Fiddler on the Roof

Gaiety Theatre

Tradition is at the heart of the 1964 musical

Fiddler on the Roof

, which charts the struggles of a Russian Jewish peasant family against inevitable political and social change. Set in the late 1800s, it uses the family as a microcosm for exploring the challenge to traditional values that the new century espouses and for anatomising the persecution of the Jewish communities throughout Europe. (Although the story by Sholem Aleichem on which

Fiddler on the Roof

is based was published in 1894, it is no coincidence that the popular musical appeared in post-second World War America).

Tradition is also at the heart of this Irish production, which celebrates the core principle of musical theatre – the live performer – as if in direct challenge to the increasing dependence on spectacle in the commercial theatre setting.

Tevye, proud papa to five daughters, provides both the backbone to the community in the village of Anatevka and the spine on which the musical is structured, so it is fortunate for director Vivian Coates that Tony Finnegan is such a strong performer. As the bewildered, boisterous Tevye, Finnegan sets a high standard for the production from his opening monologue, and he follows with resonant renditions of such memorable Jerry Bock numbers as If I Were A Rich Manand To Life, while his debates with God provide a thematic underscore that runs throughout.

The best scene in the whole production is Finnegan's high-spirited re-enactment of The Dream(with help from Veronica Dunne as Grandmother Tzeitel). With a few clever twists (the casting of Fruma Sarah), Coates reminds the audience that the simplest of staging mechanisms can be as effective as any illusive trickery.

That said, the use of multimedia screens to provide a backdrop to the various indoor and outdoor scenes is badly misjudged, turning Anatevka circa 1890 into any school hall in the past 10 years.

With strong solo performances by Lucy O'Byrne, Rachel Gleeson and Katie Honan, as the trio of Tevye's older daughters, this Fiddler on the Roofsets itself up to preserve the tradition of musical theatre production at the Gaiety Theatre, when the Grand Canal Theatre has provided what many would see as unparalleled competition.

As a joyful celebration of the good old-fashioned musical, this is as good a rejoinder as you’ll get.

Runs until April 2nd