Good as Golde

As I am typing these words, I am listening in the background to the final performance of the Racine Theater Guild’s production of Fiddler on the Roof, which has been one of the most charmed productions in all of my years with the RTG. (And I’ve been directing musicals here since 2003.) Without a doubt, this will be remembered as one of the greatest artistic successes we have ever had – and I know it has been a deeply meaningful experience for everyone in the cast and crew …. especially for the woman entrusted with the crucial role of Golde, the wife of Tevye.

I have been thinking a lot about the character of Golde and the more I have watched this show (I have seen the equivalent of at least six or seven performances of this run) the more I have come to understand just how tricky a role it is. If Teyve is the affable, genial, free- spirited heart of the story, then his wife Golde must be more grounded, more practical, more skeptical. There must be sharp contrast between the two, but this is why it is the easiest thing in the world for Golde to come off as a strident killjoy, leaving one to wonder how in the world she and Tevye ever got together.

Which is why I absolutely love what Kathy has brought to the role of Golde: heart, heart, and more heart. Not that the sarcastic barbs she directs at her husband sting any less. Not that her world-weariness gives way to twinkle-toed delight. She is Golde through and through – but we see and feel and sense the immense heart of gold that lies just beneath a visage that has been battered by more than a few of life’s headaches and heartaches …. a somewhat leathery skin that has toughened from years of marriage to someone as likable yet maddening as Tevye. Golde is the woman who holds it all together, although it is in a time and place when the world might not even realize it.

As I begin typing all of this, I didn’t intend to draw any parallels between Tevye/Golde and Greg/Kathy Berg ….. but I’m starting to see a few. And maybe this helps explain why my wife has grasped the heart of the character so authentically. She knows what it’s like to be married to an always well-meaning yet often maddening man who has a way of making messes that she has to clean up. (So maybe I deserve some of the credit for the performance she is delivering!) By the way, she knows this show even better than I do because she performed the role of Yente the Matchmaker at a musical theater camp up in Rice Lake more than 35 years ago. So for her to have the opportunity to graduate to the role of Golde is truly a dream come true. And just for the record, I had almost nothing to do with her being cast as Golde except to heartily endorse the choice that stage director Doug Instenes had already made.)

But beyond being cast as Golde, I am also so happy that she could portray this beautiful role opposite Davidson Kane’s wonderful Tevye. He was simply born to play this role and brings to it such warmth and love and humor and spontaneity – and yet all kinds of nuance as well. And the two of them – Kathy and Davidson – have a chemistry between them that simply can’t be taught or coached; it simply is. For as terrific as each of them have been in their respective roles, it is the combination of the two of them that in some ways is even more magical. And for me, their two performances embodied what I think makes this musical so uniquely treasurable: its perfect blend of poignancy and heartbreak with humor and joy. I am especially proud of how wonderfully Kathy managed to convey every facet of Golde …. her strength, her humor, her tenderness, and her heartbreak. I knew Kathy had the makings of a fine actress, but this role really allowed her to demonstrate that to its fullest. And of course, I haven’t even mentioned her luscious voice and how beautiful it sounded in “Sunrise, Sunset,” “Sabbath Prayer,” and especially “Do you love me?”

But beyond the lovely rapport between Kathy and Davidson is the sincere tenderness that she has felt for Olivia, Taylor, Isabella, Evelyn and Jacqueline, the young ladies portraying the five daughters so beautifully …. as well as Eric, Nate and Noah, who so vividly play the three beaus who progressively turn Tevye and Golde’s world more and more upside down. And beyond them is everyone else in one of the largest and finest casts we have ever assembled on the RTG stage – plus a superb, able crew backing them up all the way. This has been quite the family in more ways than one, and no one has contributed more to that warm sense of family than Kathy.

I am so glad that Kathy not only got to perform this wonderful role in a wonderful production, but that she had so many dear friends and family who made a point of coming to see her in it. That’s one facet of community theater that is so precious- that people who love you are out in the audience, cheering you on. As much as I loved watching the performances themselves, night after night, I found myself equally moved by what I saw afterwards down in the green room, as that love would play out so powerfully. And it was neat how Kathy was so genuinely amazed to be the focus of such attention and enthusiasm. As much as I admire and cherish her talent, I admire and cherish her humility and selflessness every bit as much.

I know it is terribly hard for all of them to see this experience come to a close, judging from all of the tears that have already been shed – but I hope that everyone in this cast, including Kathy, will spend less time lamenting that it’s over and more time being thankful that it happened …. and will also hold fast to the fact that the people of Fiddler – especially in the heart of Golde – will always be family