`FIDDLER' A BELOVED TRADITION.

Byline: Evan Henerson Theater Critic

Built into ``Fiddler on the Roof'' is a kind of conversational shorthand between Tevye, the dirt-poor dairyman from Anatevka, and the Almighty, whom Tevye halfheartedly blames for his predicament. So you watch Theodore Bikel dip into his arsenal, employing every tilt, gape and vocal inflection, and you can't help but think, ``This guy has been holding one-sided conversations with God his entire life.''

The point is especially true when the actor doing the talking has recited these same lines for more than 1,600 performances over 30 years. There's something reassuring in the knowledge that, even if God won't lend a hand, at least Tevye can bear up under the weight. With Bikel as Tevye, for the umpteenth ``Fiddler'' revival at the Wilshire, the stars are in their proper alignment. The man is comfort food personified.

Even so, this ``Fiddler'' doesn't play. A star playing a signature role arrives with pitfalls that director Sammy Dallas Bayes can't sidestep. It's almost as if Bikel's expertise gives license for everyone surrounding him to be mediocre. And the production values are far from impressive. Steven L. Gilliam's set looks like it was heisted from ``Oklahoma!'' and his trees have a habit of moving across the back of the stage during songs (``Matchmaker, matchmaker, bring me an ax?'')

The production has a few bright spots. Jonathan Hadley brings a nice fire to Perchik, the student who romances Tevye's second daughter Hodel (Rachel Jones). John Preece - himself a seasoned Tevye - gives the jilted butcher Lazar Wolf some sound comic energy. He and Bikel turn the celebratory number ``To Life'' into the showstopper it deserves to be.

Bayes restages Jerome Robbins choreography with mixed results; the dancers are most comfortable with circular or linear maneuvers. Most of the voices are up to snuff, the most notable exception being Michael Iannucci's tailor, Motel.

But even if the chorus was Riverdancing in the nude and Meryl Streep was playing Tevye's long-suffering wife, Golde, we'd still be counting the minutes before Bikel came back on stage. Now 77, the actor is still in fine voice, and he isn't phoning in anything. His Tevye registers pain and betrayal as his beloved traditions fall with each of his married daughters. He's also quite funny when he needs to be.

That ``Fiddler on the Roof'' now feels as comfortable as Bikel's performance is not necessarily to the show's benefit. Once upon a time, Joseph Stein, Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnick wrote a musical about discrimination and displacement, not simply an opportunity for an overworked dairyman to crack wise to God between songs.

Still, Bikel remains one of the theater's monuments. He's in town, and on fine display through Sunday.

``FIDDLER ON THE ROOF''

Where: Wilshire Theatre, 8440 Wilshire Blvd., Beverly Hills.

When: 8 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday, 2 and 7:30 p.m. Sunday; through Sunday.

Tickets: $47 to $67. Call [phone].

Our rating: Two stars

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Theodore Bikel, ``Fiddler on the Roof's'' Tevye for more than 30 years, reprises his role at the Wilshire Theatre.