turn of the 20th Century in Anatevka, a small village in Czarist Russia which is populated by both Jews and Christians. Tevye, a religious Jew has personal conversations with God and lives by his traditions. He is repeatedly asked to bend tradition to permit his daughters to marry the men they love. . Fiddler on the Roof is one of the best musicals ever written. It has a compelling story line, beautiful music, wonderful cinematography, and stunning choreography. This movie includes classic songs such as "Tradition," "Matchmaker, Matchmaker," "To Life," "Miracle of Miracles" "Sunrise, Sunset" and "If I were a Rich Man." There are many stereotypes of Jewish characters but they are all lovingly portrayed. Many Jews lived in poor farming villages in European Russia in the late 1800's and at the turn of the Century. They were subject to periodic government sponsored pogroms and dispossessions. Millions emigrated to the United States in the period 1890 - 1920. At the end of the 19th century and in the first two decades of the 20th century, Russia was alive with revolutionary resistance to the Czarist government. There were many revolutionary groups both communist and capitalist, authoritarian and democratic. The character Perchik was a member of one of these groups. In Russia, as punishment, criminals, including revolutionaries, were sent to Siberia, a wild frozen land with little civilization. Most never returned. This story begins to tackle issues such as religion and racism, never before seen musical. Yet it still embodies the ‘niceties’ of theatrical escapism. The stars sang their showstoppers and the audience went to escape from real life, not to witness it.CabaretWith the premiere of musicals such as West Side Story & Cabaret came an emergence of a new phase in musicals.Actors no longer had chunks of dialogue interspersed with musical interludes. The musical became seamless, with characters singing when their emotions becam...
