Jack Bradford, Director
Directors Notes: ‘Fiddle’ has wonderful themes and great songs including ‘Tradition’, ‘Matchmaker’ and ‘If I Were a Rich Man’. I think what makes this play so powerful is that the themes mean so much and continue to do so to each new generation that comes along. Tevye, our hero, is not a great politician or a famout person, he represents everyman. Tevye struggles to reconcie his faith and love for his family with the rules he has lived by all his life. Sound familiar? We can all relate to the sense of belonging we see in the people of Anatevka!
I would like to thank all of the production team and volunteer helpers that made ‘Fiddler’ happen. Much gratitude to the makeup and backstage parent helpers. It really does take a village to product quality theatre! Thank you to the fine cast of actors who really grasped the heart of this play. Now, to you the audience. Be mesmerised and carried away to the town at Anatevka, and may you take some pieces of life-changing wisdom away with you! As the good book says, ‘out of the mouths of babes…
Synopsis
FIDDLER ON THE ROOF-The year is 1905, and a Jewish community in Tsarist Russia is trying to eke out a living in the village of Anatevka. Tevye is a milkman who has a personal relationship with God in whom he confides all. He strives very hard to keep up the traditions of his faith, race and culture. He has five daughters, itself a problem, but what is more pressing is trying to find a husband for the eldest. Yente, the matchmaker does her best, but with no money and no dowry to offer, she finds that her work is very difficult.
Tzietel rejects the butcher, Lazar Wolf, to whom Tevye has promised her. She has her heart set on the young, penniless Motel. The ‘new way’ is that children shall decide partners for themselves-but will Golde, Tevye’s wife, accept this change in traditional values? Tevye conjures up a dream in an attempt to persuade Golde that Lazar Wolf is not a good match and that Grandmother would much prefer her granddaughter to marry the tailor. Golde is persuaded and that is the first chink in the breakdown of traditional values. At the wedding ceremony between Motel and Tzietel, there is an anti-Jewish demonstration, orchestrated by the Chief of Police, which casts into doubt the stability of Jewish life in Tsarist Russia.
Tevye’s second daughter, Hodel, has fallen love with Perchik, a political student, an activist against repressive regime. Tevye refused to give his permission for Hodel and Perchik to marry, but they inform Tevye that they do not wish to seek his permission to marry, but merely his blessing. Traditions are obviously changing. Later, Perchik is arrested and is to be sent to Siberia. Hodel intends to join him. She promises her father that they will be married under a canopy, in the traditional Jewish way. Chava, Tevye’s third daughter, has fallen in love with Fyedka, a Russian soldier. Not only is he Russian, he is not a Jew and the bending of tradition this far is something that Tevye cannot reconcile himself to. From this point on, Chava ceases to be his daughter and is shunned.
Meanwhile, Anatevke itself is under threat. The Jews are being forced to leave their homes, and many of them decide to go to live in America, where many have friends and relations. That is where Tevye and Golde and the younger children are to go. Motel and Tzietel, who now have a child of their own will join them. Chava and Fyedka, wanted by neither Jew nor Russian, go to live in Poland. The Fiddler on the Roof, the indomitable spirit of the Jewish people will live on in all of them.
Cast List
Moscow Cast |
Kiev Cast |
|
|---|---|---|
| Tevye | Jonathan Albrecht | Jonathan Albrecht |
| Golde | Jessie Stringer | Triona Giles |
| Tzietel (Oldest Daughter) | Courtney Fitzgerald | Lauren McGuckin |
| Motel (Tailor) | Travis Harries | Travis Harries |
| Hodel (2nd Daughter) | Gemma Ritchie | Macarra Berthaly-Martyn |
| Perchik (Student) | Robbie Mitchell | Robbie Mitchell |
| Chava (4th Daughter) | Rachel Macnaught | Chloe Thiel |
| Fyedka (Soldier) | Alex Kuchmenko | Zach Miller |
| Yente (MatchMaker) | Maddi Coleman | Twyla Akhurst |
| Lazar Wolf (Butcher) | Yael Gilbert | Yael Gilbert |
| Sphrintze (Daughter) | Brianna McGrory | Emma Venzke |
| Bielke (Youngest Daughter) | Nicola Munday | Martina Marrama |
| Mordcha (InnKeeper) | Stephanie Inches | Chloe Fallon |
| Avram (Book Seller) | Piper Rosenblatt | Izaiah Fergusson |
| Mendel (Rabbi’s Child) | Patrick McGrory | Patrick McGrory |
| Yussel (Hatter) | Emma Thomas | Kelsey Pigram |
| Constable | Lachlan Farnfield | Lachlan Farnfield |
| Rabbi/Soloist | Jose De Andrade | Jose De Andrade |
| Sasha (Soldier, Fyedka’s Friend) | Zach Miller | Alex Kuchmenko |
| Russians | Ned Franklin, Henry Franklin | |
| Fiddler | Challanor Gilbert | Challanor Gilbert |
| Village Women | Mina Aanat, Isabelle Olding, Abi Thiel | |
| Village Men | Spencer Mitchell, Aaron Aanat, Nicholas Olding, Jesse Bradford |
Production Team
Role |
Name |
|---|---|
| Director | Jack Bradford |
| Music Director | Debbie Bradford |
| Production Manager | Debbie Bradford |
| Choreography | Janet Thiel |
| Costume Design | Bernadette Macnaught |
| Costume Assistants | Liz Inches, Maggie Duncan |
| Makeup Design | Rosemary Ingle |
| Publicist | Alix Hill |
| Props | Carrie Akhurst |
| Stage Set | Brian Clark, Ian Bulloch, Carrie Akhurst |
| Artwork | Josh Miller |
| Sound | Neil Moodie |
| Lights Design | Stephen Moodie |
| Lights Operation | Ricky Hobbs |
| Spotlight | Paul Gandini |
| Overhead | Andy Buckley |
| Administration/Canteen | Sandie Mitchell |
| Box Office | Debbie Bradford, Chantelle Bradford, Sandie Mitchell |
| Stage Manager | Julie Canham |
| DVD Production | Mike Canham |
| Photography/Video | Leanne Head |
| CD Operator | Glenda Whittred |