Topol Feels Lucky to Play Tevye Again

“I don’t know how they succeeded to twist my arm into doing it,” kidded Topol about his reprise of Tevye in “Fiddler on the Roof,” opening Wednesday at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion (and moving to Orange County Performing Arts Center Aug. 8). It marks the third stage go-round in the role for the Israeli-born actor, who put in “probably 400 performances” in 1967 and another 200 in 1983, not including his Academy Award-nominated work in the 1971 film.

One of the differences in playing the role now is that Topol has experienced some of what Tevye is going through--like the marrying off of one of his daughters.

“Now I know what it feels like--and let me tell you, it’s completely different (from acting it),” he said. “When I gave my daughter away, I had to rely on her instinct that she made the right decision. What are you going to do about it? She comes and says, ‘This is the guy I’m in love with and I’m going to be with him,’ and you say, ‘Oh, yes. Good idea.’ In this instance, it turned out very well; the guy is working with me now. So you say, ‘Well, she was a clever girl. But really it was sheer luck.”

He counts himself as lucky to get another chance at Tevye.

“I’m very happy they asked me to do it--and that I have the time to devote to it,” he said of the five-month tour. “But I find it very demanding physically. It’s not something I can throw off my sleeve. I hope I’m not repeating myself. I hope I’ve gained some experience as an actor--otherwise I’ve wasted 22 years.” As for that, he chuckles, “I’m getting to the right age (53) to play him now. I have to put on less makeup. I don’t have to bleach my beard, but I still have to put gray in my hair.”

Topol (who divides his time between homes in London and Tel Aviv) isn’t surprised at the staying power of the show.

“It’s very good material, written by Sholom Aleichem, a lucky combination of (an adapting) team like Joseph Stein, Sheldon Harnick and Jerry Bock. And since it’s set at the turn of the century, it doesn’t age. Mainly it is a story about a person’s relationships: with his wife, with his children, with his animals and with his Creator. Each of us experiences some of those relationships. So we recognize them, especially when it comes wrapped in genius choreography like Jerry Robbins’--and hopefully some good actors are presenting it.”

CRITICAL CROSSFIRE: Keith Reddin’s “Nebraska,” about life at the bottom of a missile silo, recently premiered at La Jolla Playhouse. Les Waters directs.

Said Sylvie Drake in The Times: “It is the unlikely marriage of text (the perpetual deathwatch) and subtext (the profound unhappiness, boredom and waste it engenders) that has a gathering power. Reddin has turned a neat trick. He has issued a stern warning with a play that never stoops to preach.”

The Herald Examiner’s Charles Marowitz found it “Neither ‘black’ nor comic and so the allegation that it is a ‘black comedy’ is merely an unfortunate piece of mislabeling. It is, however, gruelingly episodic and, despite the swiftness of the scene changes, the effect remains fragmentary and the action subject to constant interruption.”

In the San Diego Union, Welton Jones credited the British director for his canny attention to American detail: “Though fascinating, ‘Nebraska’ is a modest play, secure in its intentions and nicely adjusted to its most accessible level. What might be questioned is the wisdom of inquiring too closely into this priest class and its rituals.”

Said Daily Variety’s Don Braunagel: “Reddin has created a sturdy and poignant comedy-drama having less to do with nuclear apocalypse than with the gradual destruction of relationships through noncommunication . . . . Loy Arcenas’ set is excellent.”

And from Valerie Scher in the San Diego Tribune: “The fundamental message--that warfare ain’t what it used to be--could use more fleshing out . . . Yet it’s still a terrific production, shrewdly cast, smartly directed.”