Student-performed musicals have a reputation for mediocrity. The soloists, trying to amplify their voices, often turn to yelling instead of singing, and the villagers in the background cannot be understood when belting out a tune. However, Paly’s production of Fiddler on the Roof does not fall into this category, as the audience leaves the Haymarket impressed with every aspect of the performance.

It is obvious that the entire cast and crew put a tremendous amount of effort into telling the story of how Tevye, a poor dairyman, deals with the changing times in his small village in Russia and his daughters’ more progressive marriages. Tevye does not always welcome change, especially when it compromises his authority in his own home. Throughout the show, he struggles to balance his duties to his home, religion, and town.

Minutes into the performance, senior Alex Nee’s portrayal of Tevye has already left a strong impression. His skill as an actor and strong vocals help carry the two and a half hour show from the get-go. His asides reveal his inner conflicts about choices that he must make — most notably about his daughters’ marriages — and they often provide comic relief. However, his strong vocals overshadow the softer voice of senior Kimberley Forlenza, who plays his wife Golde. Nevertheless, the two balance each other quite well on stage, even in song. Their duet in the second act entitled, “Do You Love Me?” gives great insight into their relationship and is a touching song.

Sophomore Arielle Fishman and juniors Emily Barry and Maddie Sykes all give excellent portrayals of the three sisters, Hodel, Tzeitel, and Chava, respectively. All three have very good voices, but Fishman outshines the other two in their first and only song together, “Matchmaker.” As each of these actresses has more time on stage, their talent begins to shine through. Each is at her best when performing alongside Nee or their love interests Perchik (junior Nathan Wilen), Motel (freshman Zach Frier-Harrison), and Fydeka (senior Ian Quigley). When they share the stage with these cast members, what individualizes each character shines through, but when in a family scene, each fall back into the stereotypical character of a dutiful daughter.

Part of the reason that this production of Fiddler on the Roof is so memorable is that the audience can understand the lyrics. This is due to the choice to assist the actors with microphones. Although the microphones may compromise a small portion of the visual appeal, the audience is impressed with all of the vocals. Confident that their voices will carry in what senior Alex Browne calls “a theater that kills noise,” the talented vocalists do not resort to yelling and carry the long performance from beginning to end.

Although the music and acting carries the long performance, there is one scene that sticks out as the most memorable simply because of the effect that it has on the audience. In the last scene of the first act, six actors placed bottles on top of their hats and proceed to balance them as they worked through a lengthy dance. Although the choreography is slow — for obvious reasons — the audience is nevertheless captivated by the concentration that the dance requires. What is most memorable about this part of the play is that on opening night, not one of the six dropped a bottle in a dance that required turns, level changes and more movement than expected, considering what is on their heads. The audience was absolutely silent on Thursday as they continued through the dance, almost as if the audience was waiting for a bottle to drop to see how the actors would react. When the actors all flipped the bottles off their hats and caught them before they fell, the audience erupted into applause.

The wedding scene ends on a sober note, but the bottle dance was subject for conversation during Thursday night’s intermission. Skeptics brainstormed about how the bottles might be attached to their heads, coming up with theories that included rope, magnets, weights, and other speculations.

Senior Alex Browne, one of the performers, insists that it was all balance. According to Browne, the opening night performance was only the second time that the actors made it through the entire dance without dropping a bottle.

“I’m so happy that we were able to make it through one performance,” Browne said. “The problem is that if you make it through, everyone thinks that you cheat.”

Another aspect of the show is the use of a rotating set. This feature proved to be crucial in providing quick transitions between scenes. In an already long show, the circling set allows the scene to switch without running the clock. In addition, it keeps the audience’s attention by allowing viewers to wonder what is going to appear on the other side. The simplicity of both sides of the set mirrors the rural town in which the story takes place and also allows for a dramatic ending to the show.

All in all, the Paly theater community puts on an impressive show. The energy on the stage makes the desire and effort put towards a good show apparent. The audience leaves the Haymarket saddened by the ending but amazed by the performance.

The last two performances are at 7:30 p.m. on April 23 and 24 in the Haymarket theater.