As auditions wrap up, spring musical rehearsals begin

“Tradition,” a primary theme in “Fiddler on the Roof,” will be heavily emphasized in the cast’s performance and set design

After three days of auditions and callbacks, the cast for the school’s spring musical, “Fiddler on the Roof,” was announced on Jan. 27.

Starring in the show are senior Taylor Zhou as Tevye, senior Peilin Zhang as Hodel, junior Anastasia Ramirez as Tzeitel, freshman Ashly Henry as Golde and freshman Diya Iyer as Chava.

“Fiddler on the Roof” is a musical set in the Russian village of Anatevka during the early 1900s, and revolves around Tevye, a father attempting to marry off his daughters Hodel, Tzeitel and Chava, in hopes of preserving their Jewish heritage.

Performances will take place on April 29 and 30 and May 6 and 7, with drama teacher Benjamin Brotzman directing; former music teacher Margie Alejandro in charge of vocal training; junior Dragon Neal as production manager and sophomore Arushi Maheshwar and freshman Diya Kapoor as stage managers.

“This set is going to be focused on traditional designs because the show is very much heavy on tradition,” Maheshwar said. “We haven’t completely decided on the design yet, but we know it’s going to be a very simple model.”

For the musical’s icon of a fiddler who plays the violin and pops up every so often with a lively tune, Brotzman is hoping to find someone from the music department who can take on the responsibility, Maheshwar said.

In the early stages of rehearsals, which are held on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays until tech week begins on April 21, the cast is working on initial choreography for dance numbers and blocking scenes in small groups.

“It’s really fun to work with my cast members because they’re all such talented actors,” Ramirez said.

Dancers and singers will be practicing and performing with masks, which Maheshwar said will be one of the more challenging aspects of the show because it can become tiring for performers and bring down their energy.

Despite the challenges, Ramirez is looking forward to rehearsals.

“I know it’s going to be beautiful because of our amazing production team,” she said.