A tale that travels all the way back to 1905, Fiddler on the Roof is by no means a new musical, yet its timeless themes carry through to today. Premiering on Broadway in 1964, with a film version released in 1971, this musical now marks its 62nd anniversary with its premiere season at the Theatre Royal Sydney.
The tale of Fiddler on the Roof centres around Tevye (Troy Sussman), husband to Golde (Alexis Fishman) and father to five daughters, including his three eldest Chava (Caity Plummer), Tzeitel (Freya Boltman), and Hodel (Ellen Ebbs), all of an age to be married off.
Tevye works very hard as a milkman, but lives in poverty in the village of Anatevka, relying on the town matchmaker, Yente (Sigrid Thornton), to set them up with appropriate candidates. However, Chava, Tzeitel, and Hodel have different plans in mind.
Though Fiddler on the Roof is steeped in Jewish tradition, the themes of this musical are broad and far reaching. After all, the stage musical has travelled and had incredible success around the world, including Japan. Coming most recently from a run in the West End in London, this production has premiered to rapturous audiences. And these audiences (whether of the faith or not) can easily connect to the story and its themes of tradition, as the opening number presents, love, family, prejudice, and displacement.
On why he believes the musical is still so relevant today, director Jordan Fein said:
“… it is ultimately full of love and hope in the face of extraordinary tragedy. We are living in quite a dark moment, but if we can successfully create a sense of togetherness and unity every night with this audience through the work of this amazing company and creative team then we’ve accomplished something necessary and special.”
This sentiment lived and breathed on opening night, and looks set to continue through the length of the season. Led by Troy Sussman, a phenomenal performer who portrays the role of Tevye to perfection, the musical is staged beautifully, with varying levels where we get to experience a fiddler playing on the roof and throughout the village of Anatevka (which is inscribed on the underside of the roof level of the village landscape).
A standout of this production is that of the wedding (“Sunrise, Sunset”), towards the conclusion of Act One, which has beautiful lighting, luminescent candles, and incredible dancing by the Orthodox Jewish men in attendance (including the balancing of bottles on their hats, with their arms linked). Such joy, happiness, laughter and despair, all experienced in the one event.
Fiddler on the Roof is an absolute triumph on the Australian stage. May it continue to bring people of all walks of life together for another 62 years. Mazel tov!
FIVE STARS OUT OF FIVE
Fiddler on the Roof is playing until 3 October 2026 at the Theatre Royal Sydney. Tickets and more info HERE.
Reviewer attended opening night on 5 August 2026.
Header image credit – Daniel Boud. Supplied by PR.
