Fiddler on the Roof is based on Tevye (or Tevye the Dairyman) and his Daughters, a series of stories by Sholem Aleichem that he wrote in Yiddish between 1894 and 1914 about Jewish … See more

All of the characters are Jewish, except as noted:
• Tevye, a poor milkman with five daughters. A firm supporter of the traditions of his faith, he finds many of his convictions tested by the actions of his three oldest … See more

A film version was released by United Artists in 1971, directed and produced by Norman Jewison, and Stein adapted his own book for the screenplay. Chaim Topol starred. The film … See more

Fiddler's original Broadway production in 1964 was nominated for ten Tony Awards, winning nine, including Best Musical, score, and book, and … See more

Act I
Tevye, a poor Jewish milkman with five daughters, explains the customs of the Jews in the Russian shtetl of Anatevka in 1905, where their lives are as precarious as the perch of a fiddler on a roof ("Tradition See more

Original productions
Following its tryout at Detroit's Fisher Theatre in July and August 1964, then Washington in August to September, the original Broadway production opened on September 22, 1964, at the Imperial Theatre See more

The musical's popularity has led to numerous references in popular media and elsewhere. A documentary film about the musical's history … See more