Playing the role of Tevye in the musical Fiddler on the Roof has always been on Richard Travis’ bucket list. And now, he gets to check that item off.
“Tevye is the everyman,” says Travis who will appear in the role at the Weinstein JCC December 5 through 15. “The show itself is universal. People in any country at any time are going through some kind of conflict. This is a story of family and keeping the family together and going through change. It’s about how generations deal with that conflict between tradition and modern concepts.”
Fiddler on the Roof is one of the “stories we should be telling,” says director Debra Clinton, noting the Weinstein JCC first produced the show in 2009. “There is a lot of turmoil now around the world. This is a story that is relevant over and over again all around the world.”
Travis, who has a background in Shakespearian and musical roles, was in Virginia Repertory Theatre’s production of Fiddler more than 10 years ago, playing Lazar Wolf, the wealthy butcher, but until now, he hadn’t scored the coveted role of Tevye, a poor Jewish milkman.
“I’m very selective as to what I want to do,” he says. “Fiddler changed musical theatre in the 20th century, especially about Jewish people. At any given time there is a production being produced or in production. This show has been perpetuated over 50 years and will continue to do so.”
Travis, a Delaware native and James Madison University alum, came to Richmond to work at Theater IV before becoming the assistant production manager at Virginia Opera. “I ended up staying here,” he says, adding that he didn’t appear on stage again until he scored the role of Lazar at Virginia Rep. “That was my first foray back into professional theatre.”
Today, Travis works full time with autistic students at Goochland Elementary and does theatre on a freelance basis.
Clinton has worked with Travis several times and finds him to be a man of “gravitas, stature, warmth, kindness and humor,” she says, adding she’s excited to see him as Tevye. “Whenever you tackle an iconic role, you always think of what people will be anticipating. It’s hard to get that out of your head and he delivers. He personalizes it and makes the role his.”
When the production was first announced, she was overwhelmed in a positive way at how many people were interested in being in the show. The cast ranges from 11 years old to 60 plus. “I wanted to have a leaner and meaner Fiddler, to update the production. I wanted to streamline it,” she says. “Last time we did it, we had around 35 people. We are now at a cast of 25.”
By streamlining the cast, Clinton is able to focus on the intimacy of a village where everyone knows everyone.
“I wanted to capture the sense of it being an enclosed community. Historically, Jewish people have been safe that way and also isolated that way. I think that happens to cultural communities in any city.”
The show marks the 15th anniversary production of the Jewish Family Theatre and is honoring Earl Ferguson, former past president of the Weinstein JCC and a strong supporter of the theatre. “He was our Tevye in our 2009 production,” Clinton says. “The violinist playing our Fiddler is Marissa Resmini, who is very well known in Richmond music and theatre circles.”
One of the most important takeaways from the musical is that “it’s not just a Jewish story,” Clinton says. “Anyone can find relevance in it.”
