Plot Overview
Act I
Fiddler on the Roof takes place in the fictional Russian village of Anatevka in 1905, just before the Russian Revolution. The story by Tevye, our protagonist. Tevye is a poor milkman with five daughters, three of whom are old enough to be married. In the prologue, Tevye explains the traditions of their Jewish society through the song “Tradition.” There are non-jews that live in Anatevka as well, mostly authority figures, but Tevye claims that they try to stay out of each other’s way. Tevye, while poor, wishes for bigger and better things for his family. In the song “If I were a rich man” Tevye fantasizes about a different life if he had more of the means to provide for his wife and daughters.
The next day Tevye, informs Tzietel of her engagement to Lazar Wolf, to which she protests. Instead, Motel, a poor tailor and longtime secret lover of Tzietel, asks Tevye to marry his daughter. Tevye is reluctant as this is not the traditional way in which marriages are arranged, but he agrees. Motel is ecstatic, and sings “Miracle of Miracles.” In order to get Golde on board with the idea, Tevye fabricates a story about a nightmare (“The Dream”) in which Fruma-Sarah, Lazar Wolf’s dead wife, threatens to kill Tzietel if she marries him. Golde takes this as a sign and Tzietel and Motel get married.
At the wedding, Lazar Wolf is bitter about losing Tzeitel, which causes a fight between him and Tevye. This fight is calmed down, and the villagers start to dance. Perchik, a modern boy with his eyes on Hodel, breaks tradition by asking Hodel to dance, while this causes a stir, eventually men and women start dancing together. However, the Russians barge in and destroy the place, leaving an ominous tone to the end of the first act.
The show primarily focuses on Tevye’s three oldest daughters, Tzietel, Hodel, and Chava. The daughters have varying ideas about the traditions of their village and challenge them through their choices in romantic relationships. At the beginning of the show, Yente, the matchmaker, arranges a match for Tzietel to marry the butcher, Lazar Wolf. Lazar Wolf, while wealthy, is a widower much older than Tzeitel, and is not very smart, a quality that Tevye cares very deeply about. Despite this, Tevye and Lazar Wolf meet at the local bar to talk it over, and Tevye agrees. This leads the bar to celebrate with the song “To life.” After leaving the bar, the constable warns Tevye that sometime soon there may be a pogrom, which is a riot specifically aimed to execute Jews.
Act II
Act II begins just after Perchik has told Hodel that he plans to go away to Kyiv. Hodel is upset by this since the two have been interested in each other for some time. Perchik asks Hodel to marry him, and she accepts, which causes Perchik to sing “Now I Have Everything.” They agree that as soon as possible, Perchik will send for Hodel and they will get married in Kyiv. Tevye enters and Perchik tells him of his leaving and engagement. Despite Tevye’s fondness for Perchik, he claims that he will not allow his daughter to marry someone so poor. The two tell him that they weren’t asking for his permission, but rather his blessing. This is even more radical than Tzietel and Motel’s marriage, which causes Tevye to weigh his options, much like he did with his older daughter’s engagement. After much deliberation, he gives them his blessing, ultimately because they love each other. Tevye passes the news on to Golde, which is met with some protest, but Tevye ultimately admits that the world is changing and love is becoming more important in a marriage. This idea prompts him to sing “Do you love me?” to Golde. At first, Golde is reluctant to answer such a question, since they have been married for so long, but after thinking about what they have gone through together, Tevye and Golde agree that they do love each other.
In the next scene, the constable informs Tevye and the rest of the Jewish villagers that they have three days to leave Anatevka by order of the Russian government. Everyone argues about what to do, but they finally conclude that Anatevka is just a place, and the best option is to leave. They sing of this in the song “Anatevka.” Everyone starts packing up their homes. Tevye, Golde, and the younger daughters plan to live with family in America, and Motel, Tzietel, and their new baby will join them as soon as possible. Chava comes with Feydka to say goodbye to her family. Her mother and sisters greet her with tears, but Tevye, having declared Chava dead to him, refuses to acknowledge her. That is until he mutters “God be with you” just before they leave. The play ends with the Jews of Anatevka marching into an uncertain world.
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Sometime later, Perchik is arrested in Keiv and sends a letter to Hodel. The news spreads around Anatevka like a game of telephone through “the Rumor.” Hodel takes a train to Siberia in order to be with Perchik, who has been sent to a settlement there. At the train station, Tevye and Hodel have a sad goodbye, but Hodel assures her father that this is something that she wants to do with the song “far from the home I love.”
Later, Tevye interrupts a conversation between Chava and Feydka. Feydka leaves, and Chava reveals to her father that the two wish to be married. Since Feydka is not Jewish, this is out of the question for Tevye, and he forbids it from happening. The next day, Golde comes to Tevye in tears and tells him that Chava and Feydka had a Christian wedding. Tevye is furious and declares that Chava is dead to them. He mourns the loss of his daughter during the “Chava sequence.” During the song, Chava confronts him and begs for Tevye to accept her and Fyedka, but Tevye simply cannot do it.