Tradition. At what point does it's closely held ways become a kind of holding cell and when does a person who is attached to the comfort nonetheless break free of the ties that bind?
The play "Fiddler on the Roof" is a story that examines just such a question. It concerns a dairyman, Tevye, and his family in the village of Anatevka in Tsarist Russia, where cultural traditions and identity struggle in a rapidly changing world.
Based on "Tevye and his Daughters," or "Tevye the Milkman," by the Russian Jewish author Sholom Aleichem, it was originally published in 1949.
One of the most successful musicals of all time, it opened on Broadway in 1964 and ran for eight straight years. The incomparable Zero Mostel famously portrayed Tevye for many of those years.
With music by Jerry Bock and lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, it includes such timeless songs as "If I Were a Rich Man," "Matchmaker, Matchmaker," "Tradition" and "Sunrise Sunset." The book is by Joseph Stein. It was an instant smash hit when it opened and has since had four more Broadway revivals. The most recent one was mounted in 2004 with Harvey Fierstien as Tevye and Rosie O'Donnell as his wife, Golde.
The year is 1905 and a Jewish community is trying to eke out a living in its "shtetl." Despite the times, Tevye is a traditionalist and he strives to maintain while Russians are instigating terrible pogroms against the Jewish people.
It is not beside the point that Tevye is also the father to five daughters for whom he must find husbands. Breaking with tradition, his daughters refuse to accept the wishes of the matchmaker and their father. Instead, they marry men with whom they are in love.
The cast includes Joseph Zeman as Teyve, Brooke Hand as Golde, Alyse Stark, Anneka Preston, Stephanie Weller, Colin Clark, Jake Byerley, Hayden Seder, Cody Cole and Sheldon Hart.
The Wood River High School Performing Arts Academy and Drama Club have created a rustic set. Senior Brooke Hand and her mother, Karen, costumed the show. Directed by Becky Miller with musical direction by Max Stimac, the orchestra consists of members of the Wood River High School Band with accompaniment on piano by Dorinda Rendahl. Choreography is by Sara Gorby.
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"Fiddler on the Roof"
The classic play is presented by the Wood River High School Performing Arts Academy and Drama Club.
· Friday, May 5, through Sunday, May 7.
· Curtain at 7 p.m.
· At Community Campus Theatre, in Hailey.
· Tickets are available at Iconoclast Books in Hailey and Ketchum.
· Adults $12, students $6.
WRHS seniors Anneka Preston, Alyse Stark and Stephanie Weller portray Russian sisters, this weekend. Photos by Sara Gorby
