FIDDLER ON THE ROOF is an epic musical that is both a boisterous, comic look at rural life in a Ukrainian village, and a serious portrait of the sweeping, tragic changes the 1905 Russian Revolution forced on Russian Jews. Based on stories by the great Jewish author Sholom Aleichem, the story is set in a small Jewish village in Russia on the cusp of the Revolution but at this time, the Tsar still reigns and he doesn’t like Jews much.
This is the story of Tevye the milkman (Topol), his wife Golde (Norma Crane), and his five daughters in a small village. Anatevka, the town is predominantly Jewish and the religion is central to the culture and relationships shown in the film. Tevye intends for his girls to find husbands and marry in the traditional manner, but the three oldest have other plans. Tzeitel (Rosalind Harris) wants to marry her childhood sweetheart, Hodel (Michele Marsh) wishes to wed a revolutionary student, and Chaya (Neva Small) falls in love with a Christian man. In the meantime, political events and world instability threaten the village. The central theme of the film is Tevye’s struggle to maintain tradition while still allowing his daughters to follow their dreams.
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