I’m very excited to say that I was able to see Fiddler on the Roof when it came to the Altria this week! My Fiddler plot summary is below.
Fiddler on the Roof features Tevye, a Jewish milkman. The show opens with the song “Tradition”, where he explains the customs in the town of Anatevka. At his house, Tevye and his wife Golde prepare for the Sabbath with their five daughters. The matchmaker Yente arrives and says she may have a match for the eldest daughter, Tzietel. The sisters Tzietel, Hodel, and Chava discuss the excitement of the possibility of marriage – and the risks. Meanwhile Tevye in the barn asks G-d why he couldn’t have been a rich man, then finishes his deliveries for the day. While in town he meets the student Perchik, who offers to tutor his daughters. They have him and Tzietel’s friend Motel over for Shabbos dinner. When he arrives home, Golde informs him he must meet with Lazar Wolf; Lazar Wolf wishes to propose to Tzietel, though Tevye mistakenly assumes he wants Tevye’s newest milk cow. They agree to the bargain and celebrate at the local tavern. On his way home, the Russian constable stops Tevye and warns him of an upcoming “demonstration”.
The next day, Tzietel and Motel protest Tziedel’s engagement to Lazar Wolf, as they’ve given each other a pledge of love to marry. Tevye eventually agrees, as he doesn’t value tradition over his daughter, and pretends to have a wild dream featuring a curse from Lazar Wolf’s late wife, Fruma Sarah, to convince Golde to marry Motel. They are married in a traditional Jewish wedding ceremony, which is interrupted by a small pogrom from the Christian majority in town. This closes Act 1.
Act 2 opens and many months have passed. Meanwhile, Hotel has fallen in love with the revolutionary Perchik, who’s soon to leave to Kiev to support the revolution. She and Perchik ask Tevye only his blessing, not his permission, to marry. Tevye struggles with this, but accepts it, because once again he does not value this tradition over his daughter’s happiness and knows that they will take care of one another. Perchik leaves and is later arrested and sent to Siberia. Hodel decides to go to him, and Tevye sees her off on the train, with the promise that she will marry under a canopy, aka that they will uphold their Jewish values and bring them into their new lives.
Lastly, Chava, the middle child, has fallen in love with Fyedka, a non-Jew who lives in their town. She pleads with Tevye to accept them, but this is the one violation of tradition he will not, “cannot” allow. Chava and Fyedka elope at the Christian church, and Chava is disowned by her family.
Trouble continues brewing until ones day the constable tells all Jews that they have three days to leave Anatevka. They’re off to the far corners of the world – other parts of Russia, Israel, America. Everyone prepares to leave as they reminisce about the town that they’ve called home for so long. Chava and Fyedka come to say goodbye and make peace. Tevye refuses to look at Chava, but has Tzietel wish her well before they all depart, the fiddler playing as the show draws to a close.
Okay, so, my plot summary of the show took a very long time, but it’s like a three hour show without cuts. This was an interesting deep dive into some Jewish culture that I might not’ve otherwise known about yet – particularly after watching the gendered dancing at the wedding, I looked up a lot of Orthodox wedding traditions and learned about what it takes to be formally married as an Orthodox Jew, what vows are shared, what traditions are typical and why, such as the canopy and the breaking of the glass. I think the show does an amazing job making it close to home for Jews and still enjoyable for people who don’t understand any of the references, especially as I find myself somewhere in between.
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