“Fiddler on the Roof”

Act Up Theatre, in collaboration with The Straw Hat Players, will present the award-winning musical Fiddler on the Roof, featuring local talent and creators, June 11-15, 2024 at 7:30 pm on the Gaede stage at the Roland Dille Center for the Arts, Minnesota State University Moorhead (MSUM). The show will be directed by Craig A. Ellingson.

Fiddler is a renowned musical with music by Jerry Bock, lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, and book by Joseph Stein. Set in Imperial Russia around 1905, the story centers on Tevye, a milkman in the village of Anatevka, who attempts to maintain his religious and cultural traditions as outside influences encroach upon his family’s lives. With humor and heartache, “Fiddler” tackles the issues of government persecution, anti-Semitism, traditions and family values in an ever-changing world.

The themes of Fiddler on the Roof revolve around people who become displaced — and the related universal question, “How do you accept other people whose entire foundation is completely different from your own?” Act Up’s contemporary portrayal of this show will be relevant and timely, reflecting current events: Intolerance of groups via forced relocations, entrenched prejudice, social disadvantage and political oppression.

Leads for the production include Ted Horan as “Tevye”, Aimee Klein as his wife “Golde”, and David Triptow as “The Fiddler”