Church of the home

The Fiddler on the Roof was staged in New York in 1964. But it has held the stage for 38 years, because it is filled with wisdom, without wasting a word. And the beautiful songs follow hard upon each other: Tradition! . . . If I Were A Rich Man . . . Sabbath Prayer . . . . To Life! . . . Miracle of Miracles! . . . . Sunrise, Sunset . . . . Now I Have Everything! . . . . Far From the Home I Love . . . . Chavaleh . . . . Anatevka. It has become a Broadway Classic.

Saint Paul College Quezon City is presenting it in its beautiful new theater. It is playing every weekend in December, until Christmas. The theater is unusual, for a school. It is not an auditorium. It is not an assembly hall. It is exactly like the professional theaters on Broadway. It seats only 603. It is banked, with balconies that seem to hover over the stage. You can whisper on that stage, and be heard in the farther corner. And the acoustics is not an accident! Bobby Cericos, when he built it, encased it in three walls. A riot could be going on outside and you would not hear a sound in the theater!

Saint Paul College Quezon City cannot afford real live musicians, playing for 15 performances. But Sister Theresa Asencio, on the Yamaha, sounds like a symphony orchestra. She is a perfectionist. The performers, of course, are for the most part only students. But they sing like professionals. And they add another note: The vibrant joy of the young.

The choreography of Pamela Ortiz Bondoc has charm. It is natural, spontaneous, alive. The dancers always seem to love the dance. They are having more fun than the audience. And their happiness comes across the footlights, so the audience is joyful too.

The Russian Dancers were trained by Brezhnev Larlar. Beda Orquejo, who directed the video of the play, said: "They are so thin!" And that is true. They do not look like burly Russians, because they are poor boys from Cavite. But, being as slender as a knife, their dancing is electric. Pamela designed their dances, and Brezhnev trained them.

The only professional actor in the cast is Subas Herrero. He comes to the role of Teyve weighted with experience. He has been playing strong supporting roles for 50 years, ever since he began as a Shakesperean actor in the Ateneo, under the expert direction of Onofre Pagsanjan. In this play, he’s the star.

The leading girls were all trained in Saint Paul College Quezon City. They came to their first dramatic tryouts as timid, frightened children. And now they are accomplished performers – triple threats, singing, dancing, acting. Annabelle Regalado as Golde, Sarah Jane Jervoso as Tzeitel, Mary May Banawa as Hodel, Gabrielle Solomon as Chava, Emmy Masola as Yente the matchmaker; Carla Mumar as the wild Fruma Sarah, coming up out of her grave; Kristina Marie Evans as the gentle grandmother, appearing in a dream; Stephanie Albiento as Shprintze, and Abbie Dean as Bielke.

The male cast comes from all over the City, because Saint Paul College Quezon City is a girl’s school. Subas Herrero is the mainstay, playing Tevye. Kiko Ralonza, who is the leading tenor of the Ateneo Original Alumni Glee Club, plays Lazar Wolf; in the play he is a butcher, a widower, who wants to marry Tevye’s daughter Tzeitel. Bill Corneby, also of the Ateneo Original Alumni Glee Club, plays the Innkeeper, the principal figure in the spectacular bar scene.

Edwin Cruz is the leading lover boy, Motel Kamzoil, the tailor, courting Tzeitel. Archie Diaz is the rebel student from Kiev, Perchik. Emile Reyes is Avram, the bookseller. Paul Ang is the Russian Constable, and Andro Mauricio is the Russian soldier who falls in love with one of Tevye’s younger daughter, Chava. Peimon Samuel Badiee is Mendel, the only son of the Rabbi. And the Rabbi himself is Alex Ancajas, a very sensitive character actor. Reinhard Uy is the rough, tough Russian soldier who almost kills Perchik, the rebel.

The Fiddler is Chino Gutierrez, one of the finest violinists in the Philippines. Just a week ago, on November 30, he won first place in the National Music Competition for Young Artists, though he was the youngest among the competitors. He is 12 years old. While Chino is busy winning awards, the Fiddler is played by Michael Tinoy.

Eddie Alcalde is handling lights. Sister Mary Sarah Manapol is in charge of music and sound. Alex Ancajas designed and built the sets. Virgie Galdo Diaz is the stage manager. And the technicians – whose job is an adventure, since this is the first Broadway play to be staged in the new theater – are Alex Lidot, Mark Mateo, Emil Pareño, Rufino Obispado, and Heidi Arzabal.

Saint Paul College Quezon City is producing this play because it concentrates on the family. One of the best songs is Do You Love Me?, which Tevye sings to Golde, his wife, after they have been married for 25 years. And it is deeply spiritual. The best lines of Tevye are his conversations with God:

"Lord, You made the lion and the lamb,

You decreed I should be what I am,

Would it spoil some vast, eternal plan —

If I were a wealthy man?"

Praying for his five daughters:

"Strengthen them, O Lord

And keep them from the stranger’s ways.

Favor them O Lord,

With happiness and peace,

O hear our Sabbath prayer."

After hearing that their town would be wrecked by the Russians:

"Dear God, did You have to send me news like that, today of all days? It’s true that we are the Chosen People. But once in a while can’t You choose someone else?"

When his eldest daughter Tzeitel is being married:

"What words of wisdom can I give them?

How can I help to ease their way?"

Praying for his daughter and her husband, Motel:

"Motel keeps talking about a sewing machine. I know You’re very busy – wars and revolutions, floods, plagues, all those little things that bring people to You – couldn’t You take a second away from Your catastrophies and get it for him? How much trouble would it be? Oh, and while You’re in the neighborhood, my horse’s left leg. Am I bothering You too much?"

When his second daughter, Hodel, wants to marry, without a matchmaker:

"Did Adam and Eve have matchmakers? Yes, they did. Then it seems these two have the same Matchmaker. (And he points to God)

When Hodel is leaving for Siberia, to be with her husband:

"Take care of her. See that she dresses warm."

The nuns are preparing their students for the Fourth World Meeting of Families, scheduled for Manila in January of the Year 2003. They are presenting Fiddler on the Roof because it is a beautiful, dramatic portrayal of the "Church of the Home."