Fiddler on the Roof, directed by Mitchell Alleiuia-Feinberg for the Company of Rowlett Performers, comes to Garland’s Plaza Theatre from Friday, 24 May 2024 to Saturday, 2 June 2024. The highly acclaimed staged musical, from a book penned by Joseph Stein, features music and lyrics respectively written by Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnick. The coming theatrical production, with special permission granted by Arnold Perl, is based on stories penned by Sholem Aleichem.
The story, set in the quaintly quiet village of Anatevka, centers on Tevye the Dairyman and his five daughters. Tevye, not rich by any means of the imagination, holds steadfast to traditionalist Jewish values. The impoverished milkman, with significant help from a colorfully tight-knit Jewish community, struggles to protect his daughters. His intent, like all good fathers of his generation, is to instill in each of his daughters the values of their ancestors. Making the task exceedingly difficult, noting an increasingly anti-Semitic atmosphere within Czarist Russia, Tevye must come to terms with social norms changing around him.
Fiddler on the Roof, revolving around universally recognizable themes, cuts across the barriers of race, class, nationality, and religiously framed rhetoric. Numerous theatregoers, during the past six decades, have found Fiddler on the Roof one of the most historically rich musicals ever brought to the stage. The vibrance of the storytelling, a tribute to Aleichem’s stories, has often reduced theatregoers to tears of laughter, joy, and more than a modicum of profound sadness.
The history of the musical, well documented, shows exactly how successful Fiddler on the Roof has been over the past six decades. There is much that can be said for longevity and Fiddler on the Roof, having made its Broadway debut in 1964, has this in spades. Fiddler on the Roof, at the 1965 Tony Awards, was nominated for ten awards and won nine. The musical, in 1972, received a special Tony Award in recognition of it then being the “Longest Running Musical in Broadway History”.
The original Broadway production, opening to theatre going audiences on Tuesday, 22 Sept. 1964, achieved historical significance by surpassing 3,000 performances. Prior to Grease premiering in 1971, for a decade, Fiddler on the Roof had been recognized as Broadway’s longest running musical.
Not to be outdone by Grease, in 1971, cinemagoers witnessed the release of a successful big screen adaptation of Fiddler on the Roof starring Topol as milkman Tevye. Topol, in his portrayal of Anatevka’s milkman, brought to life for film audiences a quintessentially defining performance.
Fiddler on the Roof, coming to Garland’s Plaza Theatre on Friday, 24 May 2024, has tickets on sale for $25.
