Overview
Synopsis
Based on Sholom Aleichem’s Tevye and his Daughters, Fiddler on the Roof is the beloved story of the small, tradition-steeped town of Anatevka, Russia, where Jews and Russians live in delicate balance. During the course of the show, the time honored traditions of Anatevka are both embraced and challenged by Tevye and his colorful community, as they witness his daughters, Tzeitel, Hodel and Chava, grow up and fall in love in a time of extraordinary change. Fiddler on the Roof’s Broadway premier became the longest-running Broadway musical in history, a title it maintained for almost 10 years. It is a story that captures the essential human longings for love, community, success, freedom, family, and meaning. Fiddler features such iconic songs as the beautiful “Sunrise, Sunset,” the boisterous “If I Were a Rich Man”, and the classic “Matchmaker, Matchmaker.”
Show Information
- Book
- Joseph Stein
- Music
- Jerry Bock
- Lyrics
- Sheldon Harnick
- Based on the Play/Book/Film
- Tevye and His Daughters
- Category
- Musical
- Age Guidance
- Youth (Y)/General Audiences (G)
- Number of Acts
- 2
- First Produced
- 1964
- Genres
- Dark Comedy
- Settings
- Multiple Settings
- Time & Place
- 1905, anatevka, russia
- Cast Size
- large
- Orchestra Size
- Large
- Dancing
- Some Dance
- Licensor
- Music Theatre International
- Ideal For
- College/University, Community Theatre, High School, Large Cast, Mostly Male Cast, Professional Theatre, Regional Theatre, Religious Groups, Star Vehicle Male, Includes Adult, Mature Adult, Elderly, Late Teen, Young Adult, Child, Early Teen Characters
Context
Fiddler on the Roof is a musical based on Yiddish author Sholom Aleichem’s book of short stories, entitled Tevye and His Daughters and Other Tales. The musical was originally called Tevye, but the title was changed to Fiddler on the Roof, inspired by Marc Chagall’s painting The Fiddler. Throughout, the play employs the metaphor of the joyous fiddler delicately balancing atop a treacherous roof.
When Stein, Harnick, and Bock began collaborating on this musical, it was important that
to read the context for Fiddler on the Roof and to unlock other amazing theatre resources!Plot
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,
to read the plot for Fiddler on the Roof and to unlock other amazing theatre resources!Characters
| Name | Part Size | Gender | Vocal Part |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Lead |
Female |
Mezzo-Soprano, Alto |
|
|
Lead |
Female |
Mezzo-Soprano, Alto |
|
|
Lead |
Female |
Mezzo-Soprano, Alto |
|
|
Lead |
Male |
Bass-Baritone |
|
|
Lead |
Female |
Mezzo-Soprano, Alto |
|
|
Supporting |
Male |
Baritone |
|
|
Supporting |
Male |
Tenor |
|
|
Supporting |
Male |
Spoken |
|
|
Supporting |
Male |
Spoken |
|
|
Supporting |
Male |
Tenor |
|
|
Supporting |
Female |
Alto |
|
|
Featured |
Male |
Baritone |
|
|
Featured |
Female |
Mezzo-Soprano |
|
|
Featured |
Female |
Mezzo-Soprano |
|
|
Featured |
Male |
Spoken |
|
|
Featured |
Male |
Spoken |
|
|
Featured |
Female |
Spoken |
|
|
Featured |
Male |
|
|
|
Featured |
Male |
Non-singer |
|
|
Featured |
Male |
|
|
|
Featured |
Male |
Baritone |
|
|
Featured |
Female |
Alto |
|
|
Featured |
Female |
Alto |
|
|
Featured |
Male |
Silent |
|
|
Ensemble |
Either Gender |
Soprano, Mezzo-Soprano, Alto, Tenor, Baritone, Bass |
Songs
Act One
- *Prologue: Tradition – Tevye and the Company
- *Matchmaker, Matchmaker – Tzeitel, Hodel and Chava
- *If I Were a Rich Man – Tevye
- Sabbath Prayer – Tevye, Golde and the Company
- *To Life – Tevye, Lazar Wolf and the Company
- Tevye's Monologue – Tevye
- *Miracle of Miracles – Motel
- *Tevye's Dream – Tevye, Golde, Grandma Tzeitel, Fruma-Sarah
- and the Company
- *Sunrise, Sunset – Tevye, Golde, Perchik, Hodel and the Company
- *The Bottle Dance – Instrumental, *Ensemble
Act Two
- Entr'acte – Orchestra
- Now I Have Everything – Perchik and Hodel
- Tevye's Rebuttal – Tevye
- Do You Love Me? – Tevye and Golde
- The Rumor/I Just Heard – Yente and villagers
- Far From the Home I Love – Hodel
- Chavaleh (Little Bird) – Tevye, *Chava, *Tzeitel, *Hodel, *Motel, *Fyedka, *Perchik
- Anatevka – The Company
A song with an asterisk (*) before the title indicates a dance number; a character listed in a song with an asterisk (*) by the character's name indicates that the character exclusively serves as a dancer in this song, which is sung by other characters.
Monologues
Scenes
Key Terms
A song that uses short stanzas to tell a story about love.
The sequence of steps and movements in dance, also the orchestrated and rehearsed movements for actors, based on the script.
A group of musicians, actors, or dancers who perform together.
References an era of book musicals written roughly between the 1940s and the 1960s.
A Broadway musical written and produced between 1943 and 1965.
A type of song, usually early in the musical, in which the protagonist expresses their desires. The "I Want" song establishes the character's objectives.
A literary device that applies a word or phrase to an object or action, when the two are not comparable.
A restaging of a stage production after its original run has closed.
Two revolutions in 1917, the first of which overthrew the imperial government and the second of which placed the Bolsheviks in power.
A production designed especially to show off the talents of a particular performer.
The language used by Jewish people in central and eastern Europe before the Holocaust. It is still spoken today, mainly in the US, Israel, and Russia.
Videos
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Themes, Symbols & Motifs
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