Fiddler on the Roof crops up in some surprising places. Gwen Stefani released a reworking of Tevye's ode to poverty; American band Bright Eyes included a cover of Sunrise Sunset on a recent album, and there's even been a version entitled Fiddling on Ya Roof by Melbourne-based Jewish punk band Yidcore. But Fiddler is above all a sentimental hymn to the values of tradition, and Lindsay Posner's production is as respectfully traditional as they come.
Fiddler on the Roof is a distinctive work - how many more hummable hits have there been about the ravages of ethnic cleansing? - and it would be hard to find a book as emotionally loaded as Joseph Stein's or music as memorable as Jerry Bock's, even though Sheldon Harnick's lyrics occasionally let the side down. Tevye could be seen to pose a significant cosmological question when he wonders if it might "alter some vast eternal plan" for him to become a wealthy man. A Talmudic scholar might come up with a more rigorous conclusion than "biddle-diddle-eedle-idle-um".
Tevye is a massive role, and Henry Goodman fills it with tremendous charm and authority. It's difficult to retain sympathy for a man whose favourite phrase is "On the other hand", but Goodman portrays a generous soul, severely tried by his self-determined daughters.
Beverley Klein matches him well as his garrulous wife Golde, and the large supporting cast is impressive, though Posner's direction is solid rather than sensational. Should you book a ticket? To adopt Tevye's fence-sitting technique: on the one hand, it's a bit predictable, but on the other, traditionalists will love it.
· Until January 20. Box office: 0114-249 6000.
