The Hartland High School Drama Club will be performing the beloved musical “Fiddler on the Roof” Friday through Sunday during the weekends of April 21-23 and April 28-30. The performances will be at the Hartland High School auditorium, 10635 Dunham Road in Hartland. Showtimes are Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m., and Sundays at 2:30 p.m.
Tickets are available online at www.hartlanddramaclub.org and at the door. Individual tickets purchased in advance are $16 for adults and $14 for students, children, and seniors. Tickets purchased at the door are $18 for adults and $16 for students, children, and seniors. Group rates are also available.
The theatre has always been central to the life of Hartland High School junior, Carmen Pushman. Now, audiences can see Carmen pour her heart and soul into her role as Tevye’s eldest daughter, Tzeitel, in “Fiddler on the Roof,” Hartland Drama Club’s spring musical.
The heartwarming and heart-wrenching production — a classic story about family, tradition, and acceptance — showcases Carmen’s acting and singing talents as she portrays this character on her pursuit of acceptance and journey to love.
We reached out to Carmen to ask her about her experience with this classic traditional production:
Does this show’s universal message of tradition resonate with you? If so, how and why?
When you think about it, most families in America have some sort of “tradition.” Tradition can be a beautiful thing, and it is what this beautiful story is about. Anatevka’s culture and their Jewish faith are filled with tradition, it’s all they knew and it was just their way of life. When I think of the word tradition, I gain a sense of pride because it’s how your family, your beliefs, and the way you live life all connect into one big beautiful mosaic. Now, we may not agree with one another’s traditions, but that’s what makes individuals unique. My family is filled with tradition and I am proud of the way we live our lives. Traditions can also be broken, in some cases, and leave stains on a family back when times were much different and tradition was much more enforced. Traditions may evolve throughout time and they do during the story of “Fiddler on the Roof.”
How would you describe the hardships your character goes through? What have you learned from exploring these hardships within your character?
Tzeitel is the eldest of Tevye’s daughters and is the first one to break Anatevka’s tradition. Throughout the story, Tzeitel goes through so many emotions. She is in love with Motel but, because of tradition, she is faced with the fear of being betrothed to the town butcher Lazar Wolf. I have learned so much from Tzeitel. When we enter Anatevka we enter a time of tradition, back when women’s husbands were chosen for them by a matchmaker that was hired by their fathers. Those women were sold to men like cattle no matter the age gap, no matter their emotions on the match. As a young woman, my heart breaks for those women and what they went through, but my heart is filled with joy to see the progress made since then and that I can help tell the story of how one girl, her love, and her father agreed to break this tradition for the first time in their village.
What do you hope audiences will take away from this production?
I hope the audience fully understands how much pain and heartbreak Jewish individuals were exposed to during this time. I also hope our show expresses to the audience how serious the warfare going on in Ukraine is, and puts into perspective the tragedy they are going through.
What is your theatre background? Did you get involved as a child, or is it more of a recent pursuit?
I got involved in theater at a very young age and have been blessed to be doing productions every year since. I was too young to remember life before being involved in theatre and I honestly could not live without it. It’s all I do; all I care about; it is quite literally my life.
What extracurriculars and/or clubs are you involved with in addition to Hartland Drama Club?
I am devoted to drama club! The only other extracurricular activity I do is work and only on weekends so it doesn’t interfere with drama.
What will you remember most about your experience with this show?
This show means so much to me because of the possibility of it being my last Hartland show. I was selected to play a role that was unlike another I have ever portrayed before. I will remember the challenge that came with becoming this role and the amount of fun I had doing it! I will remember ‘Anatevka’ (the final song), as well as the feeling of leaving everything behind and saying goodbye to everyone. This show will always have a special place in my heart.
Why should folks come to see this production?
You should come to see this show because I believe in my heart that “Fiddler on the Roof” is a show everyone needs to see at least once in their lifetime. It has such a heart-wrenching yet meaningful message that in some way it has something that everyone can relate to. This show holds all kinds of emotions and is simply such a beautiful story.
