By JEFFREY SMITH
Leader staff writer
The Beebe High School drama department will present its spring musical, “Fiddler on the Roof,” 50 years after it premiered on Broadway.
Performances will be held at 2 p.m. Sunday and at 7 p.m. Thursday, March 20 at the Beebe Auditorium. Admission is $5 for adults and $4 for students.
“Fiddler on the Roof,” based on the story by Sholem Aleichem, tells the tale of Tevye, the father of five daughters in Tsarist Russia in 1905. He attempts to maintain his family and Jewish religious traditions while outside influences encroach upon their lives.
Tevye must cope with the strong-willed actions of his three older daughters, as each one’s choice of a husband moves further away from the customs of his faith, and with the edict of the Tsar that evicts the Jews from their village.
Drama club president Dillon Ratz said, “It should be enjoyable. Lots of fun to watch.”
Drama club vice president Tyler Spears said, “This is very cultural because it takes place in 1905 in Russia. In the past, we did “Footloose,” based in smalltown America in the 1970s and “Oklahoma.” (“Fiddler on the Roof”) has religion, history and culture and lots of tradition.”
The cast includes Caleb Gentry as Tevye the Dairyman, Justine Damron as his wife, Golde, and their five daughters, played by Sera Good, Ashley Gentry, Stephane Benton, Kelsey Sutter and Dani Peterson.
The villagers are Kayleigh McCoy, Jarrod Rogers, Dillon Ratz, Colton Hunter, Levi Smith, Jacob Middleton, Neil Garcia, Matt Lercher, Ryan Coleman, Erin McNully, Keith Turner, Tyler Spears, Madison Allen, Kelli Wagner, Gracie Villicana, J.D. Greer, Jared Smith and Leann Pullan.
