{"id":86142,"date":"2025-06-19T09:45:05","date_gmt":"2025-06-19T16:45:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/hi-lo\/?p=86142"},"modified":"2025-06-19T09:45:09","modified_gmt":"2025-06-19T16:45:09","slug":"theater-news-timely-fiddler-on-the-roof-set-to-perform-at-long-beach-playhouse","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/hi-lo\/art\/theater-news-timely-fiddler-on-the-roof-set-to-perform-at-long-beach-playhouse","title":{"rendered":"Theater News: Timely \u2018Fiddler on the Roof\u2019 set to perform at Long Beach Playhouse"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The musical \u201cFiddler on the Roof\u201d may be best known for songs such as \u201cIf I Were a Rich Man,\u201d \u201cMatchmaker\u201d and \u201cSunrise, Sunset.\u201d But based on the recent protests against Immigration and Customs Enforcement<\/a>, it may also be timely, telling the story of Tevye and his family who live in a community increasingly infringed upon by powerful authorities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Set in Russia in 1905, the Jewish village of Anatevka is one where everyone knows each other and matchmaking marriages are practically a sport. And Tevye, a humble milkman, has three daughters of marriageable age.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sean Gray, producing artistic director for the Playhouse, said the show is not only one that audiences love, but \u201cspeaks to the need for community during trying times.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cGregory Cohen, the director, is Jewish and said he recognizes \u2018Fiddler\u2019 is not just a story of his people, but about standing against hate,\u201d Gray said. \u201cAnd recognizing the most effective tool for surviving is family, whether it\u2019s the one in which we were born or the one we\u2019ve created for ourselves.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n Link<\/a>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Cohen notes in the playbill that by spending time in the village of Anatevka, audiences are now part of the Playhouse family, and he advises them to take the lessons of the show into their daily lives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All the songs help immerse audiences in the setting and the story, portraying tension not only between the villagers and larger governmental authorities \u2014 represented in the play by a Russian constable and his men \u2014 but also between tradition and more modern ways, especially when it comes to love.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEach song moves the story forward,\u201d said Madison Mooney, executive director for the Playhouse. \u201cWe hear the daughters longing for a man to love, and we hear Tevye\u2019s pain in watching beloved traditions seemingly swept aside. There\u2019s a reason the show has remained popular for so long.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a>
Eric Schiffer (Tevye) and Iggi El Kouatli (Fiddler) in a preview photo of “Fiddler on the Roof” at Long Beach Playhouse. Photo by Mike Hardy.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

First performed on Broadway in 1964, the musical \u2014 with music by Jerry Bock, lyrics by Sheldon Harnick and book by Joseph Stein \u2014 won 9 of the 10 Tony Awards for which it was nominated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s also filled with humor, especially from the sympathetic Tevye, who tries to live his life by the proverbs of his holy book \u2014 whether they are actually in there or not \u2014 and his own logical judgment, often weighing \u201con the one hand\u201d against the other. He\u2019s also a sucker for his daughters\u2019 happiness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Partially sponsored by the Port of Long Beach, the production features 25 actors, with choreography by Kysa Cohen and music direction by Stephen Olear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s hard to think of a show with music more familiar than this one,\u201d said Mooney. \u201cWho isn\u2019t going to sing along?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFiddler on the Roof\u201d will perform June 28 to Aug. 3 at Long Beach Playhouse, 5021 E. Anaheim St., with shows Thursdays through Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. Two lower-priced preview shows are available Thursday, June 26 and Friday, June 27. Tickets range from $20 to $30 and can be purchased by calling the box office at 562-494-1014 or visiting <\/i>lbplayhouse.org<\/i><\/a>. Free parking is available in the theater\u2019s rear lot.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cGregory Cohen, the director, is Jewish and said he recognizes \u2018Fiddler\u2019 is not just a story of his people, but about standing against hate,\u201d said Sean Gray, producing artistic director for the Playhouse.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":207,"featured_media":86145,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"newspack_sponsor_sponsorship_scope":"","newspack_sponsor_native_byline_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_native_category_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_style":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_placement":"inherit","inline_featured_image":false,"newspack_ads_suppress_ads":false,"newspack_popups_has_disabled_popups":"","_EventAllDay":false,"_EventTimezone":"","_EventStartDate":"","_EventEndDate":"","_EventStartDateUTC":"","_EventEndDateUTC":"","_EventShowMap":false,"_EventShowMapLink":false,"_EventURL":"","_EventCost":"","_EventCostDescription":"","_EventCurrencySymbol":"","_EventCurrencyCode":"","_EventCurrencyPosition":"","_EventDateTimeSeparator":"","_EventTimeRangeSeparator":"","_EventOrganizerID":[],"_EventVenueID":[],"_OrganizerEmail":"","_OrganizerPhone":"","_OrganizerWebsite":"","_VenueAddress":"","_VenueCity":"","_VenueCountry":"","_VenueProvince":"","_VenueState":"","_VenueZip":"","_VenuePhone":"","_VenueURL":"","_VenueStateProvince":"","_VenueLat":"","_VenueLng":"","_VenueShowMap":false,"_VenueShowMapLink":false,"_":"","_author_alias":"","cap-aim":"","cap-description":"","cap-display_name":"","cap-first_name":"","cap-jabber":"","cap-last_name":"","cap-linked_account":"","cap-newspack_employer":"","cap-newspack_job_title":"","cap-newspack_phone_number":"","cap-newspack_role":"","cap-user_email":"","cap-user_login":"","cap-website":"","cap-yahooim":"","newspack_article_summary":"","newspack_email_html":"","newspack_email_type":"","newspack_featured_image_position":"","newspack_hide_page_title":"","newspack_hide_updated_date":false,"newspack_post_subtitle":"","newspack_show_share_buttons":"","newspack_sponsor_byline_prefix":"","newspack_sponsor_disclaimer_override":"","newspack_sponsor_flag_override":"","newspack_sponsor_only_direct":"","newspack_sponsor_url":"","newspack_article_summary_title":"Overview:","newspack_show_updated_date":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"newspack_spnsrs_tax":[],"coauthors":[32310],"class_list":["post-86142","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-art","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86142","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/207"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=86142"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86142\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":86149,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86142\/revisions\/86149"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/86145"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=86142"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=86142"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=86142"},{"taxonomy":"newspack_spnsrs_tax","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/newspack_spnsrs_tax?post=86142"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=86142"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}