Fiddler on the Roof

‘Fiddler on the Roof’ was originally titled ‘Tevye’.  It is based on ‘Tevye and his Daughters and Other Tales’ by Sholem Aleichem, written in 1894.  The idea of the fiddler was taken from ‘The Fiddler’ a painting by Marc Chagall and serves as a metaphor for Jewish survival, through tradition and joyfulness, in a life of uncertainty in Russia during the early part of the 20th Century.

The original Broadway production opened on September 22, 1964, at the Imperial Theatre and ran for a record-setting total of 3,242 performances. The lead role of Tevye was created by Zero Mostel, who won an Emmy award for his performance. The West End Production began on February 16th, 1967 at Her Majesty’s Theatre and ran for 2,030 performances with Chaim Topol in the lead, a role he repeated in the successful 1971 film adaptation.

The story is about Tevye the dairyman in the Jewish quarter of a town called Anatevka, near Kiev in the Ukraine, then part of Russia.  He and his wife Golde have five daughters and the plot is centred on his attempts to cope with the strong-willed actions of his three older daughters as they rebel against the tradition of arranged marriage within the Jewish culture.

This is the fifteenth production that my good friend and colleague, Eric Phillips and I have created together since 1981.  Little did we know thirty years ago, the good times and productions that lay ahead.  It has been a lot of hard work but it has been hugely enjoyable and a lot of fun.  ‘Fiddler on the Roof’ is no exception and once again the talent of students and staff of Whitchurch High School – cast, crew and musicians – have worked hard since September to create the performance this evening.