Tevye’s Back — And He’s Brought Half of Equity With Him article by Pete Shaw

If you thought Fiddler on the Roof had already milked every last ounce of poignancy out of Tevye’s travails, think again: the Barbican is about to unleash a revival so exuberant, so award-encrusted, it’s practically a health hazard.

Expect love, life, heartbreak, revolution and more fabulous set design than strictly necessary

Fresh from its Olivier triumphs (Best Musical Revival, Best Set Design, Best Sound Design — basically everything but Best Catering), Fiddler will shuffle, stomp and shimmy into the Barbican from 24 May to 19 July, before embarking on a five-month UK and Ireland tour that’s longer than some marriages.

Leading the cast are Olivier nominees Adam Dannheisser (Tevye), Lara Pulver (Golde) and Beverley Klein (Yente), with a supporting ensemble so large it could easily form its own small principality. Natasha Jules Bernard, Georgia Bruce, Hannah Bristow, Ashleigh Schuman, Georgia Dixon — if you’ve ever played a spirited daughter or looked wistfully into the middle distance, congratulations: you might be in this production.

And if you’re worried about missing Tevye during his tea break, fear not. Matthew Woodyatt is your alternate milkman-slash-Innkeeper, proving that in 2024, even your understudy needs a side hustle.

Director Jordan Fein (Oklahoma! at the Young Vic), choreographer Julia Cheng (Cabaret), and designer Tom Scutt (fresh off a 2024 Tony win for Cabaret) are at the helm, promising a production so slick and moving it might just have you asking a higher power why you didn’t buy tickets sooner.

The show will roll out hit after hit — If I Were A Rich Man, Tradition, Matchmaker — with more soaring ballads, tragicomic moments, and existential hand-wringing than you can shake a shtetl at.

The producers, meanwhile, are practically clutching pearls in excitement: “a first class cast,” “landmark production,” “truly special” — it’s the press release equivalent of showering the audience in confetti and pleading, please love us.

But honestly? You probably will. This Fiddler promises old-school heart with new-school swagger. It’s part of the Barbican’s campaign to make summer musicals as essential as SPF 50 and overpriced Aperol Spritzes, following their smash hits Anything Goes, Kiss Me, Kate, and A Strange Loop.

In short: expect love, life, heartbreak, revolution, more fabulous set design than strictly necessary — and absolutely no discount on the ice cream.

Book now, or prepare to sing “Sunrise, Sunset” in bitter regret.

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