The West Morris Central Theater Department is well on its way with preparing the spring musical: Fiddler on the Roof. Dr. Agostin and the whole cast and crew have been working hard and the musical is starting to come together!

Fiddler on the Roof is based on a variety of different short stories written by Sholem Aleichem, mainly, “Tevye the Dairyman.” The  music is written by Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnick contributed the lyrics.

Fiddler on the Roof follows the lives of Tevye the Dairyman and his daughters. The family lives in a Russian Jewish village in 1905 just before the Russian Revolution began. The lifestyle of the people in this village is very centered on religion, however Tevye’s five daughters are breaking free from this religious lifestyle and becoming more innovative through moving beyond old traditions, such as marrying outside of their fathers permissions. The musical follows the conflicts and lives of these characters up to the beginning of the Russian Revolution.

Here is a list of the cast:

Senior Veronica Mulhern who is playing Golde claimed, “I’m really excited about it [the show], because this is my first lead in the musical. So I’m really excited to finally be able to sing and show people what I can do.”

Some other crucial members of the crew who the audience won’t see on stage include Dr. Agostin (director), Juliana Davidman (student director), Ms. Harrington (choreographer), Ms. Johnson (producer), Brooke Jones (student director), Mr. Naughright (vocal director), and Mrs. Pickrell (stagecraft director). 

The show will debut on March 20th at 7pm in the Central Theater. There will also be shows on March 21st and March 22nd at 7pm, with an additional matinee on March 22nd at 1pm.

“This has been a musical that a lot of people held very dear for a long time, and so I’m excited to do it, ” Dr. Agostin said. “This is a different kind of musical than what we’ve done in the last couple of years. This is really just a story about life, about progress, about changing. There’s a lot to it, and I think it’ll spark a lot of emotions. And the music is beautiful, and the stories are important.” She also added, “I think people will enjoy it. I know it’s one that’s old, you know, maybe students aren’t familiar with it but I think parents and older people are pretty familiar with it.” 

The cast and crew puts so much hard work into pulling this show together, but that doesn’t mean they don’t love the process. To them, the spring musical is a chance to enjoy themselves and immerse themselves into the musical aspect of the spring musical, which is something that the fall play doesn’t give as many opportunities for. When asked what she prefers: the spring musical or fall play Mulhern claimed, “I do definitely prefer the spring musical, because I feel like everyone’s just a lot happier because we’re dancing and singing rather than just acting. So people are a lot more excited to be there.”

The musical aspect isn’t the only thing that makes the musical so enjoyable for the cast. Dr. A also played a huge role in making the musical such a fun thing to be a part of. “I would like to thank Dr. A for being such a good director and for improving all of us,” said Mulhern.

Dr. A and the cast encourages everyone to come down, sit back, and enjoy the musical and watch everyone’s hard work be brought to life on the dates listed above! The cast and crew hopes to see you there!