University of Virginia Library

Poignant Scene

The most poignant and moving
scene was the final and climatic one
in which the Jews are all evicted
from their village of Anetevka. In
this scene not only did Tevye lose
his home but he was leaving one
daughter in Siberia, one in Cracow,
and one he refused any longer to
recognize (because she had married
a Christian). In a highly charged
atmosphere in which Tevye is not
only at odds with his own emotions
but also with the other members of
his family who so desperately need
to draw together in this hour of
crisis the family is suddenly reunited
in a truly memorable and
unashamedly tearful scene. The
audience is not left with a feeling of
the tragic catastrophe which has
befallen these people but rather
with one of the joy for these
people, for their reunion, most of
all for their capacity to endure
hardship and setbacks and to smile
through them.

The production can be characterized
as brilliant and outstanding.
The technical aspects such as
choreography, lighting, and properties
were all splendid. The acting
could not have been more convincing
in nearly every case; even the
children, usually the most hard to
portray and the most difficult
positions to fill competently, were
convincing. While some aspects in
the direction of the play were a
little off-putting, such as the
non-emphasis of previously most
effective Jewish accents, presumable
to spare offense in today's
liberal society, and the aforementioned
presentation of Perchik, the
modern Gueverra-esque Czarist
Russian radical, the great majority
of the work was simply outstanding;
the best production to date.