“The Fiddler on the Roof”
Madison.- The classic play “The Fiddler on the Roof” based on the story of Sholom Aleichem, was presented last night at the Overture Center. The luxury cast of 32 internationally famous actors, for two hours and forty-five minutes simply mesmerized the audience with their extraordinary performance, the choreography, music, singing and dance, captured the admiration and applause of the sold out Overture Center show.
The plot and action of the comedy takes place in the Ukrainian village of Anatevka. It’s a community in which a Jewish and Orthodox population coexist. Tevye, the milkman, tries to maintain his traditional life, and that of his daughters, at a time of transitional change. Tevye has five daughters, and the greatest concern that both he and his wife named Golde have is that they all marry wealthy men, that they have a good inheritance in order to end their poverty. The three oldest Tzeitel, Hodel and Chava are the ones who were about to get married in a hurry.
Tevye one day meets Perchik, a student from Kiev, whom the people of the village consider a radical, Tevye invites him to his house for dinner, for Shabbat, and after dinner offers him to work, as a tutor for the youngest of his daughters in exchange for a stipend. During the time of his stay in Tevye’s house, Perchick falls in love with Hodel, and even sees how she blindly follows the Jewish family life model that bothers him so much and tries to change it.
Tzeitel, the eldest daughter, marries Motel, a tailor friend from her childhood, who although a bit of a coward is a good guy, honest but poor, so Tevye decides to celebrate her daughter’s wedding with the tailor. Chava, who is the daughter that follows in the marriage order, meets Fyedka, who turns out to be a lover of literature who falls in love with Chava. This last union will not be allowed by Tevye since Fyedka was not Jewish and already in the two previous engagements he had challenged their tradition. The latter married Fyedka which means to Tevye that her daughter has died. At the time of being exiled from Anatevka they reconciled.
Actually this play is based on the theme of arranged marriages that may seem like an outdated story, however, “The Fiddler on the Roof” showed last night that the struggle for change in a world constantly evolving is never just history. After all, here at Anatevka, everyone is a “Roof Fiddler”, looking for love, wealth, respect, education, or clarity of faith, hoping it will bring them what they really want: freedom.
Last night was the first presentation of this remarkable show at the Overture Center in this city, and the other presentations are scheduled for Friday 20th and Saturday 21st, at 7.30pm. The community that was prevented from leaving their home to the theater during the pandemic, now has the opportunity to do so together with their family.
