity. That makes her hesitant display of tenderness in response to Tevye's "Do You Love Me?" all the more touching. This is a woman who shows her feelings sparingly, so her outpouring of grief when it comes is devastating. And while the rapport between husband and wife has long been defined by mild sparring, their body language together as they share moments of pain or happiness speaks volumes."
New York Theater - Somewhat Recommended
"...The biggest surprise of a production directed by Bartlett Sher, is how ultimately unexceptional his 'Fiddler' feels...I wondered during the show whether the cast had been under-rehearsed...The fiddler in this production at one point flies in the air. This is again, perhaps a way to underscore how rootless Tevye and the rest of the villagers are - and again, an embellishment not needed, given the clear message from the script...But Danny Burstein does make this 'Fiddler' worth seeing."
NY1 - Highly Recommended
"...Director Bart Sher and lead actor Danny Burstein deliver as movingly dramatic a 'Fiddler' as we're ever likely to see...The performances are mixed. Jessica Hecht as Golde seems at first miscast and her accent out of place but her talent ultimately prevails...Sher's emphasis on the dramatic core of the story is well served by Burstein whose warmly understated command of the iconic Tevye - mastering the comedy and tragedy - wins our hearts completely."
Variety - Recommended
"...Some may take exception to some of Sher's tinkering with the template of the beloved title, but few will find fault in Burstein's gentle, lovable man of faith...Other touches seem unfinished, unclear or labored...Registering strongest among the new perspectives are the new movements and dances...Most of the cast breathes natural air into the production - sometimes with idiosyncratic touches that pop, and a few that fall flat...But in the end it's Burstein who carries the show."
USA Today - Highly Recommended
"...Danny Burstein's performance anchors a production that, like Sher's previous stagings of American classics reveals both the timelessness and the contemporary pertinence of the work. His 'Fiddler' is arguably even more revelatory...Sher does this with the support of a seamless cast and an intuitive, inventive design team...What this 'Fiddler' shows us most powerfully is the resilience of love. For all its specific insights, it delivers that simple and universal message, thrillingly."
Newsday - Somewhat Recommended
"...Broadway has seen more visually beautiful stagings of 'Fiddler,' and there definitely have been funnier ones. But Sher achieves a dramatic coherence that appreciates the musical's showbiz qualities but honors the authenticity of its humanity...What the production does not have is the stunning originality that made Sher's other big revivals singular. Michael Yeargan's sets lack character...Worse, much worse, are the busy, wiggly-armed, contorted dances."
amNY - Recommended
"...Bartlett Sher respects the material while enlivening it. The scenes are staged with acute sensitivity, while a full orchestra plays the timeless score...Less successful is the spare visual design, in which two-dimensional, floating pieces of scenery are pitted against a gray brick wall...Bottom line: except for the questionable design, this is a superb production of one of the greatest musicals of all time with an exceptional cast."
Wall Street Journal - Recommended
"...This production, intelligent and imaginative though it is, falls short of the mark, and the reasons why it does so say something revealing about the appeal of the show itself...Such things ought to make us weep-and in this production, they don't... mostly, I think, because Mr. Sher has throttled back the feelings too far. One feels distant from his 'Fiddler,' neatly framed as it is by the vaulting proscenium arch of the Broadway Theatre, which is too big for the show."
NorthJersey - Highly Recommended
"...The revival of 'Fiddler on the Roof' is wonderful - not because it offers a wildly different take on the popular musical, but by revealing the heart and soul of the story in such a fresh way...The production runs almost three hours, but it moves so smoothly, it seems much shorter."
NBC New York - Highly Recommended
"...Traditionalists needn't expect tsuris. This new "Fiddler," gorgeous and affecting, is a respectful staging of the Jerry Bock-Sheldon Harnick classic, with modernities here and there to keep us on our toes. (Yep, that's Motel and Tzeitel sneaking away for a passionate make-out session at their wedding. The mores in this shtetl ... oy!)"
Time Out New York - Highly Recommended
"...Revelatory direction, eloquent visuals and that sublime klezmer-inflected score by Sheldon Harnick and Jerry Bock-what more do you need? A great Tevye, and Burstein is nothing short of a miracle, finding the modern mensch in Tevye, as well as the hard-nosed, belief-bound peasant. Rather than bluster or roar his way through the role, Burstein has a delicate, almost motherly touch, kibbitzing with God for laughs and tearing out our hearts by the end. No other actor could juggle the comedy and tragedy masks with such style, such a bittersweet dance with tradition."
The Guardian - Recommended
"...That red parka even lends a splash of color to Sher's elegant, well-acted, if not especially distinct revival...He conjures graceful and truthful performances from his actors and draws humor from their humanity."
Deadline - Somewhat Recommended
"...Centrally, however, it's the staging that struck me as slightly distancing. This is a show whose audience for the most part knows every line - not only to the songs by Sheldon Harnick and Jerry Bock from "If I Were A Rich Man," "Matchmaker, Matchmaker," and "Sabbath Prayer" to "Sunrise, Sunset" and the rest - but of the dialogue as well. Too often I had the impression of lines being recited rather than felt, and 0f lyrics being presented, rather than sung. This may have been in part due to the amplification, which I found diffuse and overbearing; only the choral numbers had any magic. But the company struck me as hellbent on selling a Broadway show that needs no salesmanship."
CurtainUp - Highly Recommended
"...As he did with 'The King and I', 'South Pacific' and 'Golden Boy' Bartlett Sher has brought his own vision to this production and yet remained true to the show's view of tradition as ongoing, changing and ever meaningful to people of all faiths...Despite more than a quarter century of Teyves, the role now seems written for Danny Burstein...He connects so fully and naturally with the audience that his comic reflections on life seem as much with them as with God."
Talkin Broadway - Not Recommended
"...Works well enough in the dialogue scenes, admittedly among the very best I've seen in any 'Fiddler'...But when the music starts, Sher and his choreographer, Hofesh Shechter make sure any and all energy and feeling evaporate...Flaccid new dance arrangements and uninspired new orchestrations further denude the show. Michael Yeargan's scenic design is lazy, too...Most of the performances are uncomfortably in line with Sher's depressive vision."
American Theater Web - Highly Recommended
"...It charms, amuses, and stirs. Often in the same moment...The joys of the production become abundantly apparent...This 'Fiddler' looks extraordinary...It all combines to make this 'Fiddler on the Roof' one that, for today, seems as if it is somehow definitive."
TheaterMania - Highly Recommended
"...Positively transcendent - a luminous new view on a timeless tale...No element of the production better represents the happy synthesis of old and new than Hofesh Shechter's vibrant choreography...Shechter and Sher offer this story of a traditional society at the precipice as something universal, without negating the play's indelible Jewish identity...Sher endows this beautiful and timely production with a sense of optimism and continuity."
Scribicide - Highly Recommended
"Broadway musicals are so often disappointing because they don't really believe in the value of their silliness. In other words, they hedge their bets...The joys of this show (and this particular revival) come in its ability to make the audience submit to childish but essential feelings, the kinds that inspire us to belt show tunes off-key and dance like idiots. Indeed, I soon found myself vigorously waggling my arms like Tevye immediately after the show. It felt exquisite."
Huffington Post - Recommended
"...The best 'Fiddler' we've seen since the original...'Fiddler' continues Sher's streak with revivals of musical classics...The new dances are lively and evocative...The company is generally strong, although Burstein is in a class by himself...Here we have a new 'Fiddler' which should thrill audiences who are getting their first look at the iconic favorite, while at the same time reinforcing the wonders of Bock & Harnick's classic for old friends and fans."
Front Row Center - Recommended
"...It is a sober revival, unsentimental, yet headstrong and emotionally charged...The down side of staging a mostly serious 'Fiddler' is that the more broadly comic characters pay a price...Act One takes its sweet time in surrendering its pleasures...Act Two, on the other hand, feels in a hurry to get the audience out before the three hour mark...Hofesh Shechter's sharp-edged choreography is thrilling."
The Clyde Fitch Report - Recommended
"...This return to Tevye and his isolated, increasingly beleaguered Anatevka is perfectly respectful. It should more than satisfy those audiences familiar with it as well as audiences who've never seen it before...Burstein also fronts a cast in which every member is up to the task...Sher and Shechter stage a tableau that instantly conjures the refugees from the Syrian conflict now treading across Europe. If only for this reason, this 'Fiddler' is forever."
ZEALnyc - Somewhat Recommended
"Not schmaltzy at all, but rather subdued, perhaps a bit too subdued for all the gusto and verve that 'Fiddler' should offer...This respectful production makes one change: the introduction of a new framing device...But—it's a big, sad but—there's something missing. This 'Fiddler' is not balanced perfectly between heart-stopping emotion and stomach-curdling schmaltz. It errs on the side of gentility, of relatability."
BroadwaySelect - Highly Recommended
"Now we have another game-changer in town...It applies to director Bartlett Sher's exciting new vision for 'Fiddler on the Roof'...'Times are changing' and Sher has caused a change in 'Fiddler', too, making an already potent story far more involving...You'll have to experience this 'Fiddler' yourself. Do discover the substantial number of thoughtful touches that Bartlett Sher has brought to a classic which in the process has created a classic of his own."
Front Mezz Junkies - Recommended
"Burstein is remarkable in the role of the father who must deal with the ever-changing world…He's a magnificently talented singer and actor, with a wonderful sense of timing and an inner sense of joy and mischief that is so needed to play the lovely warm and funny character, Tevye…As for the other roles and songs, there are many highs and a few lows throughout the show…This brings me to probably my biggest complaint with the show. I just didn't like the set design."
Broadway World - Highly Recommended
"...An exemplary revival, especially focused on the solidly acted and deeply thoughtful performances...This time around there's more grounded focus on Tevye's emotional conflict....A wonderful, character-driven score...Sung and acted splendidly. 'Fiddler' is a great example of intelligent, literate musical theatre that invigorates the heart and entertains the spirit. But it has to be done right. Some details can be argued, but overall, Bartlett Sher has done it right."
