See 'Fiddler on the Roof' in June and July

The Fairmont State Town & Gown Summer Theatre will present "Fiddler on the Roof" at the Prickett's Fort Amphitheatre in June and July. Troy Snyder directs; Valarie Huffman is musical director, and Jessica Morgan is choreographer.

Performances will be held June 29-30, July 6-8 and 12-14 at 8 p.m. at Prickett's Fort State Park. For tickets, call the Box Office (304) 367-4240.

The Town & Gown cast includes John Fallon (Tevye); Kathy Dunn (Golde); Jeanna Nestor (Tzeitel); Lindsay Dawson (Hodel); Melissa Allen (Chava); Natalie Amiano (Shprintze); Bailee Tucker (Bielke); Marc Cornes (Motel); Michael Vozniak (Fyedka); Cyndy Straight (Yente); Josh Brooks (Lazar Wolf); Steve McElroy (The Rabbi); Gene Turchin (Mordcha); Matt Scanlon (Avram); Mary Tillman (Grandmother Tzeitel); Dani Brake (Fruma Sarah); Shawn Dunn (Constable); Courtney LaFollette (Shaindel); and Clare Tillman (The Fiddler).

"Fiddler" opened on Broadway Sept. 22, 1964, with libretto by Joseph Stein, music by Jerry Bock and lyrics by Sheldon Harnick. Zero Mosetl played Tevye the Milkman; Maria Karnilova his wife, Golde; Beatrice Arthur as Yente, the Matchmaker; and Bert Convy as Perchik, the student revolutionary. In 1971, "Fiddler" became a film, and since the original opening, there have been four Broadway revivals. The last, mounted in 2004, closed Jan. 8, 2006.

The play and film version are based upon Sholom Aleichem's "Tevye and his Daughters or Tevye the Milkman," published in 1949. The play is set in the small Jewish town of Anatevka in 1905 in Czarist Russia.

The story centers on Tevye's attempts to maintain his family and his religious traditions in the face of change. These changes are manifest in the actions of Tevye's three oldest and strong-willed daughters, each of whom selects her own husband, contrary to the custom of arranged marriages. The coming Russian Revolution is foreshadowed, together with the effect of the pogroms carried out against Jewish communities by the Czarist soldiers. Set over the course of roughly a year, the ups and downs and the ultimate emigration of various family members are chronicled through the music and action of the play.

A much-loved play, both the stage and film productions won awards. The Broadway play won nine Tony Awards, for Best Musical, Best Composer and Lyricist (Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnick); Leading Actor (Zero Mostel); Featured Actress (Maria Kamilova); Author (Joseph Stein); Producer (Harold Prince); Director (Jerome Robbins); Choreographer (Jerome Robbins); and Costume Designer (Patricia Zipprodt). Three Academy Awards, including one for arranger-conductor John Williams, also went to "Fiddler on the Roof."