Wheaton Drama’s buoyant ‘Fiddler’ reflects today's family struggles

We live in a time when social issues and religious differences can tear families apart.

So do Tevye, Golde and their five daughters.

The little village of Anatevka springs to life in Fiddler on the Roof as Wheaton Drama begins its 87th season of outstanding theater. Fiddler runs Sept. 15 through Oct. 8.

The classic musical tells of life and love—and the eternal struggle between old practices and new thinking—in 1905, the waning days of czarist Russia.

In 2017, Fiddler is more relevant than ever—and the songs, from the ebullient “If I Were a Rich Man” to the poignant “Sunrise, Sunset”—resonate within our hearts and souls.

Veteran director Carrie Dabelow is staging her first production at Playhouse 111 in downtown Wheaton. She observes: “Tradition, family, and faith are under siege in Tevye’s home—just as they were in the tempestuous 1960s when Fiddler premiered—and just as they are today in a polarized environment trying to adjust to enormous global change.”

With their eldest daughters coming of age, Tevye and Golde seek proper husbands for them—through arranged marriages—but Tzeitel, Hodel and Chava have ideas of their own. They would marry for love, even if that means going outside the faith.

“Fiddler on the Roof portrays the younger generation bringing to the world the reality of change,” Dabelow says, “and the older generation desperately clinging to the traditions that are held so dear, and the delicate balance that is needed between the two.”

The conflicts are leavened, of course, by wonderful songs—the ebullient “Miracle of Miracles,” the uplifting “To Life,” and the raucous “Tevye’s Dream.”

All this swirls amid the incipient Bolshevik revolution and religious persecution against the devout, tight-knit community.

Emma Lee, who plays Hodel, says of Fiddler, “People will see a show about family and the impact decisions have on the whole family. [They] will feel for the people of Anatevka and the persecution they go through.”

The humanity of the story can be transformative, offers Kaia Ebel, who plays young Shprintze. Audiences “can learn to understand and accept people's different points of view and be open to new ideas.”

For the girls’ mama, played by Mary Barrett (her second time in the role), their transition supersedes tradition. “Golde would be so happy to see her daughters grow from the lessons they had learned growing up in their loving and supportive home,” Barrett says, “which may have lacked material resources but was oh, so rich in love and laughter.”

Emily Roldan plays the eldest daughter, Tzeitel—the first to buck the old ways and seek to marry for true love. She observes: “Breaking tradition is not always bad or negative. A lot of change is happening in our real world, and it should be embraced instead of shot down.”

Fiddler on the Roof brings an enduring message of optimism in times of strife, making it an ideal experience for today’s families to share.

“Even through their hardship, I think audiences will see the joy of family and community, as well as perseverance, faith and hope in unfortunate situations,” Lee says.

Dabelow adds: “The themes that surround this story touch all of us, no matter our walk of life. It takes universal questions and puts them out there for others to ponder along with us. It’s bringing very different people together for a few hours to understand how alike we truly are.”

Fiddler on the Roof runs Sept. 15 through Oct. 8 at 111 N. Hale St., Wheaton, IL. Performances are Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 3 p.m.

Tickets ($20–23) can be purchased online at http://www.wheatondrama.org/order-tickets/ or by calling 630.260.1820.