There are general disappointments you brace for at community theater - extras looking like bewildered sheep on stage, principal actors who have clarion singing voices but lag a bit in the acting department.

But audiences who take in Lake City Playhouse's "Fiddler on the Roof" will be in for some surprises.

It doesn't feel like community theater. There are no disappointments, not in the sets, not in the multitude of small parts, and certainly not in the main characters.

And for such a massive and well-known production, that's saying something.

For starters, this thing is funny. And not in the way that you're laughing at the bad acting.

What the whole cast understands is even though this is a production about impoverished Jews shadowed by the lowering heel of a fascist ruler, the script is pretty witty the whole way through.

The actors are feisty in their delivery of so many wry and playful lines. It looks more like they're just pals teasing than reciting a script.

The leading roles carry the production. Steve Kane of Post Falls has a contagious warmth playing Tevye, a father and poor milkman watching the security and simplicity of tradition slip away.

Kane is jolly. Exuberant. Kind of a boisterous Santa Claus. He has a baritone that shakes the playhouse when he's delivering a witticism during his one-on-ones with God, and he tones it down as his character challenges his children's choices.

Is it weird to mention that he has these shining, merry eyes that just make you want to like this guy? Maybe, but I'm putting it in anyway.

Well matched to him is Renei Yarrow as Tevye's wife Golde. Besides a powerful, silvery singing voice, she is funny, natural and channels the strong and vibrant nature of a wife wrangling five willful offspring.

The three actresses playing their eldest daughters each stand on their own in turn, most notably Charisa Bareither as Tzeitel. All three have beautiful voices.

Something every actor has to face here is the small, intimate nature of the venue; the audience is a stone's toss away from the stage, so the facial expressions of each actor are readable by the whole house. If a non-speaking extra in the corner betrays his nervousness, the whole thing comes crashing down.

But among the vast cast, it's never an issue. From the lineless to the central characters, everyone is at ease and natural on stage. They're just having a good time up there.

That especially comes out during the myriad dance scenes, which include some acrobatics and a whole lot of giddy celebration dances that have these actors exercising up and down the stage.

They even nail the bottles-balanced-on-the-cranium dance. If you're not familiar, it's doesn't look easy.

A coworker of mine mentioned his reluctance to sit through such a lengthy play. But truly this a production full of great songs, and such energetic, passionate scenes, the two and a half hours really fly.

"Fiddler On the Roof" plays through Sunday, Oct. 9 at the Lake City Playhouse. Tickets are $19 for adults, $17 for veterans and students, $15 for seniors and $9 for kids 12 and under.

Purchase tickets at the door, or by calling 667-1323.

Alecia Warren is a staff writer for The Press. She can be reached at 664-8176, Ext. 2011, or via e-mail at awarren@cdapress.com.