A Fiddler on the Roof

 

 

play by Scholen Aleichen

stage adaptation by Joseph Stein
Sung part:
lyrics by Sheldon Harnick
Jerry Bock music

translation and adaptation into Portuguese by Ruth Salles

 

CHARACTERS

Tevye, the milkman (read Tevia).
Golda, his wife.
Tzeitel, Hodel (read Hôdal), Chava (read Rava), Shprintze, Bielke, their daughters.
Yente, the matchmaker.
Motel, the tailor (read Motel).
Perchik, the student.
Lazar Wolf, the butcher (read Lêizar).
Mordcha, the innkeeper.
Rabbi, the rabbi.
Mendel, his son.
Avram, the bookseller.
Nachum, the beggar.
Yussel the Hatter.
The baker and the fishmonger.
Sacha and other Russian boys.
Chief of Police and guards.
Fyedka (read Fiedka).
Model's parents.
The Fiddler.
People.
Rumor women: Rifka, Shandel (Motel mother), Mirala.
First man.
Second man.
Two teenage boys.

SCENES

Location: Anatevka, small Russian village.
Time: 1905, on the eve of the Russian Revolution.

 

FIRST ACT

Prologue.
Scene 1. Kitchen in Tevye's house.
Scene 2. Outside Tevye's house.
Scene 3. Inside Tevye's house.
Scene 4. Inn.
Scene 5. Street in front of the inn.
Scene 6. Benches outside Tevye's house.
Scene 7. Village street and Motel tailor shop.
Scene 8. Part of Tevye's terrain.
Scene 9. Tevye's Land.

SECOND ACT

Prologue.
Scene 1. Outside Tevye's house.
Scene 2. Village street.
Scene 3. Outside the train station.
Scene 4. Village street.
Scene 5. Tailor's Motel Shop.
Scene 6. Somewhere on the outskirts of the village.
Scene 7. Barn.
Scene 8. Outside Tevye's house.
Epilogue.

 

FIRST ATOP FIRST ACT

Prologue

TEVYE (speaking to the audience): – A fiddler on the roof. Sounds crazy, doesn't it? But in our little village of Anatevka, you could say that each of us is a violinist on the roof, trying to play simple, happy music without losing our balance and breaking our necks. It's not easy. You may ask why we stay up there if it's so dangerous. Because we stay because Anatevka is our home… And how do we keep the balance? To that I answer with one word: tradition.
ALL (sing): “Tradition, tradition…tradition, tradition, tradition…tradition.”
TEVYE: – It was because of our traditions that we were able to maintain balance for many, many years. Here in Anatevka we have traditions for everything: for eating, sleeping, dressing. If you ask how this started, I'll just say I don't know. It's a tradition and that's it. Because of our traditions, we all know who we are and what God expects of us.

SINGING PART

TEVYE AND OTHER PARENTS:
“Who day and night fights for life, pays for food, says prayers?
He is the head of the house and he alone has the last word.”
ALL:
“Daddy, Daddy… Tradition! Daddy, Daddy… Tradition!”
GOLDA AND OTHER MOTHERS:
“And who knows how to form our home, with a lot of peace, a home of love?
Who in the house takes care of and raises the children well,
gives the father time to read the holy law?”
ALL:
“Mommy, mommy… Tradition! Mom, Mom… Tradition!”
SONS:
“At three I entered school and at ten I went to work.
They treated bride for me. Will it be pretty?”
ALL:
“The children, the children… Tradition! The children, the children… Tradition!”
DAUGHTERS:
“To whom the mother teaches sewing and cooking,
and teach to receive the husband that the father wants?”
ALL:
“The daughters are the daughters… Tradition! The daughters are the daughters… Tradition!”

(Next, everyone sings their parts in a quartet. Then comes the dance with the choir singing “dai, dai, dai…”.)

 

SPOKEN PART

TEVYE: And here in our little village we always have some very special types. For example, Yente, the matchmaker…

YENTE (crossing the scene): – Avram! Avram! I have a perfect bride for your son. A ghastly girl!

TEVYE: And we have Nahum the beggar.

(Enter Nahum and Lazar.)

NAHUM: – Alms for the poor, Lazar Wolf, alms for the poor…

LAZAR: – Here's a kopek for you, Nahum.

NAHUM: – Just one? Last week you gave me two.

LAZAR: – I had a bad week.

NAHUM: – So, if your week is bad, am I the one who suffers?

TEVYE: – And most important of all: our dear rabbi.

MENDEL (entering with Rabbi): – Rabbi, can I ask you a question?

RABBI: – Yes, my son.

MENDEL: Are there any proper blessings for the Tsar?

RABBI: – A blessing for the Tsar? It is clear. May God bless and keep the Tsar… far from us!

TEVYE: – There are also other people in our village. Many people.

(The Orthodox priest, the police chief, and other Russians pass by, waving to each other.)

TEVYE: – His Excellency the Chief of Police, His Most Reverend Father Orthodox, the Most Illustrious… many others. We don't bother them, and they don't even bother us… And we live in perfect peace. Although one day someone sold a horse and delivered a mule, but that has already been resolved and harmony reigns.

(Two men pass by, arguing.)

FIRST MAN: It was a horse.

SECOND MAN: It was a mule.
CHORUS: – Horse! Mule! Horse! Mule! Horse! Mule!
(sings): “Tradition! Tradition! Tradition! Tradition!"

TEVYE (saying silence): – Tradition. Without our traditions, our lives would be as unstable as... like a fiddler on the roof!

 

 

Scene 1

Kitchen at Tevye's house. Golda, Tzeitel and Hodel are making preparations for the Sabbat. Shprintze and Bielke enter carrying firewood.

 

SHPRINTZEL: Mom, where do we put the firewood?

GOLDA: – In my head! Of course it's on the stove, silly girl… Where's Chava?

HODEL: – In the stable, milking the cows.

BIELKE: What time is Daddy coming?

GOLDA: It's time for the Sabbat, and he doesn't even care. All day on top of his wagon like a prince.

TZEITEL: – Mom, you know very well that Dad works hard.

GOLDA: Your horse works even harder!… And you don't need to defend your father to me. I've known him a lot longer… He sometimes drives me crazy… Shprintze, bring more potatoes.

(Chava enters carrying a basket. She has a book under her apron.)

GOLDA: – Chava, have you finished milking?

KEY: – Yes, Mom. (She drops the book.)

GOLDA: Were you reading it again? Why does a girl have to read? Will that give you a better husband? Hand me that book, come on! (Chava the delivery.)

SHPRINTZE (entering with a basket of potatoes): – Mom, Yente is coming.

HODEL: – Maybe she's finally got you a fiancé, Tzeitel.

GOLDA: Let the angels say Amen.

TZEITEL: Why does she have to come right now, almost Sabbat time?

GOLDA: – All out of here! I want to talk to Yente alone.

BIELKE (pulling Shprintze by the hand): – Can we play outside?

GOLDA: – Yes, yes. And soon!

TZEITEL: – But, Mama, the men she gets… The last one was very old and completely bald.

GOLDA: A poor girl without a dowry cannot be so demanding. If you want hair, marry a monkey.

TZEITEL: – After all, Mom, I haven’t turned twenty yet, and…

GOLDA (shooing her away): – Shoo, sho! Inside, let's go!

(Tzeitel goes to the back of the house, while Yente enters leaning on her cane.)

YENTE: – Golda, dear! I have news! And your daughters, those jewels, where are they? Out there, isn't it? I'll find a groom for each of you, you can let me! Only you shouldn't be so demanding. … Even the worst husband – God forbid – is better than no husband at all. And I know that better than anyone. Me, a poor widow, with no one to talk to. This is not life. Even my husband, who wasn't great, was better than nothing.

MOTEL (looking through the door): – Is Tzeitel home?

GOLDA: – It's busy. Come back later.

MOTEL: – I wanted to tell her something.

GOLDA: – Later.

TZEITEL (appearing): – Oh, Motel, I recognized your voice.

GOLDA: – Go finish what you were doing. (to Motel): – Later, I told you.

MOTEL (leaving): – All right.

YENTE: What does this poor little tailor want with Tzeitel?

GOLDA: – They are childhood friends. They like to talk, to play. They are nothing but children...

YENTE: – It is from these children that other children come. (with suspicious and then dreamy eyes) Ah, children are a blessing in our old age. Well, Golda, I need to set the table for the Sabbat. It was a pleasure talking to you, but I'll be on my way. (Starts to leave.)

GOLDA: – But you said you had news for me…

YENTE: Oh, yeah, I'm losing my mind. Any day she falls off her neck, a horse kicks her in the mud, and goodbye Yente. Yes, the novelty. It's about Lazar Wolf the butcher. A good, distinguished man. And well off, you know. But very alone, poor thing. In short: of all the girls in the village, he chose Tzeitel…

GOLDA: – My Tzeitel?

YENTE: – No, the Tzeitel of the Tsar! Of course it's your Tzeitel!

GOLDA: – Hmm… But Tevye wants a literate man. He doesn't like Lazar.

YENTE: – Well, don't say anything to him and send him to talk to Lazar, who will find a way to convince him. And you don't have to thank me, because besides the little gift that Lazar will give me, I like to make people happy. So goodbye, Golda. (She walks out the door.)

TZEITEL (entering): – Mother, what did she want?

GOLDA: I'll tell you when the time is right. Just washed the floor.

(Golda leaves. Hodel and Chava enter from the back with bucket and mop.)

HODEL: – Has Yente found you a fiancé?

TZEITEL: – I'm not in a hurry for these arrangements.

CHAVA: Unless she gets Motel, the tailor…

TZEITEL: – Stop this conversation.

HODEL: But, Tzeitel, you are the oldest. She has to get you a fiancé before she gets one for me.

CHAVA: – And then one for me.

TZEITEL: – Well, Yente, Yente…

HODEL: – Yente, yes. Young people can't decide these things...

CHAVA: – She can get a wonderful fiancé…

HODEL: – Interesting…

CHAVA: – Well-being…

HODEL: – Important…

 

SINGING PART:

HODEL:
“Yente, oh Yente, bring me a young man, strong and capable, handsome young man…
Yente, oh Yente, please bring me a big, big love!”
KEY:
“Yente, oh Yente, I already have my veil. Bring my good with your ring...
A beautiful ring that I will soon show, that everyone will envy!”
HODEL:
“Dad wants a literate man.”
KEY:
“Mama, rich maybe like a king…”
BOTH:
“For me, well, I don't care that much, as long as you love me very well!
Yente, oh Yente, bring me a strong and capable boy, handsome boy.
Night after night alone like this, I want a love for myself.”
TZEITEL (imitating Yente, with a headscarf):
“Hodel, oh Hodel, your bridegroom I have already treated.
It is beautiful, however, sixty-two years old he is, your dear! 'Are you okay?
Well, you'll be happy with him, and if not,
what you're going to live… I can't say!
Chava, oh Chava, your fiancé I got.
It's beautiful, however, so fat that it won't fit here, dear! 'Are you okay?
Well… Of furious temper, it will hit you,
but only fury comes to him if he doesn't drink...
Did you dream of a king?”
KEY:
"That's all I know."
TZEITEL:
“Whoever does not have a treasure or a cradle of gold,
if you find someone, 'okay!
KEY:
“Yente, oh Yente, I'm too young. I want to think... I'll wait..."
HODEL:
“I didn’t understand that getting married is so bad or good for me!”
BOTH:
“Hey Yente, see me, please, a bridegroom full of love.
It's not that I really want…”
THE THREE:
“We are terrified!
Yente, oh Yente, I don't want the boy, I think it's too soon...
Whoever stirs embers can get burned. The veil and the ring will wait.
My love, whoever it is, one day it will come!”

 

 

scene 2

Outside Tevye's house. Tevye appears pulling the wagon. He stops and sits on the side of the wagon, talking to God.

 

TEVYE (walking wearily): – Today I'm a horse… Good God, did you have to make my poor old horse lose his shoe just as the Sabbat is coming? That was no good… You chose me, Tevye… blessed me with five daughters and a life of poverty. But what have you against my horse? Sometimes I think, when things are very quiet up there, You say to Yourself, "Let's see, what game am I going to play with my friend Tevye?"

GOLDA (coming out of the house): – My breadwinner has finally arrived. Where did your horse go?

TEVYE: – He was invited by the blacksmith to spend the Sabbath with him…

GOLDA: – Hurry up, the sun won't wait, and I have something to tell you.
(She disappears into the house.)

TEVYE (still talking to God, looking up and gesturing): Oh, Lord, as I was saying, it's not that I'm complaining. But I confess that, despite your help, I am starving. You made many, many poor people. I know it's not a shame to be poor, but it's not a great honor either. So, would it be so terrible if I had a small fortune?

SINGING PART

TEVYE:
“If I were rich, (dance)
dag, say, dag, say, dag, say, say, dem,
every day everything, all right, I would even be someone.
What light work I would have every day, for the day comes and goes,
if I were rich, very well, I would be, yes, I would be somebody.
I would make the house big, and everyone would smile at me.
A good roof and wooden floor, yes.
She would have stairs to go up, another just to go down,
Ae another loose, just to see.
I would have chickens and turkeys and ducks and geese singing in my backyard;
the whole city listening,
listening to a whistle and a whirlwind, like the trumpet in Jericho,
saying a rich man lives here. (Sighs.)
If I were rich, (dance)
dag, say, dag, say, dag, say, say dem,
every day everything, all right, I would even be someone.
What light work I would have every day, for the day comes and goes,
if I were rich, very well, I would be, yes, I would be somebody.
I would see my Golda all decked out like a king's wife,
and sending as you already do so well.
I would see Golda smiling and chattering, oh, how is my love,
shouting at the servants, what a horror!
He would see the most remarkable men in town arriving.
I would give my advice as a wise man to speak.
'Please Reb Tevye, sorry Reb Tevye',
with trouble squinting at anyone.
'Blah blah blah blah blah blah blah'
And no one would question whether I answered correctly or not.
Every rich person is always a Solomon.
If I were rich, I could stay there in the synagogue and pray.
I would read my good lord's laws
and with the sages to learn the sacred Torah, until I know it by heart. (Sighs.)
For me it would be the greatest good.
If I were rich (dance)
dag, say, dag, say, dag, say, say, dem.
Every day, everything is fine. I would even be somebody.
What light work I would have every day, for the day comes and goes.
God, you made the doe and the lion, you decided that I would be like this.
But a little money was good for me to have.”

(The innkeeper, Mendel, Avram and others appear.)

SPOKEN PART

INNKEEPER: – Ah… There he is! You delayed my order for the Sabbath!

TEVYE: – Reb Mordcha, I had a little accident with my horse.

MENDEL: Tevye, you delayed the Rabbi's order.

TEVYE: – I know, Reb Mendel.

AVRAM: – Tevye, you delayed my order for the Sabbath!

TEVYE: – More important news than the epidemic in Odessa.

AVRAM: – Speaking of news, there is terrible news going around the world out there.

INNKEEPER: – What news?

AVRAM: – In a village called Rajanka, all the Jews were expelled, forced to leave their homes…

(They all look at each other. The beggar passes by, gesturing, asking)

MENDEL: But why?

AVRAM: – It was not explained. Maybe the Czar wanted his lands… maybe it was an epidemic.

INNKEEPER: I hope the Tsar has an epidemic all to himself.

ALL: – Amen!

MENDEL (to Avram): – Why do you never bring us good news?

AVRAM: – That's what I read. It was a decree from the authorities.

INNKEEPER: Well, I hope the authorities have an itch in impossible places to scratch.

ALL: - Amen.

PERCHIK: Why are you cursing? What's the use? You go round the subject, complaining and talking to death.

MENDEL: Hey, you're not from here.

PERCHIK: – I'm from Kiev. I studied at the University there.

INNKEEPER: Is that where you learned to criticize your elders?

PERCHIK: – That's where I learned that there are many things we need to know about the outside world.

TEVYE: They're right and you're right.

INNKEEPER: Oh, is he right? This one is very good. Goodbye, Tevye. Good Sabbat.

AVRAM and the others (each carrying his parcel): – Good Sabbat, Tevye.

MENDEL: - Tevye, the Rabbi's order. My cheese.

TEVYE: – Of course. So Perchik, you're a newcomer. As Abraham said, "I am a stranger in a strange land."

MENDEL: It was Moses who said that.

TEVYE: - Sorry. As King David said, “I am slow of speech and slow of tongue”.

MENDEL: That was also Moses who said.

TEVYE: For a person who is slow in language, he actually talked a lot.

MENDEL: And the cheese?

TEVYE (seeing Perchik staring hungrily at the cheese): – Have a piece.

PERCHIK: I don't have money and I'm not a beggar.

TEVYE: - Here. It's a blessing for me to be able to give.

PERCHIK: All right, I'll take it. (He devours the cheese.) The day will come when the wealth of the rich will pass to us, the poor.

MENDEL: And who will achieve this miracle?

PERCHIK: People, common people, like me.

MENDEL: Nonsense!

TEVYE: And until those golden times come, Reb Perchik, how are you going to live?

PERCHIK: – Teaching children. Do you have children?

TEVYE: I have five daughters.

PERCHIK: Girls need to learn too. Girls are people.

MENDEL: A radical...

PERCHIK: I would like to teach them. Open their heads to great ideas.

TEVYE: – I'm a very poor man… Food in exchange for lessons? (Perchik nods.) All right. Stay with us for the Sabbath. We don't eat like kings, but we don't go hungry either.

MENDEL: Good Sabbat!

TEVYE and PERCHIK: – Good Sabbat.

(Mendel leaves. The other two enter the house.)

 

 

scene 3

Inside Tevye's house. Tevye and Perchik enter.

 

TEVYE: Good Sabbat, my daughters.

DAUGHTERS (running to him): – Good Sabbat, Daddy.

TEVYE: – Daughters, this is Perchik. Perchik these are my daughters. (kissing them) This, this, this, this, this, es… (almost kisses Motel who comes in) This is not mine, Perchik. This is Kamzoil Motel.

GOLDA (entering): – So you did yourself the favor of entering.

TEVYE: This is mine too. Golda, this is Perchik from Kiev. He is a teacher. (to Shprintze and Bielke) – Do you want to take lessons with him?

PERCHIK: – And I'm a really good teacher… An excellent teacher.

HODEL: – I have heard that the Rabbi who boasts of himself has a congregation of one believer.

PERCHIK: Your daughter has a sharp, funny tongue.

TEVYE: The grace she inherited from me. Says the Holy Scripture...

GOLDA: — Scripture waits. Try to go wash your hands.

TEVYE: And the language she inherited from her mother.

(Tevye begins to pray in a low voice.)

GOLDA: – Tevye, I have a message…

TEVYE: – Shhh… Can't you see I'm praying? (Prayer.)

GOLDA: – Lazar Wolf wants to see you. Said it's important. After the Sabbath…

TEVYE: I have nothing to talk about with this butcher. (Pray.) If he thinks about buying my new dairy cow (Pray…) he can put that idea out of his head. (Pray…)

GOLDA: Don't be silly. It's an important message. Go talk to him.

TEVYE: - All right. After the Sabbath.
(He and Golda leave, he still praying. The girls set the table.)

TZEITEL: – Motel, Yente was here. If she finds me a fiancé, it will be too late for us.

MOTEL: – I saw Yente with your mother. But don't worry. I've found someone who wants to sell his used sewing machine, and in a few weeks I'll save up enough to buy it, and then your father will have a good impression on me.

TZEITEL: – But, Motel, a few weeks is a long time. You have to ask my father to marry me today.

MOTEL: – But I’m going to make a bad impression: a poor tailor, without a sewing machine…

TZEITEL: – And I am but the daughter of a poor milkman. Talk to my father!

TEVYE (entering): – Where is everyone? It's late.

MOTEL: – Reb Tevye…

TEVYE: – Yes, my son, what happened?

MOTEL (trying to work up courage): – Reb Tevye…

TEVYE: – Yeah, Motel, what's up? Speech!

MOTEL: – Good Sabbat, RebTevye. (Tzeitel is disappointed.)

TEVYE: Good Sabbat, everyone. Children, all around the table!

(The family, Motel and Perchik gather around the table. Golda lights the candlestick. She prays quietly.)

 

SINGING PART

GOLDA and TEVYE (there is a chorus behind singing in “um…”):
“May the Lord protect and defend you, always protect you from evil.
May your name be light in Israel.”
“With the love of Esther and Ruth, you will deserve only praise.
May the Lord, the Protector, give you courage… Hmm…………..”
TEVYE and CHORUS:
“Long life grant you…”
GOLDA:
“… hear our Sabbat prayer for you!”
GOLDA and CHORUS:
“Be good wives and mothers!”
TEVYE:
“God give you loving, good husbands!”
WOMEN and GOLDA, MEN and TEVYE:
“May the Lord keep you and defend you, may He preserve you from pain.
Give them, O Lord…”
MEN and TEVYE:
“…peace and lots of love…”
WOMEN and GOLDA:
“…peace too!”
ALL OF THEM:
“Hear our prayer! Amen."

 

(to be continued)

 

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