The curtains open up and the spotlights shine on main character Tevye, leading the cast in LT’s next theatre production, “Fiddler on the Roof.” The chairs are empty now but they won’t be for long; the play is debuting tonight at 7 p.m. in the Reber Center with two different full casts, “Sunrise” and “Sunset,” alternating between performances. 

 Theatre Board has high hopes with the production of the musical, a famous show in the theatre world, bringing an aspect of Broadway to LT. 

“On the surface level, it’s really all about family,” cast member Grace Simmon ‘24 said. “If you look deeper, it kind of has a little feminist message of women choosing their own lives and not just doing what’s set out for them, which is going to be really fun to portray.”

The play follows the lead, Tevye, played by Logan Baffico ‘24 and Alejandro Gonzalez ‘23, and his family. He has five daughters, three of which he tries to marry off, and also features aspects of Jewish culture, production manager Anne Dillon ‘23 said.

“Not only are we spending time with Tevye and his family, but we also have this sense of incoming panic,” Dillon said. “There’s a backdrop of a B-plot, where the Russians are invading these Jewish towns and are persecuting people and kicking them out of their homes.”

Rehearsals began in late November, giving the cast about three months to prepare for the musical. 

“There are three different types of rehearsals: acting rehearsals, dance rehearsals, and singing rehearsals,” Simmon said. “[The directors] will text us with who’s on call, and what we’re doing for the day, and we basically go from there.” 

This is just one out of seven productions the Theatre Board puts on in a year. 

“It definitely sets us apart from other high schools, who usually put on only one or two shows,” she said. “Everybody is so kind. Theater really is just a big family.” 

“Fiddler on the Roof” is the biggest production LT will have this year, Dillon said. The musical includes everyone involved with theater, regardless of grade level. 

“The musicals at LT are always so well done,” she said. “Everyone’s allowed to dream big, and I think that’s what elevates the musicals. It doesn’t just feel like a high school musical; it’s more like a real production.”

While some productions at LT have more of a student-run feel when it comes to directing, the musical is mostly managed by six directors. Lawrence Keller and Micheal Kuehl are the acting directors, David Hartley and John Musick are the singing directors, Bridget Dominiak is the choreographer and Laura Moore is the technical director, all staff at LT.

“The way that Moore designed the set is so interesting,” Dillon said. “It’s not what you would expect; it’s a bunch of panels that move around and that are configured to create these different locations for our characters to exist in.”

After its debut on Feb. 16, “Fiddler on the Roof” will run for three more shows at 7 p.m. from Feb. 17-18, and 3 p.m. on Feb. 19.