Joe McGann: Growing up in Liverpool was fabulous

18 Apr 2008 by Emma Pinch

Emma Pinch talks to Joe McGann about returning to the Liverpool Empire stage

TAKING lead role in the stage version of Fiddler on the Roof was the last thing Joe McGann thought he’d find himself doing.

“The film suffered from a sense of humour bypass. I never liked it growing up, I thought it was a bit dark and down,” admits the oldest of the Liverpool-born McGann brothers.

“When they asked me, I said are you sure? And I didn’t know until the director came to me and asked if I know that, at two hours 50 minutes, it was the longest male part in musical theatre. But I’d rather be busy than not.”

Despite the rather numbing length, the production has been attracting warm reviews.

Fiddler on the Roof is set in the small Jewish village of Anatevka, Russia, in 1905, and is concerned primarily with the efforts of Tevye, a dairyman, his wife, Golde, and their five daughters to cope with their harsh existence under Tsarist rule.

It tells of a father's struggle with his elder daughter’s wishes and the changes in their society against his own traditional beliefs.

The stage role of Tevye was originally written for Danny Kaye, and has a lighter feel to it than the film role, says Joe.

“I was advised to read the script and found they had made it funny. It’s a really good tight version of the story and it’s filled with the kind of humour people have when they have very little, it’s in the way they look at life.

“Liverpool people will understand it.”

Despite its melancholy quality, the film became a smash, stamped with the charismatic persona of larger-than-life actor Topol. The bushy beard Joe's grown seems like an attempt to claim some of his predecessor’s gravitas.

“Topol was younger than me when he played it, he was about 23,” argues Joe, 49. “I grew the beard because the character is a practising Jew and would not shave and I hate false beards. I’d worry about a false beard coming off and walking round onstage not knowing.

“This beard is not my favourite thing about the part, it’s like a Brillo pad. I went on a grooming website to find tips for a softer beard, because it was driving me nuts. I don’t like it. It’s not how I would normally walk around.”

Fiddler on the Roof is the first time Joe has played at the Empire since Blood Brothers, in 1984.

His last big starring part in the city was as one of the Magi, in Liverpool’s Nativity.

“I loved it. I thought it was really well done,” he says. “They did a great thing with the writing and music, and the crowd played a fantastic part. It was great fun to do.”

Joe lives in Hertfordshire these days, and his CV is crammed with diverse roles, from classic sitcom like the long running The Upper Hand, with Honor Blackman, to his last outing touring in Guys and Dolls. But he hopes to return to the city for the musical celebrating one of Liverpool’s oldest nightclubs, Eric’s.

“I’m self employed and I’ve got to go where the work takes me.

“I saw a couple of things at the beginning and I know what is going on, but it’s typical of me to get involved in the opening and coming back to something that is not one of the cultural events. I did the workshops with Malcolm and Gemma from the Playhouse and Jamie Lloyd on Eric’s – The Musical last year. It was the best thing I did in years, just great. Even if I can’t be in it, I hope to see it in October.”

He’s hopeful about the success of Liverpool’s Capital of Culture, and says he already sees a sense of pride running through the city. Accusations that it’s not involving the whole of the city should be stilled until we’ve seen more, he says.

“The opening was a success, the Tate was a great success and the theatres are doing great work.

“I was working in Glasgow in 1990, and I hope Liverpool gets from it what Glasgow did, pride, greater awareness of its cultural heritage.

“We’re only a quarter of the way in and time will tell. We’ve got the big concerts in the summer, so we need to give it a bit more time. People are talking about carpet baggers and that’s going to happen. There’s going to be in-fighting. But we have to wait and see.”

His love for the city is evident. "It was fabulous and the thing about it was is that it was so inclusive,” he says of growing up in city.

“I was born in 1958 so you could feel The Beatles and everything else that was going on here at the time, but there was always that vibe anyway.

“There was always something to do. I think that same sense of excitement is coming back now, with Capital of Culture.”

He’s got 25 proud members of the McGann clan coming to see him playing at the Empire, and he can’t wait.

“I love it, how could I not? It’s coming home.”

Fiddler On The Roof

Apr 18 2008 Jonathan Trew

Edinburgh Playhouse, Tues 15 April ****

IF I Were A Rich Man is a song that most of us have probably whistled with feeling but this classic musical appeals for other wider reasons.

Set in Tsarist Russia, it features Tevye, a poor milk man with five daughters.

Tevye is Jewish at a time when Jews were under attack from Russian state-encouraged anti-semitism.

As if that wasn't enough trouble on his plate, his daughters are hell-bent on marrying men that Tevye deeply disproves of.

Unusually for a musical, Fiddler doesn't have an upbeat ending but takes a more realistic look at the difficulty of keeping your identity in a changing world and the way in which families splinter to create their own families.

Joe McGann does charismatic work as the wise but often exasperated Tevye. Tradition and family are the rocks he clings to but, although they are being chiselled from beneath him, he still manages a wry smile.

Whatever problems life throws at him, he has a snappy retort and Fiddler is full of punchy, comedy dialogue.

It doesn't have a huge number of stunning dance scenes but the two that really shine are the set pieces in the inn and the wedding celebration.

High-kicking Cossacks and Jewish folk dancing make a thrilling spectacle.

In keeping with the often sweetly forlorn feel of the musical, the songs can be downbeat. Less desirably, they can also be a little under-powered.

That said, Fiddler has a charm and human touch that raises it above a couple of weak points.