<P> Un violon sur le toît was produced in French at Paris's théâtre Marigny from November 1969 to May 1970, resuming from September to January 1971 (a total of 292 performances) with Ivan Rebroff as Tevye and Maria Murano as Golde . Another adaptation was produced in 2005 at the théâtre Comédia in Paris with Franck Vincent as Tevye and Isabelle Ferron as Golde . The Stratford Shakespeare Festival produced the musical from April to October 2013 at the Festival Theatre directed and choreographed by Donna Feore . It starred Scott Wentworth as Tevye . </P> <P> The musical receives about 500 amateur productions a year in the US alone . </P> <P> The film version was released in 1971, directed and produced by Norman Jewison, and Stein adapted his own book for the screenplay . The casting of Chaim Topol over Zero Mostel for the role of Tevye caused controversy at first . The film received mostly positive reviews from film critics and became the highest - grossing film of 1971 . Fiddler received eight Oscar nominations, including Best Picture, Best Director for Jewison, Best Actor in a Leading Role for Topol, and Best Actor in a Supporting Role for Leonard Frey (as Motel; in the original Broadway production, Frey was the rabbi's son). It won three, including best score / adaptation for arranger - conductor John Williams . </P> <P> In the film version, the character of Yente is reduced, and Perchik's song to Hodel "Now I Have Everything" is cut and replaced by a scene in Kiev . The "Chagall color palette" of the original Broadway production was exchanged for a grittier, more realistic depiction of the village of Anatevka . </P>

Who played the main character in fiddler on the roof