50 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?

Sheldon Harnick wrote the lyrics and Joseph Stein the book. Bock and Harnick's other shows include Fiorello! and She Loves Me.

How many daughters do Tevye and Golde have?

The couple have five daughters: Tzeitel, Hodel, Chava, Shprintze and Bielke, of whom Tzeitel, Hodel and Chava carry the marriage plots.

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

Lazar Wolf, the butcher, is a wealthy widower; when the two men meet at the inn, the girl's father assumes Lazar wants to buy his milk cow.

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?

Perchik introduces himself as a student from the university in Kyiv; he later returns there to work for the revolution, is arrested and exiled to Siberia, where Hodel joins him.

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

Tevye fakes the nightmare so the superstitious Golde will insist Tzeitel marry Motel instead of Lazar Wolf, whose late wife Fruma-Sarah threatens revenge.

What tradition does Perchik break at Tzeitel's wedding?

His dance with Hodel ends the argument between Tevye and Lazar Wolf. Earlier he had danced with Hodel in private to prove the world was changing.

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

The Constable warns of 'a little unofficial demonstration'; it comes during Tzeitel's wedding celebration, where the Russians smash the gifts and wound Perchik.

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

Marriage outside the faith is the line he will not cross. As the family leaves, he prompts Tzeitel to add 'God be with you'.

How many days does the Constable give the villagers to pack up and leave?

The Constable gives them three days; Chava and Fyedka head for Kraków, Motel and Tzeitel for Warsaw, and the fiddler follows the family out of the village.

In 'Do You Love Me?', how many years does Golde say she and Tevye have been married?

Golde answers that for 25 years she has washed his clothes, cooked his meals and milked his cow; the question comes after Hodel and Perchik declare their love is 'the new style'.

Where does the family plan to go at the end of the musical, unlike in Aleichem's stories?

Aleichem's stories end with Tevye alone, his wife dead and daughters scattered; the musical keeps most of the family together.

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

Paintings such as Green Violinist and The Fiddler were the inspiration, though no single painting is referenced. Chagall reportedly did not like the musical.

What title did the writers consider before settling on Fiddler on the Roof?

The working title was simply Tevye; the painterly Fiddler on the Roof won out before the September 1964 Broadway opening.

Who directed and choreographed the original 1964 Broadway production, his last original staging?

Jerome Robbins directed and choreographed the 1964 original, which producer Harold Prince brought him to; he took the Tonys for direction and choreography and never staged another new musical.

Why did original star Zero Mostel hold the show's director in contempt?

Mostel had been blacklisted after his own defiant testimony before the House Un-American Activities Committee, while Robbins had cooperated and hidden his Jewish heritage.

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

Beatrice Arthur created Yente on Broadway in 1964; Austin Pendleton was the original Motel and Bert Convy the original Perchik.

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

Rosalind Harris was Midler's understudy and went on to play Tzeitel in the 1971 film. Pia Zadora played the youngest daughter, Bielke.

How many performances did the original Broadway production run for?

The original ran for 3,242 performances from September 1964 to July 1972, the first musical to pass 3,000, and held the Broadway long-run record for almost a decade.

Which musical eventually broke Fiddler's record as the longest-running Broadway show?

Grease overtook Fiddler in December 1979 on its way to 3,388 performances, then lost the record to A Chorus Line in September 1983.

How many Tony Awards did the original production win?

The original took nine Tonys from ten nominations in 1965, including Best Musical, score, book, direction, choreography and Best Actor for Zero Mostel.

How much did the original production earn for every dollar invested?

The original production returned $1,574 for every dollar invested over its 1964–72 run; backers had worried it might be 'too Jewish' for mainstream audiences.

Which actor, Mostel's understudy, went on to play Tevye in more than 2,000 performances?

Paul Lipson, Mostel's understudy, went on to play the role more than 2,000 times on Broadway and on tour; Leonard Nimoy also played the part on stage.

Who starred as Tevye in the original 1967 London production and then in the 1971 film?

Chaim Topol had already played the role in Hebrew in Tel Aviv before London in 1967; he kept playing the part for four decades, ending with a 2009 farewell tour.

Who directed the 1971 film adaptation?

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?

Molly Picon, a star of Yiddish stage and film for half a century, played Yente in the 1971 film; Norma Crane was its Golde.

Where were most of the film's exterior scenes shot?

Most exteriors were shot in Lekenik and Mala Gorica, villages in Croatia, then part of Yugoslavia; the area was chosen partly for its winter snow, which failed to arrive during filming.

What did the film's producers ship in to substitute for snow?

With no snow on location, the producers shipped in marble dust to dress the village; interiors and extra scenes were shot at Jadran Film in Zagreb and at Pinewood in England.

Who adapted and conducted the film's score, winning an Academy Award for it?

John Williams won his first Academy Award for adapting and conducting the score; he wrote an original cadenza for the film's violin soloist and orchestrated with Alexander Courage.

Which celebrated violinist performed the fiddle solos in the film?

Isaac Stern played the fiddle solos, opening with a cadenza written for him; the film's other Oscars went to Oswald Morris's cinematography and to sound.

Which two songs from the stage show were cut from the 1971 film?

'Now I Have Everything', Perchik's song to Hodel, and 'The Rumor', the villagers' gossip number, were both dropped from the film, which also trimmed Yente's role.

Which future Starsky & Hutch star played Perchik in the film?

Paul Michael Glaser, billed as Michael Glaser, was the film's Perchik; four decades later he toured the UK in the lead role in Craig Revel Horwood's 2013–14 production.

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

Alfred Molina opened the 2004 revival in the lead role at the Minskoff; Harvey Fierstein and later Rosie O'Donnell (as Golde) joined during the run, which added the new song 'Topsy-Turvy'.

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

Lea Michele, then 17, played Shprintze in David Leveaux's 2004 revival, with Laura Michelle Kelly as Hodel.

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

Joel Grey directed the National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene production, with Steven Skybell in the lead and Jackie Hoffman as Yente; it transferred 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', a wedding staple, got two new sets of lyrics from Harnick in 2011, one for two grooms and one for two brides, with small changes to its verses.

Which Broadway show sends up Fiddler's bottle dance with a 'Grail dance'?

In Spamalot's 'You Won't Succeed on Broadway', the knights balance grails on their heads in a send-up of Fiddler's bottle dance; Avenue Q's 2004 'Avenue Jew' benefit mash-up is another homage.

Which Mad magazine parody imagined Tevye's descendants living in the assimilated 1970s suburbs?

Mad's 'Antenna on the Roof' moved the family's assimilated descendants to the suburbs; later parodies included Animaniacs' 'Pigeon on the Roof' and the Lovecraftian A Shoggoth on the Roof.

Which novelist, writing in The New Yorker, dismissed the show as 'shtetl kitsch'?

Philip Roth, reviewing for The New Yorker, wrote off the show as 'shtetl kitsch'; other critics called it middlebrow and sanitised, yet it became one of the first popular post-Holocaust portraits of shtetl life.

In 2020, the original Broadway cast recording was selected for preservation by which institution?

The Library of Congress added the 1964 cast album to its National Recording Registry in 2020 as 'culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant'.

At which Broadway theatre did Fiddler on the Roof open on September 22, 1964?

Fiddler opened at the Imperial Theatre after tryouts in Detroit and Washington, then moved to the Majestic in 1967 and the Broadway Theatre in 1970.

Which actress won a Tony as Golde in the original Broadway cast?

Maria Karnilova won the 1965 Tony for Best Featured Actress in a Musical as Golde; Joanna Merlin was the original Tzeitel.

How many Academy Award nominations did the 1971 film receive?

The film received eight nominations, including Best Picture and Best Director, and won for score adaptation, cinematography and sound.

What song written for Perchik was recorded for the 1971 film but cut from the final print?

'Any Day Now', a new Perchik number written for the screen, was recorded but dropped from the final print; it resurfaced decades later on an expanded soundtrack release.

How much did the 1971 film gross worldwide, making it the year's highest-grossing release?

The film grossed about $83 million on a $9 million budget after United Artists released it on November 3, 1971.

Who played Tevye in the 2015 Broadway revival directed by Bartlett Sher?

Danny Burstein led Bartlett Sher's 2015 revival, earning a Tony nomination; Jessica Hecht was Golde, with Hofesh Shechter's choreography built on the original staging.