Traditions were made to be broken.



That lesson, at times painful and at times liberating, sits at the center of “Fiddler on the Roof,” the epic musical that began its six-day run in Shea’s Performing Arts Center on Tuesday night. Some traditions, as last week’s announcement that headliner Topol would bow out of this farewell tour proved, end a bit prematurely.



And so what? The money-men sweat bullets over refunds, a standby was called up as a replacement and finally — as the entertainment gods have preordained — the show went on.



In the place of the deep-voiced Israeli-born actor, who left the tour last week because of a shoulder injury, we have a seasoned and gifted performer named John Preece.



He has the unenviable task of toiling away as Tevye, the poor Russian milkman at the center of the show, in Topol’s looming shadow.



Preece, who has performed the role many times in several previous productions, imbues the woebegone Tevye with plenty of gusto and expert comic chops. While he lacks that subwoofer of a voice that characterized Topol’s performance in the 1971 film and in subsequent productions, his charisma makes you all but forget the septuagenarian actor’s name entirely. (He got a standing ovation.)



The show itself, hailed by many as one of the great formula musicals of all time, still astounds. It’s a tale of creeping modernity in which Tevye, put-upon but good-humored, must deal with the unconventional marriages of his daughters amid a sickening atmosphere of anti-Semitic discrimination and violence.



It is tinged with a powerhouse score by Jerry Bock, which transports us straight into the heart of Czarist Russia.



Nobody would accuse “Fiddler” of subtlety, and therein lies part of its appeal. The cast performs with plenty of energy, with good performances from Jamie Davis as Hodel, Rick Pessagno as Nachum, Rena Strober as Tzeitel.



With Preece at the reins, there’s no reason to be disappointed. The show’s staying power is a tradition that’s just about impossible to break.



Theater Review



“Fiddler on the Roof”



???



Musical runs through Sunday in Shea’s Performing Arts Center, 646 Main St. For more information, call 847-1410 or visit www.sheas.org.