Mark David Kaplan and Cast Photo by Brett Beiner

Even without reading Margolius' note, it would be difficult from the start to miss the fact that this is not going to be the Fiddler you might remember. Margolius begins the first scene as is, well, traditional, with Tevye alone on stage; however, when he is finished with his opening monologue and things open up to include the townspeople of Anatevka, things change. We are introduced to a clump of people who remain tightly bound throughout the opening number, moving so slowly and stealthily downstage that one is simultaneously drawn to them as the embodiment of a tight-knit town and repelled by the machine-like precision that is a contradiction to the message that the song conveys.

Throughout the play, the director maintains this style through scenes that, except in certain–but not all–intimate conversations, are staged so that the characters might as well be on different planets speaking to each other over some invisible radios. The fine acting, for the most part, keeps these scenes alive, but any possibility for us to care about the dissolution of a family, let alone a town, is broken when there are so few connections to see. Margolius is far more likely to show us such connections, at least briefly, in the younger generation, perhaps suggesting that the "traditions" of the town simply don't allow them. Still, so many presentational tableaus just end up making connections impossible.

(I did not notice the "we'll be neighbors" line at the end, when Tevye (Mark David Kaplan) and Lazar Wolf (Joel Gelman) tell each other where they will be going. I could have missed it, I suppose, but I was waiting for it, and anyway it is a laugh line that is meant to relieve a tiny bit of the ending's depressing mood. I think it was cut, another "connection" missed. If someone who is part of the production corrects me on this, I will be happy to delete this paragraph.)

One of the notable early examples of the staging overwhelming the mood comes in "Tevye's Dream," in which the characters of Grandma Tzeitel (Susan Hofflander) and Fruma-Sarah (Dara Cameron) face upstage from the most upstage part of the set, turning around and moving in the general direction of Tevye and Golde (Janna Cardia) only near the end of the former's blessing and the latter's curse. Despite the use of giant Mike Tutaj projections that allow the audience to see their faces the whole time, there is something completely off-putting about all of this. Neither Tevye nor Golde ever actually interacts with the "spirits," minimizing the latter's terrified response to her husband's story.

Though Margolius and choreographer Romy Sandhu do everything possible within the director's well-maintained construct to breathe life into the play, they are almost always foiled by the lack of connection. Only in the wedding dance–which is blatantly about connection, as the notion of men and women dancing together causes a scandal in the town–is the movement much more emotional than the Russian soldier's "bottle dance" (which anyway is done sans bottles here, as Margolius has also done away with all props for some reason, though a props designer is still listed in the program).

All of this stasis is visualized in Jack Magaw's scenic design, which has the exterior of Tevye's tiny house fixed permanently upstage center while the various scrims and screens for projections roll in from the sides. It is easily the least exciting set for this play that I've ever seen, but it is certainly consistent with Margolius' vision.

In addition to the excellent projections, the technical side of this production is strong. Jason Lynch's lighting design helps portray Anatevka as a town not built for showcasing: even as he allows you to see everything you need to see, there are interesting and realistic shadows and other variations in the light. Linda Roethke's costumes are impeccable, as is Ray Nardelli's sound design, which allows the uniformly wonderful singing (aided by music director Chris Sargent) to shine.

The actors, for the most part, do their best within the concept to make things come alive. There is a definite connection between Tzeitel (Emma Rosenthal) and Motel (Michael Kurowski, whose "Miracle of Miracles" moves are one of the play's highlights). Perchik (Zach Sorrow) and Hodel (Yael Eden Chanukov) are often laden with movements and stage pictures that more closely adhere to Margolius' theory of the play, but they too manage to find moments, in addition to the aforementioned wedding scene, to illustrate their human connection. Would that Chava (Abby Goldberg) and Fyedka (Grant Killian) had been afforded the same opportunity. Only Janet Ulrich Brooks, with her winning portrayal of Yente the matchmaker, consistently rises above the constraints of the blocking to create a living, multi-dimensional character. (Right? Of course right!)

My only acting complaint is with Kaplan's uninteresting take on Tevye. This is a character who, despite his lowly position in the world, is usually portrayed as clearly (as the song tells us) the "master of the house." Yet Kaplan's portrayal, coupled with Margolius' approach, makes him feel small. There is no real confidence to be found in this Tevye: even in his interactions with his immediate family, his portrayal doesn't justify the reactions he gets–the fear that Motel feels about him, the positive attitudes of townspeople toward him, etc. Yes, in the grand scheme of things, Tevye is a small, unimportant person whose position in the world makes his outsized "If I Were a Rich Man" dreams sad and frustrating, but I've never seen him this impotent within his own home. His rejection of Chava, in this light, feels pathetic rather than sad, though it does have the effect of justifying the rest of the family's covert, even if painful, acceptance of their sister and daughter.

Overall fine acting matched with interesting design decisions and clear and consistent directorial insight usually means a slam-dunk recommendation. This time, though, I found my enjoyment of the play so often confounded by its style that I ended up focusing only on missed opportunities. A few times, the tableaus that Margolius shows us create such fascinating stage pictures that they almost justify everything else; ultimately, though, this Fiddler on the Roof feels like a missed opportunity itself.

Fiddler on the Roof runs through March 24, 2024, at the Drury Lane Theatre, 100 Drury Lane, Oakbrook IL. For tickets and information, please visit drurylanetheatre.com.