Pendleton, Warren Philharmonic hit all the right notes

David Green had the performance of the night.
By ROBERT ROLLIN
SPECIAL TO THE VINDICATOR
WARREN -- Austin Pendleton headlined with the Warren Philharmonic Saturday night for a triumphant musical return to his hometown. The Packard Hall production, jointly organized with the Trumbull New Theatre, was a delight.
The evening highlight was the set from "Fiddler on the Roof," the only portion costumed and staged.
David Green actually stole the show with his wonderful portrayal of Tevye in "Tradition," which was beautifully accompanied by the Trumbull New Theatre chorus. Perhaps his most touching moment was his performance of "If I Were a Rich Man," where he projected the song with an authentic Hassidic flair.
Pendleton joined Green and the chorus for a fine closing production number, the famous "Sunrise, Sunset." Like "Tradition," this was well choreographed and effectively paced. Pendleton was a lead in the original 1964 production as the young tailor, Motel, who marries Tevye's daughter.
Beautiful moment
"Do You Love Me," when Tevye and Golda discuss their 25-year marriage, was captured expressively by Green and Alice Playten, yet another beautiful moment.
The entire "Fiddler on the Roof" group was well structured and seemed to compress action and music to successive interesting vignettes.
The balance of the evening included effective alternation between show music highlights of Pendleton's career and orchestra renditions.
The 1973 show "Up from Paradise," a collaboration between composer Stanley Silverman and playwright Arthur Miller, provided a charming four-song set. In "All Love, All Love," Playten showed her penchant for folksy charm by projecting a bluesy, country style that mixed gravelly phrases with piercing falsetto, while Judy Kaye and Green provided more pearly tones.
This set ended with "I Can See the Garden," a fine quartet number employing all four singers and fine orchestral accompaniment.
Exuberant music
Pendleton has comic acting flair as he showed in the "What About Luv" highlights. The 1984 musical begins with Harry Berlin, Pendleton's character, standing on the Brooklyn Bridge about to commit suicide. Soon he becomes embroiled in a love triangle, steals his friend's wife, and is finally dumped by her as she returns to her original husband. In the last song, Kaye, playing the wife, bemoans the fact that Harry didn't jump off the bridge in the first place. She has a well-trained and colorful voice. The dark, black comedy was ironically supported by exuberant music briskly played by the group's piano accompanist.
Music Director Susan Davenny Wyner kept the show music sets moving swiftly, never allowing things to bog down. Her performance of Leonard Bernstein's Candide Overture was tremendously energetic with especially fine brass and percussion work, though the strings struggled to be heard at times.
The woodwinds sparkled effervescently in the Johann Strauss Die Fledermaus Overture as the audience palpably enjoyed the familiar tunes. The full house audience gave orchestra and thespians a standing ovation.