‘Fiddler on the Roof’ packs the house
Siobhan LaRocca ’23 and Lance Givant ’23 starred as Golde and Teyve.
May 18, 2023
On the afternoon of March 23, crowds appeared in the front breezeway of the school eager to enter. Once they were let in, the plentiful seats of the theater began to quickly fill and the excited prattle of the crowd died down. The premiere of Riordan’s esteemed musical was about to begin and it was spectacular.
Once more, the Lindland Theatre sprang alive with the wonderful performances of the spring musical “Fiddler on the Roof” headed by Riordan’s newest Theatre Director: Greg Callaghan.
House manager, Paul Stevens ’08, commented, “As the guests were leaving, they were blown away by the performance . . . I do not think there was one person who walked away from the performances unhappy.”
The “Fiddler on the Roof” — set in the Jewish village of Anatevka of pre-revolutionary Russia — is about the life of Tevye the milkman and his family. More specifically, the musical focused on the inner toil of Tevye as he comes to be forced to choose whether or not to adhere to his traditional religious and cultural values as he came to face many hardships and issues as a poor man.
Accompanying witty, yet meaningful dialogue, award winning musical numbers sounded throughout the theater, including the famous song “If I Were a Rich Man.” Not only did the musical provide much laughter and enjoyment to the audience as a comedy, but the sheer beauty of the songs and the depth of the lyrics and words resonated well with the audience to ensnare their hearts and minds in emotion and reflection. It was a true work of art.
The three-hour-long production was the result of the tireless effort and dedication of not only the cast of the production, but of the tech crew and pit orchestra as well.
Lance Givant ’23 — who played the lead role of Tevye the milkman — remarked, “As with everything, there were moments where I felt exhausted and frustrated, but the final product we created as a team and company made all those moments worth it.”
To put it simply, the musical was a resounding success and was certainly one for the ages.