How many times can you tell the same story before it starts telling yours?
Over the course of a single year, Ari Axelrod performed in three productions of Fiddler on the Roof across three states, portraying six different characters—from fathers to sons, dreamers to skeptics, a milkman, a tailor, and even a priest.
But this wasn’t just any year.
Ari’s year in Anatevka began just days after October 7, 2023. As the Jewish world reeled from unimaginable loss, Fiddler ceased to be simply a classic musical. Night after night, its themes of tradition, identity, displacement, resilience, and hope took on new and urgent meaning.
Featuring beloved songs from the score, behind-the-scenes stories from all three productions, and music inspired by Fiddler‘s unforgettable characters—including songs that never made it to Broadway—My Year in Anatevka traces one artist’s unexpected journey through a musical that suddenly felt less like history and more like a mirror.
Warm, funny, and deeply moving, My Year in Anatevka is a love letter to Fiddler on the Roof and a reflection on the surprising ways the stories we inherit become the ones that carry us through.
Meet Ari Axelrod

THANK YOU
2026 Programming & Season Sponsorship is generously provided by Barbara Streicker.
Media Sponsorship for the 2026 season is generously provided by Moffly Media and WSHU Public Radio.
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