Fiddler on the roof is a musical with music by jerry bock lyrics by sheldon harnick and book by joseph stein set in the pale of settlement of imperial russia in or around 1905.
Why is it a fiddler on the roof.
Six things you may not have known about fiddler on the roof as the acclaimed musical turns 50 years old this week relive the tradition with these interesting factoids.
Fiddler on the roof tells the story of tevye a jewish dairyman and his family living in anatevka a fictional town inside the pale settlement of imperial russia in 1905.
As quoted in the first number without their russian jew traditions their lives would be as shaky as a fiddler on the roof there actually is a character who dances over the rooftops playing a.
It is based on tevye and his daughters or tevye the dairyman and other tales by sholem aleichem the story centers on tevye the father of five daughters and his attempts to maintain his jewish religious and.
With topol norma crane leonard frey molly picon.
Fiddler on the roof is arguably one of the most important musicals ever staged.
The show opens here on nov.
Directed by norman jewison.
Photo by joan marcus.
The fiddler as tevye says is trying to scratch out a pleasant simple tune without breaking his neck but tevye adds you may ask why do we stay.
It is true that the fiddler is indeed a metaphor for that theme.
Defenders of fiddler on the roof might counter that the struggle to hold on to traditions is the entire point of the show.
In prerevolutionary russia a jewish peasant contends with marrying off three of his daughters while growing anti semitic sentiment threatens his village.
Fiddler on the roof was based on a series of stories written by the jewish mark twain like samuel clemens sholem rabinovich was better known by his pen name.
The cast of fiddler on the roof.
If one were to ask a.
From 1880 to 1920 when there was a political social crisis the russian government would incite the population against the jews trying to divert its attention from the real problems.