Story by Ash Johnson and Bri Johnson From Friday March 27 to Sunday March 29, Tennessee Wesleyan put on the musical Fiddler on the Roof. Jamey Owen, the director of the musical, gave a speech before the performance began. Owen gave a shout-out to all the students, faculty, and community members who helped make the musical possible and mentioned the divisiveness in the country. Fiddler on the Roof is a historical play based on the experiences of the Jewish community, including their joys and their struggles. One prominent theme is tradition, which is especially important for Orthodox Jews (Brittney Bowman). Although the musicial portrays the daily lives of ordinary Jewish people in a way that is relatable to the audience, there are aspects of the story that require prior knowledge of Orthodox branch of Judaism to understand better. The cast members gained that insight from Sam Jaffee to better understand Jewish culture. In Judaism, the Bible is vital to not only the people’s faith, but also helps them navigate daily life. (Riley’s character) main catchphrase is “As the Good Book says”. Throughout the play, characters either cite the Bible directly or make allusions to its passages, often in comedic ways. The play incorporates comedy while keeping reverence to Judaism, making the story educational while being hilariously relatable. Warning: Spoilers for Fiddler on the Roof Although the characters in the beginning emphasize the importance of tradition, Tevye’s notions of tradition are challenged when three of his five daughters, Tzeitel, Hodel, and Chava, seek to marry. Tzeitel is initially arranged to marry Lazar, a wealthy butcher, but wishes to marry Motel, the tailor, instead. Even though Motel is poor, Tzeitel loves him because he is her childhood friend. This presents the first challenge: Wealth vs Love. While Tzeitel and Motel are getting married, Hodel and Perchik’s relationship quickly blossoms. At first, Hodel was skeptical of Perchik, as was the rest of the village, because Perchik challenges tradition directly. However, it is when Perchik challenges Hodel by offering to dance with her that she falls in love. When Hodel and Perchik tell Tevye that they are getting married, Tevye initially does not approve, but is not offended until the couple says they are not asking for permission. This marriage presents two challenges: old traditions vs new ideas and parental authority vs children’s autonomy. Just when Tevye thinks his challenges are over, Chava wants to marry Fyedka, a Russian Christian. Now, Tevye must decide if faith is more important than love. The irony of Tevye deciding between tradition and the new ideas is that he and Golde defy tradition. Tevye may be the husband, but Golde is the one that Tevye reveres. After the performance ended, Riley Hammel, the star of the show, was asked his thoughts of the show. Hammel mentioned that his favorite part of rehearsals was “Just everybody coming together. We had a great crew”. TWU professors also contributed to the performance, with John Ferguson building the set and Dr. Sam Jaffee teaching the crew about the Jewish heritage in the play. But performances also have their challenges. Hammel claimed that it took “An hour and a half coming in working on stuff [for three months]” and “trying to balance schoolwork” Despite these challenges, Hammel expressed his wishes to perform again. “Oh absolutely, this is just my third [play]” Just as the cast and audience has learned about the traditions and challenges of Jewish history, they also were left with this question: What traditions should be held on to, and what should be challenged? Photos by Ash Johnson and Bri Johnson
