Youth Theatre Northwest actors (clockwise) Trey McGee as Tevye, Mari Hamp as Golde, Sophia Tiscornia as Bielke, and Hannah Leahy as Shprintze perform Fiddler on The Roof through March 22.
ADVERTISEMENT
IF YOU GO
Where: Youth Theatre Northwest, 8805 S.E. 40th St., Mercer Island
When: Through March 22; Fridays and Saturdays at 7 p.m., Saturdays and Sundays at 2 p.m.
Tickets: $13, special pricing for groups of 10 or more, two rows of bench seating down front for kids.
Have your own rising star? Youth Theatre Northwest offers drama classes for kids ages 3-18. Topics include fundamentals, stage combat, dance, auditions, and much more. Spring classes begin in April.
Youth Theatre Northwest Pulls Off a Poignant Fiddler on the Roof
By Machelle Allman
I have to admit, I was a little skeptical when I first heard about Youth Theatre Northwest’s production of Fiddler on the Roof. Kids with beards? How could a cast of actors ages 6 to 18 pull off a play about an impoverished Jewish milkman in 1905 Russia, who is blessed with five daughters, and his struggle with his place in the changing world?
To approach the material, Director Kate Swenson says she began with the relationships. The kids could relate to the family dynamics and know what it’s like to have someone say “no” to something they really care about. Later in the rehearsal process they tackled the historical and political context.
As fans of the musical already know, the success of the work rests heavily on the role of Tevye, and leading man Trey McGee is an engaging young actor with a loose-limbed physicality that brings to mind a young Jim Carrey or Steve Martin.
On opening night, the young cast’s jitters quickly settled down, and there were a number of really fine moments, including Tevye and Golde’s dream and Hodel’s song “Far from the Home I Love.” Haley Gadzik’s interpretation of this number would hold its own on any stage in the area, children’s theater or otherwise.
Swenson says Fiddler on the Roof as performed by a young cast has an added poignancy, because as they grow up they will begin to experience these life lessons firsthand. They also add freshness to a classic by finding their own meaning in the material.
The show is about two and a half hours with one intermission. It seems best geared toward the 5-and-older set, though Youth Theatre Northwest does allow babes in arms.
A word to the wise: Opening night was sold out, so get your tickets quickly for these kids with beards!
Machelle Allman is a Seattle educator, actor, and mom of a first-grader.
