In “Fiddler on the Roof,” now in a hit revival at the Broadway Theatre, the milkman Tevye looks heavenward and says, “I know. I know. We’re your chosen people. But, once in a while, can’t you choose someone else?”Trouble is brewing in the musical, set in a Russian shtetl in 1905, and it isn’t just coming from the Cossacks. What really powers “Fiddler” is a rebellion fomented among the milkman’s three daughters, Tzeitel, Hodel, and Chava. While their parents expect the young women to each submit to the tradition of arranged marriages, they have more revolutionary ideas in mind. In succeeding order, they manage to respectively pair up with their own choices: Motel, a poor tailor (Adam Kantor), Perchik, a political rebel (Ben Rappaport), and Fyedka, a Christian soldier (Nick Rehberger).To celebrate Valentine’s Day, ARTINFO asked the three actors to discuss romance in song, film, and art; the basis of their characters’ relationship; and what, if anything, they find enviable about love in a world that has long since faded into memory.Sandro Boticelli's "The Birth of Venus." Courtesy Wikicommons Adam Kantor (Motel)Most romantic songs from a musical: “If I Loved You” from “Carousel”“The Next Five Minutes” from “The Last Five Years”“I Will Never Leave You” from “Side Show”Most romantic films: “Annie Hall”“Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind”“Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion” Romance in art: Botticelli’s “The Birth of Venus”On the chemistry between Motel and Tzeitel: “Since they’ve known each other all their lives in this small village, they’re best friends who grow to become lovers. I can imagine that after everybody is asleep, they sneak out to meet under a tree and read poetry to each other.”On what may be enviable in their world: “The simplicity. We have the pressure to achieve ultimate happiness, in every regard and all those choices can lead to tsuris [“trouble”]. Their dream is at first unimaginable and the discovery that it might be possible makes it miraculous.”Claude Monet's "Dusk in Venice." Courtesy WikicommonsBen Rappaport (Perchik)Most romantic songs from a musical: “We Kiss in A Shadow” from “The King and I”“I’ll Cover You from “Rent”“If I Loved You” from “Carousel”Most romantic films:“Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind”“Titanic”“Wall-E”Romance in art: Anything by Claude MonetChemistry between Perchik and Hodel: “The basis is in the intellect and a shared political idealism. These are two people who find intelligence extremely attractive. A big part of their relationship is philosophical argument, not from a combative place but from a deep appreciation of knowledge.”What he finds enviable: “Today, we’re welded to our phones, we’re way too disconnected as a society and a culture. In 1905, you’ve got nothing but human connection. Both my fiancée [Megan Kane] and I strive to make that a priority in our lives. It’s something to be celebrated and appreciated.”Frank Dicksee's "Romeo and Juliet." Courtesy WikicommonsNick Rehberger (Fyedka)Most romantic songs: “If I Loved You” from “Carousel”“Goodnight My Someone” from “The Music Man”“No One Else” from “Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812”Most romantic films: “Breakfast at Tiffany’s”“Singin’ in the Rain”“You Got Mail”Romance in art: Frank Dicksee’s “Romeo and Juliet”On the chemistry between Fyedka and Chava: “It’s the most challenging part of the show because of the forbidden love aspect. That makes it fun and exciting but also dangerous and ultimately tragic. They bond over their love of literature. He gives her a book by [the German romantic poet] Heinrich Heine and he knows exactly what he’s doing.”On what he finds enviable: “The play deals with arranged marriages versus falling in love and these young people have the joy and excitement of discovering romantic attachment for the first time in their lives, something they may have thought was impossible. There is a beauty and an innocence that we simply can’t experience in the same way.”
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