By: Valeria Gutierrez

  February 26th was the opening night for this year’s Marriotts Ridge spring musical, Fiddler on the Roof. Written by Joseph Stein and adapted from Tevye and His Daughters, this historical piece set in 1905 features Tevye, a poor Jewish milkman in Czarist Russia, struggling to maintain tradition while living in an anti-semitic society. 

   The cast and crew consisted of over 70 students, including a 22 student orchestra pit, led by Mr. Rawlings, the choir teacher. Due to weather and other factors, the orchestra ended up only having two rehearsals before opening night, but thanks to Mr. Rawlings and the students’ dedication, everything went smoothly. 

   “Our first time with [a] full orchestra and full actors was on stage in front of an audience,” Mr. Rawlings said.

      There were also adult volunteers, including a retired engineer who, assisted by a student engineer, oversaw the set building and helped with a lot of design mechanisms, while the technical theater classes helped build and paint the sets.

   Participating in the production of Fiddler, and other MRHS theater productions, isn’t only an opportunity to try new things, but an opportunity to get to know new people, make friends and connections, and have fun.

   “It’s very easy to make friends. It’s a very nice community,” junior Kevin Bhujel, the play’s male lead, said.

   This year’s production offers a sharp contrast to past years. Previous years musicals consisted of more upbeat and feel good pieces, like Grease or Mamma Mia!, rather than a historical drama. Consequently, the play posed a challenge for both actors and directors. Nevertheless, they delivered. 

   “It’s a new type of challenge for Marriotts Ridge, because we’ve done a lot of more upbeat, happy, feel good plays like Mamma Mia!, or Grease, or last year’s Something Rotten, which was a comedy,” theater teacher Mrs. Greffen explained. 

   Despite these challenges, the production came together smoothly, with little to no hitches. The cast managed to truly portray the characters emotions which, accompanied by the student orchestra, made for a very enjoyable experience for the audience. 

   “A lot of people turned out and the emotional response we got from people of all ages was very powerful and moving. There was a lot of laughter in act one, a lot of people in tears in the more serious moments in act two,” Mrs. Greffen continued.

   Thanks to everyone’s hard work, Marriotts Ridge’s take on Fiddler on the Roof made for a magical and unforgettable experience for a lot of people, including the cast and audience members.