The play opens in Anatevka, Russia in 1905, and Tevye the poor dairyman that has been married for twenty-five years to Golde and has have five daughters gives us an introduction to the people in his town and how they survive. Tradition, he says, provides a delicate balance, like a fiddler on the roof. Each mother, father, son and daughter has their own defined place in the community.
However, when the local matchmaker Yente arranges the match between his oldest daughter Tzeitel and the old widower butcher, Lazar Wolf, this sets in motion the story of love, loss and family.
Duration 2 hours 50 minutes, including interval.