One more time: Rogers native takes 'Fiddler' role for third spin
Posted on Friday, July 18, 2008
Joe Rice had taken his last bow. He saw the sign of his imminent retirement after suffering a "mini-stroke"while rehearsing for "Dracula"at the Rogers Little Theater four years ago.
Shortly thereafter a retirement party was held for the man who had performed a majority of his 128 community plays either as a director or actor on the confines of the Victory Theater's stage.
"I thought I had turned the page,"Rice said.
That was before the 57-year-old retired jeweler heard about the opportunity to audition for his favorite role last April. The Bella Vista Village Players was looking for a Tevye, the central patriarch of its presentation of "Fiddler on the Roof,"which opens at 7:30 p.m. today at the Arend Arts Center in Bentonville.
All of a sudden, retirement begin to lose its appeal. The role that he had played in the Rogers Little Theater nine years ago and the Arts Center of the Ozarks four years ago had ensnared him again.
"I thought I was completely done with theater but I got the itch again and decided to do it again,"said Rice, who will make his debut with the Village Players. "I couldn't resist. It's my favorite musical. I think it has a wonderful story about a common milkman's relationship with God and how he is going through a time of change in the Jewish faith. It's a very powerful role."
Ask Rice, who is formerly of Rogers and has lived in Bella Vista for two years, how many lines Tevye has, and he'll answer 1,257.
"The third time I read the script, I had all the lines memorized,"he said. "It just came back."
This, though, is far from a one-man show. The cast features 34 people, all of whom play a vital part in showing the evolution of Tevye and Golde dealing with transition with their five daughters in Tsarist Russia in the early stages of the 20th century.
"There are no main people,"said Judy Benn's the musical's director. "This is an ensemble and every role is critical."
Some of those cast members include Marty Lunsford as Golde; Tami Leadabrand as Tzeitel, the eldest daughter; Sheila Baldono as Hodel, the second eldest; and Claire Thompson as Chava, the middle daughter.
This will be the fifth production the troupe will stage at the spacious arts center. Although the Village Players have a working agreement to hold its plays at the NorthWest Arkansas Community College's White Auditorium, Benn said a production such as "Fiddler"requires a large area in order to be done properly.
"You have to use the space,"Benn said. "You have to have a big stage to handle this cast without it looking cramped and crowded. That's the beauty of the Arend stage."
The extra space is also needed for the numerous dancing numbers that can be seen throughout the play thanks to the lessons provided by choreographers Carol Roller and Barbara Frye.
"I think the audience is going to be very, very surprised with the dancing in this show,"Benn said.
Benn commented on her cast's ability to work in unison from the start of practice. She recalled when going through the play for the first time how cast members broke into harmony parts on the well-known songs such as "Sunrise, Sunset"and "Matchmaker."
"My heart just soared when I heard this music the very first time they ever sang it,"Benn said. "It was just beautiful from the very beginning."
Been predicted those tunes will strike a similar chord with the audience.
"It's timeless,"she said. "There's an old saying in theater that sometimes people go out singing the scenery because the show was not memorable, but after this show they're going to go out singing the songs."
But will Rice go out following the final show on Sunday -- for good?
"I don't know,"he said. "I better never say never, I guess."
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