Bardstown Community Theater presents 'Fiddler on the Roof'

 The Bardstown Community Theatre presents the Tony Award-winning musical “Fiddler on the Roof” March 1-10 in the auditorium at Nelson County High School at 1070 Bloomfield Road.

Performances are 7 p.m. March 1, 2, 8 and 9, with matinees at 2 p.m. March 3 and 10. Tickets are $12 for adults, $10 for seniors/groups (10 or more) and $8 for students.

The production is directed by David Goodlett, an English teacher and theater director at Bethlehem High School. Marc Monroe, director of bands and performing arts chair at Nelson County High School, is serving as musical director for the show. Sherry Barnard, director of the Dance Centre in Elizabethtown and long-time choreographer for the “Stephen Foster Story,” is serving as the choreographer. 

Written by Joseph Stein and based on Sholem Aleichem’s short story “Tevye and His Daughters,” “Fiddler on the Roof” debuted at the Imperial Theatre on Broadway Sept. 22, 1964, and ran for 3,242 shows, becoming the longest-running musical in 1972.

It won nine Tony Awards, including Best Musical, Best Actor (Zero Mostel), Best Supporting Actress (Maria Karnilova) and Best Director (Jerome Robbins) as well as awards for author, producer, choreographer, costume design and composer and lyricist. In 1991 it won another Tony Award as Best Revival of a Musical.

 A 1971 movie version directed by Norman Jewison was nominated for Best Picture and picked up three Academy Awards.

“Fiddler on the Roof” was one of the first Broadway musicals to deal with serious issues such as persecution, poverty and holding on to one’s beliefs.

Set in 1905 in a small Jewish village in Russia, it is the story of dairyman Tevye (Dr. Mickey Anderson) and his attempts to preserve his family’s traditions in a changing world. Tevye’s daughter, Tzeitel ,(Stephanie Robinson) wants to marry a poor tailor (Wayne Hogue) instead of the middle-aged butcher, Lazar Wolfe (Charlie Beam) her father has chosen for her in the tradition of arranged marriages. Tevye is forced to choose between his daughter’s happiness and his culture’s beloved traditions.

The musical produced well-known songs such as “Sunrise, Sunset,” “If I Were a Rich Man,” and “Matchmaker.”

“ ‘Fiddler on the Roof’ is a classic story that transcends time and cultural differences with its eternal themes of conflict between new and old, parent and child,” said David Goodlett, artistic director.  “The music and dance are beautiful and elegant and we have a large, enthusiastic cast.”

For more information on the Bardstown Community Theatre production of Fiddler on the Roof, call Marc Monroe (502) 349-7010. Tickets are available at the door.