<Li> Tony Award for Best Score </Li> <Li> Tony Award for Best Book </Li> <P> Fiddler on the Roof is a musical with music by Jerry Bock, lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, and book by Joseph Stein, set in the Pale of Settlement of Imperial Russia in 1905 . It is based on Tevye and his Daughters (or Tevye the Dairyman) and other tales by Sholem Aleichem . The story centers on Tevye, the father of five daughters, and his attempts to maintain his Jewish religious and cultural traditions as outside influences encroach upon the family's lives . He must cope both with the strong - willed actions of his three older daughters, who wish to marry for love--each one's choice of a husband moves further away from the customs of his faith--and with the edict of the Tsar that evicts the Jews from their village . </P> <P> The original Broadway production of the show, which opened in 1964, had the first musical theatre run in history to surpass 3,000 performances . Fiddler held the record for the longest - running Broadway musical for almost 10 years until Grease surpassed its run . It remains the sixteenth longest - running show in Broadway history . The production was extraordinarily profitable and highly acclaimed . It won nine Tony Awards, including Best Musical, score, book, direction and choreography . It spawned five Broadway revivals and a highly successful 1971 film adaptation and has enjoyed enduring international popularity . It has also been a popular choice for school and community productions . </P>

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