Pitman Drama recently put on Fiddler on the Roof, and many people say it’s one of their best yet.

Julie McBay, the drama teacher here at Pitman, chose Fiddler on the Roof for a reason. She shares “I love Fiddler on the Roof. It was my favorite play as a child, and since I like to do classic plays in the springtime, I thought Fiddler would be perfect. I knew it was new to most of my students, and I knew it would challenge them in the best way.

Fiddler on the Roof tells a story of a Jewish family living in a small town in Imperial Russia in 1905. Tevye, the main character, has five daughters and a wife to feed, yet he is only a milkman, who barely makes the living needed, leading him to often pray and sing of being rich. He is having trouble arranging marriages for his daughters, because he wants to arrange them with a wealthy man who is able to feed them and keep them safe, no matter if his daughters like this man. However, his daughters decide to defy this tradition in order to marry someone they love.

Andrew Cheesman, who is a senior and also a part of the International Thespian Society, plays Tevye and he states, “My personal favorite part of the entire play was singing ‘If I was a rich man’. I love drama because it’s amazing to watch people grow, and more specifically grow into their characters. The play really comes to life”

The play was a musical, so there was plenty of songs that stuck in your head, in a good way! The opening song, “Tradition” told the story of the Jewish town they live in, all of the many traditions they have, and the roles of everyone in the town. “If I was a rich man” was a song about Tevye’s longing to become rich so he can provide for his family. “Matchmaker” was a song sung by all 5 of Tevye’s daughters, and about their want to Yente, the town’s matchmaker to make them a match and marry them so they can leaving. However, by the end of the song, the girls realize that they don’t want to be matched because it will just be based off of money and not love. Finally, the end song, “Anatevka” was a saddening song sung when everyone in Anatevka is ordered to leave and they realize they will all be split up and everyone they know will be gone.

Many of the actors and actresses had a blast and did an amazing job putting together the play and really bringing the vibe to the audience. Andrew Cheesman played Tevye, Julia Marson played Tevye’s witty wife Golde, and the many daughters of Tevye were played by Paige Day, Jasmin Soria, Ashlyn Christenson, Leah Siegel, and Kayla Bennett.

Julia Marson who plays Golde shares, “My favorite scene was the Sabbath prayer, It felt so sacred and real, as a lot of it did. I was told that at the end of the play, the audience held their applause because they felt like they shouldn’t interrupt something so significant”

Many people bought tickets to see the show, including many pitman students, residents at Covenant Village, and even some people from Modesto Performing Arts, and almost all of them thought that Fiddler on the Roof was one of the Drama department’s best shows they’ve done. Pitman Drama clearly doesn’t need a “Matchmaker” to know that Fiddler on the Roof, or any of their shows for that matter, would be a success.