Dr. Jeff Kensmoe, BSC associate professor of music, will unleash his rich baritone in the lead role of Tevye for the Birmingham-Southern College theatre program’s first production of the season and first-ever performance of Fiddler on the Roof.

The beloved musical theatre classic—winner of nine Tony Awards when it debuted in 1964—follows the life of a poor dairy farmer in the fictitious village of Anatevka in 1905. With the help of a colorful and tight-knit Jewish community, Tevye tries to protect his five daughters and instill them with traditional values in the face of changing social mores and the growing anti-Semitism of Czarist Russia.

“Now that I have children of my own (albeit not quite the age of Tevye’s), the role will become intensely personal,” Kensmoe said. “Like Tevye, I want the very best for my family and will do everything I possibly can to make that possible.”

Fiddler on the Roof has long been a favorite of Theatre Professor and Director Michael Flowers, who had been waiting for the right moment to collaborate with faculty and students in the Music Department to produce what he calls one of the last great shows of the golden age of musical theatre.

“The story is really about family and how families live with and embrace change while holding onto those values and principles that are the foundations of their lives,” Flowers said. “It’s also about what it means to be a people without a home—a story all too familiar in our world today.”

Flowers will delve into that subject in a free, public Provost’s Forum lecture on Tuesday, Oct. 18, at 11 a.m. in the College Theatre/Mainstage. He’ll discuss “Fiddler on the Roof: Caught Between Tradition and the Future—A People in Search of a Home” and be joined by company members who will perform short scenes.

In addition to Kensmoe, three other non-students will perform in the production alongside the talented student cast and crew. Attendees this fall will get to witness one of the biggest and most elaborate shows a BSC stage has ever seen.