- Distinguished professorship named in honor of Chancellor Bardo
- Fall commencement set for Dec. 19 at Ramsey Center
- Nursing degree can be earned in one year through ABSN program
- WCU novelist Ron Rash wins second Sir Walter Raleigh Award
- Senior named top mathematics education student in region
- Bids opened for new MAHEC building; part of venture with WCU, UNCA
- Board of trustees approves proposed tuition, fees for 2010-11
- Steps toward WCU-Dillsboro partnership continue with campus tour
- Students win national awards at mediation tournament
- 'Meeting Doctor' to lead Jan. 21 workshop at WCU
The classic musical “Fiddler on the Roof” will show at 7:30 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, March 26-28, and 3 p.m. Sunday, March 29, at the Fine and Performing Arts Center on the campus of Western Carolina University.
Set in 1905 in a small Jewish village in czarist Russia, “Fiddler on the Roof’ tells the story of one family amid the backdrop of changing social customs and growing anti-Semitism. Tevye, a milkman, tries to teach his five daughters the traditions of his tight-knit Jewish community. The daughters, on the other hand, resist their father, most notably in their choices of husbands.
“Fiddler on the Roof,” loosely based on an 1894 short story by Sholom Aleichem, made its Broadway debut in 1964 and has remained beloved for its humor, warmth and honesty. The show features some of the most memorable songs in musical history, including “Tradition,” “Matchmaker,” “Sunrise, Sunset” and “If I Were a Rich Man.” The play’s title refers to a painting by Marc Chagall, with the fiddle serving as a metaphor for stability – through tradition – during uncertain times.
“The show’s themes of disappearing traditions resonate with audiences worldwide and explain its enduring quality and popularity,” said Bradley Martin, who directs the show’s music and is director of Western Carolina’s musical theater program. He said audiences especially sympathize with parents whose children appear determined to flout their values.
The play stars junior Greg Kennedy in the role of Tevye, the milkman; senior Christy Waymouth as his wife; junior Christina DeSoto and sophomores Emily Gill and Abby Gonzales as their three oldest daughters; and junior Jon Cowart and sophomores Terry Evans and Jay Raines as the daughters’ suitors. WCU student William Ritter, in the photograph at right, plays the fiddler.
Broadway veteran Terrence Mann, the Carolyn Plemmons Phillips and Ben R. Phillips Distinguished Professor in Musical Theatre, directs the play. Department of stage and screen faculty involved in the production include Claire Eye, assistant director; Jennifer Lent, assistant choreographer; Glenda Hensley, costuming; and Thomas Salzman, lighting director. Christopher d’Amboise, part of the WCU Broadway Guest Artist Series, serves as choreographer. Dennis Maulden of the Flat Rock Playhouse is the guest set designer.
The musical theater program is producing the play, which is part of the stage and screen department’s Mainstage Theatre lineup for 2008-09. Saturday’s show of “Fiddler on the Roof” also is part of the Fine and Performing Art Center’s Galaxy of Stars Series.
Tickets cost $5 for students; $20 for seniors, faculty and staff; and $25 for the general public. To purchase tickets, visit the FAPAC box office or call the box office at (828) 227-2479 for Visa and MasterCard orders. To order online, go to www.ticketreturn.com, select “need tickets” on the left-hand side, select the “arts & entertainment” tab, and then find the “Western Carolina University” heading. Select “Mainstage” for the Thursday, Friday and Sunday shows and “FAPAC events” for the Saturday show.
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Last modified Friday, March 13, 2009.