Fiddler on the Roof

The play opens in Anatevka, Russia in 1905, and Tevye the dairyman gives us an introduction to the people in his town and how they survive. Tradition, he says, provides a delicate balance, like a fiddler on the roof (“Tradition”). Each mother, father, son and daughter has their own defined place in the community. Meanwhile, at Tevye’s home, everyone is busy getting ready for the Jewish sabbath. Tevye’s five daughters are busy about the house, managed by his commanding wife, Golde. Yente, the matchmaker arrives, with news for Golde about a match for one of her daughters. Just then, Motel comes to the door, asking for Tevye’s daughter Tzeitel, but Tzeitel tells him they need to talk later. Yente tells Golde that she has found a match for Tzeitel: the widowed butcher, Lazar Wolf. She encourage Golde to send Tevye to talk to Lazar after the Sabbath. As the two older women talk, daughters Hodel and Chava fantasize about the matchmaker finding them a perfect match. The eldest,