Company shows why ‘Fiddler’ is so charming

People who pass through the village of Anatevka don’t even know they’ve been there. It’s a “blink-and-you-miss-it” kind of place. But Anatevka was the center of the universe on Saturday at the Maine Center for the Arts, where musical lovers brought their children, their memories and their applause to linger for three hours within its town lines.

Or stage lines, as the case may be. Anatevka is the legendary setting for “Fiddler on the Roof,” which a national touring company intrepidly presented to two sold-out houses in Orono despite a snowstorm that shut down other weekend activities in the area.

It would be fair to say that the 1964 musical has unstoppable charm even after all these years. With the infinitely hummable tunes of “Tradition,” “Matchmaker, Matchmaker,” “If I Were a Rich Man” and “Sunrise, Sunset,” the adaptation of Sholem Aleichem’s stories of Jewish families in 1905 Czarist Russia still has the power to make us laugh and to give us pause.

None of that magic works, however, if there isn’t a powerfully charismatic Tevye, the narrator, whose musings with God and struggles with faith are the real story of “Fiddler.” Anyone undertaking the role has to contend with comparisons to Zero Mostel, Topol and even Harvey Fierstein, who is making his own mark as Tevye in the hit revival now on Broadway.

In Saturday’s matinee performance, John Preece banished comparisons. He embodied Tevye completely. With the heart, soul, head and humor of the poor milkman with five daughters, a nagging wife and a hobbled horse, Preece richly and warmly welcomed the audience to his Anatevka. One of the pinnacles in any representation of Tevye is the solo dance he does during “If I Were a Rich Man.” Simple and personal, it is not a choreographic achievement. Rather, it reveals the soul of the man, his delight in his dreams and the superior wealth of his imagination. It’s a signature moment: Tevye shimmying across the stage, shaking his substantial stomach, arms raised proudly and prayer shawl tassels bouncing beneath his jacket. Preece had the strut and the gut, and his star quality carried the show tenderly and forcefully.

The other triumph of the show was choreography by Sammy Dallas Bayes, whom Jerome Robbins cast in the original Broadway production of “Fiddler.” Bayes, who also directed Saturday’s touring show, was responsible for notating the original choreography and has restaged “Fiddler” many times in his long career. Even though the large cast found itself crowding onto a stage that was too small for the full village scenes, the corps of male dancers accomplished outstanding feats as Cossacks in the celebratory inn scene and as traditional bottle dancers during the wedding scene.

Except for Hannelies Hepler, whose Golde was humorless and overly brusque, the cast was enjoyable and fun, and the live six-person band led by Nathan Thomas gave the music a robust sound.

With its book by Joseph Stein, music by Jerry Bock and lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, “Fiddler” is one of America’s best-written and best-scored musicals. It is also one of the most performed titles in school, community and amateur theaters. This 40th anniversary commemorative tour showed why and put yet another feather in the “Fiddler” cap.