In the small Russian village of Anatevka, the beginnings of the revolution begin to tremble beneath the villagers’ feet. “Fiddler on the Roof” is not just about iconic songs and spontaneous dancing, it’s a story depicting the unstoppable forces of change on an alienated village.
“Fiddler on the Roof” opens this weekend at the Muncie Civic Theater in downtown Muncie. The musical centers on Tevye, the father of five daughters, and his attempts to maintain his family and Jewish traditions while other influences are infringing on their lives.
With a play that has 60 members in the cast, Laura Williamson, the director of the musical, said they wanted to create a community.
“You never know how people are going to get along with each other by being a big cast and that is the risk. I have to say that it has been amazing, they have become more than a community but they have become mostly a family.”
When being in a play with cast members from ages 12 months to 80 years old, sometimes it can be a lot of work trying to become the character.
Evan Carrol, who plays controversal scholar Perchik, said it wasn’t hard for him to evolve into this character.
“I like to think of myself as a rebel sometimes, so getting into this character really isn’t that hard, it’s just believing in the character is the main part,” Carrol said.
The play was first introduced in 1964 and is almost 50 years old. Williamson said that they started planning for the play a little bit after Christmas.
“As a director you are looking at certain things, and it is easy to become focused on certain aspects of the story and miss other things because you are so focused on one particular thing,” Williamson said.
Since the play takes place in 1905 the characters and the costumes of the story has to be true to its time, in order for the audience to truly understand how people operated back in the early years. Williamson said that the costumes enhance the story.
“A historical piece as this, where the costumes are sort of taking on a character of themselves because they are so unlike anything we have seen today,” Williamson said. “It really puts you in that time period, it reminds me that costuming is truly a art form.”
The preparation for the play has been a lot of work and the characters will be able to show their work to Muncie starting on Friday.
“We just used costumes for the first time the other night and it gave everyone the sense of this is real, this is coming up soon,” Carrol said. “I think everyone is excited and just ready to open up and show everyone what we have been working on.”
“Fiddler on the Roof”’s first show starts April 12th at 7:30 pm. Tickets are $15 for adults and $10 for students and children.
