41 Fun Facts About Fiddler on the Roof

What is Tevye's occupation?

He is the village milkman, delivering his dairy from a cart he pulls himself because his horse has gone lame.

What is the name of the fictional village where the musical is set?

Anatevka is a shtetl in the Pale of Settlement of Imperial Russia in 1905, and its name is the title of the villagers' lament when they are expelled.

Whose Yiddish short stories inspired the musical?

Sholem Aleichem, pen name of Solomon Rabinovich, wrote the stories in Yiddish from 1894; his own stage version was performed in Yiddish in 1919, after his death in 1916.

Who wrote the music for Fiddler on the Roof?

Jerry Bock wrote the music, and his partnership with lyricist Sheldon Harnick had begun with a 1958 flop, The Body Beautiful.

Which wealthy widower does Yente the matchmaker propose as a husband for Tzeitel?

Lazar Wolf, the butcher, gets her father to agree to the match at the village inn, but Tzeitel then begs not to be forced into the marriage.

What is Motel saving up to buy before he dares ask for Tzeitel's hand?

Motel is saving for a sewing machine; by the second act he has bought a used one, and he and Tzeitel have a baby.

Perchik, the radical student who tutors Tevye's daughters, studied at the university in which city?

Kyiv is where Perchik studied, and he later heads back there to work for the revolution, a choice that ends with his arrest.

In 'Tevye's Dream', which two dead women rise from the grave?

Grandma Tzeitel and Fruma-Sarah appear because Tevye invents the nightmare to scare the superstitious Golde into letting Tzeitel marry Motel.

What tradition does Perchik break at Tzeitel's wedding?

He crosses the barrier to dance with a woman, Hodel, and soon most of the wedding guests join the dance.

What euphemism does the Constable use to warn Tevye about the coming pogrom?

A 'little unofficial demonstration' is the Constable's phrase for the raid that wrecks Tzeitel's wedding, where Perchik is wounded trying to fight back.

Which daughter's marriage does Tevye refuse to accept, telling the family to consider her dead?

Chava marries the Christian Fyedka, and when the Jews are driven out, the couple leave for Poland rather than stay among people who could do such things.

At the end of Fiddler on the Roof, where are Tevye, Golde and their two youngest daughters heading?

America is where many of the villagers have friends and relations, and Motel and Tzeitel plan to follow once they have saved enough money.

Which painter's work suggested the musical's title and inspired the original set design?

Marc Chagall's style reached the original set through designer Boris Aronson, who had written a book about Chagall while living in Berlin.

Who directed and choreographed the original 1964 Broadway production of Fiddler on the Roof?

Jerome Robbins won Tonys for directing and choreographing it, and his dances later underpinned revivals such as the 2015 production's new choreography.

Why did the original Tevye hold Fiddler on the Roof's director in contempt?

He had cooperated with HUAC, naming names after holding out for three years, while the star had refused to name anyone and been blacklisted.

Which future Golden Girls star played Yente the matchmaker in the original Broadway cast?

Beatrice Arthur created Yente, the matchmaker whose plans unravel as Tevye's daughters insist on picking husbands for love.

Which future superstar took over the role of Tzeitel during the original Broadway run?

Bette Midler worked her way up from the chorus, understudying Tzeitel before taking over the role in 1967.

Which musical was the first to overtake Fiddler on the Roof as Broadway's longest-running show?

Grease overtook Fiddler after beginning in 1971 at Chicago's Kingston Mines Theatre and moving to New York the following year.

Which star won the 1965 Tony for Best Actor in a Musical as the original Tevye?

Zero Mostel won it, though as the run went on his ad-libbing drove the show's creative team up the wall.

Which Star Trek actor played Tevye in a 1971 touring production of Fiddler on the Roof?

Leonard Nimoy toured as Tevye in 1971, and he had modelled Spock's Vulcan salute on a priestly blessing he watched in synagogue as a boy.

Who starred as Tevye in the 1967 London production of Fiddler on the Roof and in the 1971 film?

Topol spoke hardly any English when he came to London, so he learned the role with voice coach Cicely Berry.

Who directed the 1971 film of Fiddler on the Roof?

Norman Jewison, a Canadian and not Jewish despite his surname, directed the 1971 film, which was the highest-grossing release of that year.

Who played Yente the matchmaker in the 1971 film of Fiddler on the Roof?

Molly Picon played Yente, but the eldest daughter turns down the match Yente brings, because she loves someone else.

What did the cinematographer of the 1971 film of Fiddler on the Roof put over his lens?

A silk stocking over the lens gave the film its sepia, earth-toned look, and Oswald Morris won the cinematography Oscar for it.

Who adapted and conducted the score of the 1971 film of Fiddler on the Roof, winning an Oscar?

John Williams won his first Oscar adapting it, and he wrote an original violin cadenza for the film's soloist.

Which celebrated violinist played the fiddle solos in the 1971 film of Fiddler on the Roof?

Isaac Stern played the solos on the soundtrack, dubbing the on-screen fiddler, actor Tutte Lemkow.

Which song from the stage musical was cut from the 1971 film of Fiddler on the Roof?

Now I Have Everything was cut; Perchik and Hodel ask her father only for his blessing, and he gives them his permission as well.

Which future Starsky & Hutch star played Perchik in the 1971 film of Fiddler on the Roof?

Paul Michael Glaser returned in 2013 to lead a UK tour as Tevye, the father of his Perchik's fiancée.

Who played Tevye when the 2004 Broadway revival opened at the Minskoff Theatre?

Alfred Molina opened the revival, which added 'Topsy-Turvy', a new song in which Yente finds matchmaking going out of style.

Which future Glee star played Shprintze in the 2004 Broadway revival?

Lea Michele played Shprintze in the 2004 revival, and Glee co-creator Ryan Murphy later cast Broadway performers like her in his show.

Who directed the Yiddish-language production Fidler Afn Dakh, which opened in New York in 2018?

Joel Grey directed the Folksbiene staging, which was extended several times, moved Off-Broadway and won a Drama Desk Award.

Gwen Stefani and Eve's 2004 top-ten hit reworks which Fiddler song?

'Rich Girl' reworks 'If I Were a Rich Man'; it reached No. 7 on the Billboard Hot 100 and was inspired by a 1993 ragga version by Louchie Lou & Michie One.

In 2011, Sheldon Harnick wrote alternative lyrics to which song so it could be used at same-sex weddings?

'Sunrise, Sunset' got its new lyrics at the request of a minister who had been officiating same-sex weddings since New York legalized them.

Which Broadway musical sends up Fiddler on the Roof's bottle dance in its number 'You Won't Succeed on Broadway'?

Spamalot's Sir Robin argues a hit show needs Jewish talent, and the knights balance Grails instead of bottles in the Fiddler parody.

In which 1993 comedy does Harvey Fierstein join a send-up of Fiddler on the Roof's 'Matchmaker'?

Mrs. Doubtfire casts Harvey Fierstein as the makeup-artist brother who turns the hero into the nanny, and he later played Tevye on Broadway.

In 2020, which institution selected Fiddler on the Roof's original Broadway cast recording for preservation?

The Library of Congress chose the 1964 cast album, noting the show gave Jewish audiences a link to their heritage and everyone else universal themes.

At which Broadway theatre, later home to Les Misérables, did Fiddler on the Roof open in 1964?

The Imperial became the home of Les Misérables when that hit moved out of the Broadway Theatre to make room for Miss Saigon.

In which country did a producer of Fiddler on the Roof say the show seemed so typical of his own nation?

Japan: the show's fading traditions and clashes between generations resonated there as true to Japanese experience.

What covered the camera lens throughout Fiddler on the Roof's 1971 film?

A stocking: cinematographer Oswald Morris wanted an earthy look, so he shot the whole picture through one.

Fiddler on the Roof's songwriters later wrote the songs for a musical about which banking family?

The Rothschilds: a dispute over firing the show's director ended the songwriters' partnership, and they never wrote another musical together.

Who played Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof's 2015 Broadway revival, directed by Bartlett Sher?

Danny Burstein first appeared as a present-day man in a red parka, reading an old book, before playing Tevye, a frame tying the story to today's refugees.