Last Evening

Last evening I was invited to see a new play at the Wagon Wheel Playhouse in my home town. It was called Fiddler on the Roof.

 

This article is about the 1964 musical. For the film, see Fiddler on the Roof (film).

Fiddler on the Roof
Original Broadway Windowcard evoking the artwork of Marc Chagall, source of the title.
Music	Jerry Bock
Lyrics	Sheldon Harnick
Book	Joseph Stein
Basis	Tevye and his Daughters by Sholem Aleichem
Productions	1964 Broadway 1967 West End 1971 film 1976 Broadway revival 1981 Broadway revival 1983 West End revival 1990 Broadway revival 1994 West End revival 2003 UK tour 2004 Broadway revival 2007 West End revival 2008 UK tour 2009 US Tour
Awards	Tony Award for Best Musical Tony Award for Best Score Tony Award for Best Book

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 Imperial Russia in 1905. 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 family and Jewish religious traditions while outside influences encroach upon their lives. He must cope both with the strong-willed actions of his three older daughters—each one’s choice of husband moves further away from the customs of his faith—and with the edict of the Tsar that evicts the Jews from their village.

The original Broadway production of the show, which opened in 1964, had the first musical theatre run in history to surpass 3,000 performances. Fiddler held the record for the longest-running Broadway musical for almost 10 years until Grease surpassed its run. It remains Broadway’s sixteenth longest-running show in history. The production was extraordinarily profitable and highly acclaimed. It was nominated for ten Tony Awards, winning nine, including Best Musical, score, book, direction and choreography. It spawned four Broadway revivals, a highly successful 1971 film adaptation, and the show has enjoyed enduring international popularity. It is also a very popular choice for school and community productions.^[1]

 

I enjoyed it very much. The entire play was a little longer than others. The first break was not until almost 9:30; which most breaks are around 8:30, but it was worth it. I love the voices and the acting.

One of the main stars, which if you look at the above photo, I am talking about the one with the beard. I was fortunate enough to get to meet him after the show. It turns out that he lives less than an hour away. Gee, I wonder if he is married, lol.

Upon leaving I was so humiliated. I seem to have issues when I stand and walk very far. I was leaving my seat and had made it to the front double-wide doors, when suddenly I felt like I was going to fall.

I have had to deal with this more lately. I never fall, but right there in front of hundreds of people I tipped forward, running into this poor older lady’s back. I am sure my face turned beat red. She turned and looked at me and thankfully didn’t cuss me out; but instead smiled. She was probably thinking that woman had too much wine.

Yes, you can purchase wine only during these plays but I am not allowed to drink because of my Diabetes. I didn’t say anything more to her than how sorry I was. I couldn’t explain. I guess I didn’t want her to know that I had medical issues.

I had to have help from my friends to make it down the hill to the car. I tried to erase the embarrassment away by thanking God that my friends were kind and didn’t mind at all walking an old lady down the hill, arm in arm.