Tryon Little Theater’s “Fiddler on the Roof” is about tradition and family—and family is certainly a large part of this production, since eight families are working together on this show.

There are singers, dancers, actors, stagehands and costumers; husbands and wives, fathers and sons, mothers and daughters, and sisters and brothers. Some have been together in shows before and some haven’t, but all find the experience well worth the effort and will be sure to remember the good times for years to come.

“Tryon Little Theater is a great place for families to make memories together,” says Chris Riedy, mom of the Riedy family. “There are opportunities for all ages to be a part of each production – whether your interests are onstage, backstage, painting, props, costumes, box office, publicity or ushering, TLT encourages many forms of involvement.”

Two of the Riedys (Jamie and Kate) are onstage for “Fiddler,” and Maggie is working backstage this time, as well as helping Mom (Chris) and Dad (John) with costuming the show.

Susie Kocher plays Golde, the matriarch of the stage family, and one of her stage daughters is her real-life daughter.

“I love being in the show with Emily – I’m so proud of her! And she’s very patient with me!” she says.

Another mom, Petra Harrelson, is in the show with two sons (Alex and Eric) and her husband, Edward.  She points out “happiness is only real when shared,” quoting from Jon Krakauer’s “Into the Wild. She also mentioned that the individual joy of acting is multiplied by four for the Harrelson family and makes long evening rehearsals worth every yawn!

You can see these hard-working, fun-loving families perform in TLT’s production of “Fiddler on the Roof” running Feb. 20 – 23 at the Tryon Fine Arts Center, 34 Melrose Avenue in Tryon. Evening performances start at 8 p.m., and Sunday matinee is at 3 p.m.  Tickets go on sale Feb. 10 at the Tryon Little Theater Workshop, 516 S. Trade St. Tryon. Call 828-859-2466 or visit www.tltinfo.org for more information.

– article submitted 

by Monica Jones