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WEDNESDAY

April 20, 2016 Volume 10, Number 14

‘Fiddler on the Roof’

performed at Parkland

Photos by Zonghui Li | The Prospectus The cast of Parkland Theater’s newest play, “Fiddler on the Roof,” holds a dress rehearsal on Tuesday, April 12, 2016. Peter Floess Staﬀ Writer

A story of hardship and change is told in the classic musical “Fiddler on the Roof,” which is coming to Parkland’s theater starting this Friday. The play is directed by former Millikin University professor Stephen Fiol. Fiol says that since “Fiddler on the Roof” premiered in 1964, it has been translated into 23 languages and millions of people around the world have seen the play. Fiol thinks the popularity of the musical is owed to its theme: the difﬁculty of change is universal. Tevye, a dairyman in a Jewish community called Anatevka in czarist Russia, faces change on a personal and societal level. The character is played by Lou Kinnamon in the Parkland production, Three of Tevye’s ﬁve daughters disregard the marriage traditions of Anatevka and marry for love, with each daughter pushing the boundaries of the religious and cultural traditions of the community further in turn. On a societal level, change is felt by Tevye in the growing anti-Semitism in czarist

Russia. Fiol summarizes this political phenomenon as being caused by the decline of Nicholas II’s regime. The czar decided to scapegoat the Jews for Russia’s problems. His government-sponsored pogroms took land from rural Jewish communities. Eventually, this led to the forced migration of around three million Russian Jews during his reign, according to journalist Barbara Isenberg, who wrote a book called “Tradition!” on the history of

the musical. The title “Fiddler on the Roof” comes from one of Tevye’s opening speeches comparing life in Anatevka to a ﬁddler on the roof “trying to scratch out a pleasant, simple tune without breaking his neck.” Each person in the community is trying to scratch out a pleasant, simple life in a harsh environment and unstable political times. Isenberg believes part of the appeal of “Fiddler on the Roof” comes from the

continuing humanitarian problems and ethnic conﬂicts around the world. These crises have made the plight of the people of Anatevka universal. According to Isenberg, playwright Joseph Stein got the idea for the musical “Fiddler on the Roof” from the paintings of Jewish Russian-French artist Marc Chagall, whose work was heavily inﬂuenced by the folk art of rural Jews in czarist Russia.

Fiol believes another part of the reason for the universal appeal of the musical is the music which composer Jerry Bock and lyricist Sheldon Harnick wrote in the early 1960s. Some of the musical’s songs, such as “If I Were a Rich Man,” “Matchmaker, Matchmaker” and “Sunrise, Sunset,” have developed a life of their own outside of the musical. Fiol enjoys the works of Bock and Harnick in these shows and in other musicals they created together. Fiol believes the 13-piece orchestra under the direction of Cullyn Murphy is very skilled, and the choreographing for the Parkland’s production— managed by Whitney Havice—is excellent. Dennis Sims, who plays Avram, the book seller of Amatevka, has a part in the chorus of “Fiddler on the Roof.” This is the second musical he has been in. Fiol asked him to audition for the production, because Fiol knew that Sims could sing. Sims takes part in the bottle dance during the wedding scene. The dancers must balance a wine bottle on their hats while dancing. SEE FIDDLER PAGE 3

The most shoplifted food in the US is candy. Answer on page 2