It’s all about tradition. Choir Opera’s spring production of “Fiddler on the Roof” this year smacks the audience over the head with the idea, where the T-word is repeated over 50 times throughout the three-hour duration of the musical.

“Fiddler on the Roof” tells the story of the small Jewish village of Anatevka in Czarist Russia.

Mainly narrated by a poor Jewish milkman, Tevye, it follows the process of marrying off his three eldest daughters: Tzeitel, played by seniors Aria Szalai-Raymond and Katherine Mayer; Hodel, played by seniors Rebecca Schriesheim and Lindsay Whisler; and Chava, played by senior Kate Wainwright and junior Sacha Appel.

As the man of the house, only Tevye can approve marriages, but he has the help of his sharp-tongued wife, Golde, and the busybody village matchmaker, Yente, played by seniors Grace Wagner and Molly Weaver.

Tevye, played by seniors Jack Oldfield and James Nash, is an interesting narrator for the story. He is a devout man of faith in his mind, but he never seems to really know the Bible, even when talking to God.

He’s one of those loveable characters who the audience can’t help but feel bad for when nothing goes his way.

Both Nash and Oldfield pull off the character well, each adding their own quirks to the character, varying from the way they walk to their singing of the iconic “If I Were a Rich Man.”

Matching the three daughters is harder than it seems for Tevye. The eldest, Tzeitel, has already pledged to marry the modest son of a tailor, Motel, played by seniors Nathan Reiff and Karl Lungmus, while her father accepts a marriage arrangement from the much older village butcher, Lazar Wolf, played by juniors Michael Olszowka and Owen Cahill.

This arrangement unravels when Tzeitel comes to her father begging to let her marry Motel, claiming they have been pledged to each other for a year. Tevye gives Tzeitel permission to marry Motel but is then stuck with telling his wife Golde the change (which he does through a dream).

Golde was, by far, my favorite character. Played by seniors Leah Sherin and Alina Taber, Golde is Tevye’s wife of 25 years as a result of their parents’ matchmaking.

She really wears the pants in the relationship– meaning she runs the house while Tevye is off drinking or sleeping. She is a strong female character and mother who isn’t afraid to tell people what she feels.

Both Sherin and Taber embody the sharp-witted mother beautifully with snappy one-liners that made me laugh out loud at the familiarity.

Tevye’s dream seems out of place in this musical. Previous numbers in Act I including drunken celebrations of life, and dreams of being matched with the perfect man have a welcoming, warm, small town feeling.

The dream on the other hand is creepy, complete with dark lighting, a fog machine, and a 13-foot rolling tower that Frumah Sarah, the widow of Lazar Wolf, rides in on for the song.

Sarah is played by senior Alice Barlow and junior Flower Edington, and although the song is entertaining and achieves its goal of scaring the audience, it seems out of place to appear in the middle of Act I.

Before the first act is even over, more characters are introduced into this intricate small-village storyline, including Perchik (played by seniors Sawyer Denton and Liam Millett), a Bolshevik revolutionary who falls in love with Tevye’s daughter Hodel, and Fyedka, a young Christian man who falls for Chava, played by senior Kevin Slowey and junior Peter Merikoski.

Needless to say this lengthy musical is so complex that you have to be alert and awake to fully enjoy it.

The musical numbers never fail to interest the audience.

Some of the more well-known numbers such as “Matchmaker” and “If I Were a Rich Man” have catchy choruses and even the lesser-known song “Tradition!” will have you leaving the theater singing the simple chorus.

The New Trier Chamber Orchestra does a marvelous job with the tricky Broadway score. This year, one of the violinists, Emelia Suljic, is shown onstage as the physical “Fiddler on the Roof”. She is dressed like many of the other villagers and even interacts with Tevye on stage.

The Chamber Orchestra, directed by Peter Rosheger, provides a joyful undertone for many scenes and the multiple interludes while the cast and crew change the set pieces for the next scene.

Like the orchestra, the stage crew’s hard work is clearly shown in the nearly psychedelic backdrop, two moving houses, various benches and tables, and the color-changing LED moon or sun, depending on the scene.

With a crew of 22 students and a little under six weeks of build time, the crew brought the village of Anatevka to life. While some might see the colorful backdrop as out of place, I think it brings an element of contrast and interest to an otherwise possibly grey set. It draws the eye to focus on certain areas on the stage, and with the help of LED lights behind the backdrop, it changes the coloring based on the color of light.

It’s different, but a good kind of different.

Just in time for the 50th anniversary since it’s Broadway debut in 1964, this is the third time New Trier has performed “Fiddler on the Roof.” Needless to say, although the runtime is close to over three hours long, it’s worth the time.

Tevye, Golde and the entire village of Anatevka will teach you valuable lessons about family, faith and tradition while keeping you entertained with incredible singing and dancing.

Fiddler on the Roof will be performed Mar. 12-14 at 7:30 p.m. and Mar. 15th at 2:00 p.m. in the Gaffney Auditorium on the Winnetka Campus. Tickets can be purchased at www.seatyourself.biz/newtrier or at the door.