Hastleons

Synopsis of Fiddler on the Roof

• Creators: Book by Joseph Stein, music by Jerry Bock, lyrics by Sheldon Harnick.
• Setting: The small Jewish shtetl (village) of Anatevka in Imperial Russia, 1905.
• Plot Overview:
  The story centers on Tevye, a poor milkman, and his wife Golde, as they try to maintain their Jewish traditions and way of life in the face of changing times and growing antisemitism. Tevye has five daughters, and the central conflict arises from his attempts to marry them off according to Jewish tradition, while his daughters increasingly choose their own husbands based on love rather than the dictates of a matchmaker.Tzeitel, his eldest daughter, defies tradition by marrying Motel, a poor tailor, instead of the wealthy butcher Lazar Wolf. Hodel falls in love with Perchik, a revolutionary student, and they marry before Perchik is exiled to Siberia. Chava, the third daughter, falls in love with Fyedka, a Russian Orthodox Christian, leading to a painful rift with her father as she chooses love over religious tradition.The play also depicts the growing threat of pogroms (violent antisemitic riots) and the eventual expulsion of the Jewish community from Anatevka by Tsarist decree, forcing them to leave their homes and seek a new life.
• Themes: Tradition versus change, love, family, faith, persecution, and the search for home and identity.
• Genre: Musical drama.
• Notable Songs: “Tradition,” “If I Were a Rich Man,” “Sunrise, Sunset,” “Matchmaker, Matchmaker,” and “Do You Love Me?”