“Fiddler on the Roof,” the first Palmerton Drama Club full-scale musical production in front of a live audience since 2019, kicks off Thursday night in the high school auditorium.

Led by Danny Haskins as Tevye, the cast is anxious to get back on the stage.

“We have had several successful plays and junior productions since our last musical, but because of the pandemic, we have not had an audience in our seats for a show such as this since ‘Mamma Mia,’?” drama club adviser Brent Harris said. “I think our audience is in for quite a treat in regards to the talent that is on display in our cast. Many of these students have been waiting eagerly for the opportunity to put their talents on display for a full audience again.”

The show runs Thursday through Saturday with tickets available for $10 at the door or online at https://phsdramaclub.ludus.com. Doors open at 6 p.m. each night and the curtain opens at 7 p.m. Flowers, T-shirts, candy-grams, and show posters will be available in the lobby before all performances courtesy of the Palmerton Drama Parents Club. Snacks and refreshments will be available at the school store during intermission.

Set in the little village of Anatevka, the story centers on Tevye, a poor milkman, and his five daughters. With the help of a colorful and tightknit Jewish community, Tevye tries to protect his daughters and instill them with traditional values in the face of changing social mores and the growing antisemitism of Czarist Russia.

For Harris, “Fiddler on the Roof” is a show about learning to balance life.

“I think for many of us the last few years have certainly shaken things up a bit,” Harris said. “My hope is that the students connect with the idea that it is important to continually remember the traditions and people that made you who you are and at the same time that you should always pave your own pathway forward in life.”

While “Fiddler on the Roof” may seem timely due to parallels between events taking place in the show and the events recently in Ukraine, Harris said it was complete coincidence.

“While we had no idea that these events would transpire when we selected ‘Fiddler on the Roof,’ we did certainly come to feel a heightened sense of responsibility to do the best we could in bringing this story to stage in a way that honored those who are struggling today,” he said. “Our hearts go out to all of those who have been impacted by the Russian invasion of Ukraine.”

Production on the show started just before Palmerton’s winter break. Students auditioned in the final school week of December and the cast list was released as they left for the holiday. Rehearsals have been taking place after school on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, as well as Saturday mornings.

The cast also includes Golde (Autumn Heydt), Tzeitel (Maddie Everett), Hodel (Hannah Serfass), Chava (Maddy Wentz), Shprintze (Jalin Burns), Bielke (Cora Wentz), Yente (Fiona Winger), Motel (Joshua Rehatchek), Perchik (Riley Fallon), Lazar Wolf (Harrison Denithorne), Mordcha (Magdalena Himmelwright), Rabbi (Ian Everett), Mendel (Rheese Borland), Avram (Grace Heist), Nachum (Chase Pfaff), Grandma Tzeitel (Nicole Kester), Fruma-Sarah (Serenity Hamilton), Constable (Zane Himmelwright), Fyedka (Logan Connelly), Sasha (Keira Peppard), Yussel (Dylan Picone), Shaindel (Freyja Marks), The Fiddler (Adriana Fugazzotto), and villagers (Mischa Smale, Cassidy Merkel, Riley Cordova, Kris Silva and Ariella Catania).

For Palmerton’s seniors, “Fiddler on the Roof” will be their final high school production. Harris said the group has meant the world to the drama club.

“When you consider the extra responsibilities we have asked the students to take on over the last few years, the fact that we are still here doing shows is a testament to their level of dedication to these clubs,” Harris said. “They lost a show, rehearsed via Zoom meetings, auditioned online, filmed a show, rehearsed with masks on and off and on again, and finally brought us full circle with this production of ‘Fiddler on the Roof.’ We pick our shows for a wide variety of reasons, but it seems fitting that this particular set of students get to say goodbye with a show about what makes us who we are because they have certainly worked through tremendous obstacles to make the drama club what it is today.”