Fiddler on the Roof at Glendale Centre Theatre

The musical centers on the family of Tevye (Chaim Topol), a Jewish family living in the town of Anatevka, in Tsarist Russia, in 1905. Anatevka is broken into two sections: a small Orthodox Jewish section; and a larger Orthodox Christian section. Tevye notes that, "We don't bother them, and so far, they don't bother us." Throughout the musical, Tevye breaks the fourth wall by talking at times, directly to the audience or to the heavens (to God), for the audience's benefit. Tevye is not wealthy, despite working hard, like most Jews in Anatevka, also having many children. He and his wife, Golde (Norma Crane), have five daughters and cannot afford to give them much in the way of dowries. According to their tradition, they have to rely on the village matchmaker, Yente (Molly Picon), to find them husbands. Life in the little town of Anatevka is very hard and Tevye speaks not only of the difficulties of being poor but also of the Jewish community's constant fear of harassment from their non-Jewish neighbors. In addition, Tevya has a lame horse, that adds to the misery of being poor, and has to carry the wagon by himself.