The Broadway classic Fiddler on the Roof is coming to the Bob Carr Performing Arts Center in Downtown Orlando from September 29 to October 4. The musical, which was created in 1964 by writer Joseph Stein and director/choreographer Jerome Robbins, won numerous awards when it first opened, including the 1965 Tony Award for Best Musical.
The story focuses around a man, Tevye, in a tiny village in Russia in 1905. Tevye, a religious Jewish man, has a wife and five daughters, all of whom he will marry off with the help of the village matchmaker. Trouble begins when Tevye’s oldest daughter, Tzeitel, wants her father’s permission to marry the man she loves rather than the older man her father has picked for her. This begins a series of events that tests Tevye and makes him decide between what is more important; his faith and traditions or his family’s happiness.
Starring in the touring production is Chaim Topol. Topol, since winning the role in 1976 at the age of 30, has played Tevye for about 2,500 performances, including the film adaption of Fiddler in 1971. So far, he has won a Golden Globe, a Tony, and was nominated for an Oscar. Today, at the age of 73, he is still performing in the same role. As he said, “If someone would have told me 30 years ago that at the age of 73 I would still be jumping onstage and doing it, I would say he was out of his mind. I’m out of my mind and doing it. God willing, as long as I will be capable of delivering the songs, the lines and the dances, people will want to see me, I’ll be doing it.”
The Carr Center in located on 401 West Livingston Street in Orlando, FL 32810. Tickets can be purchased through Broadway Across America (broadwayacrossamerica.com) or the Carr Center box office. Tickets range in price from $38 to $73.
