Homer’s “Fiddler on the Roof” production begins the second weekend of shows on Friday, on Oct. 18. The cast performed four shows last weekend and there are three remaining.

Musical director and retired Homer educator Mark Robinson provided a review of how the production is going so far. This fall production is the fourth “Fiddler” show he has contributed to in Homer. The first was when he was in high school. The second was in 1980 and directed by Lance Petersen and the third was a Homer High School musical production. Petersen, who passed away in 2023, was a very well-known drama teacher, stage manager and founding director of Homer’s Pier One Theatre who was instrumental in the development of theater in the community of Homer.

The 2024 production has had good size and receptive audiences, who he refers to as, “laughing at the jokes, whooping at the songs and standing at the end of the show to applaud the cast.” All of those things provide good vibes for the performers and help contribute to the quality of the show, he said.

He referred to some of the differences he’s noticed in this show to those he’s participated in previously, starting with his own difference in age and how that has contributed to understanding the context of the story.

Secondly, Robinson referred to the role of director Jennifer Norton. “Jennifer is such a fabulous person to collaborate with and we joke that Lance lives in our heads, because we both learned most of what we know about musical theater from him, so his presence is still here, but she brings her own artistic, theatrical and human vision to it to the production.”

Robinson refers to the current geopolitical situation in the world and the ongoing conflict over territory and displacement — mentioning specifically the Ukraine refugee situation and Gaza — that has been very poignant to the production this year. This is referred to in his note in the program as well stating, “beyond the geopolitical questions, there are questions of tradition, family, parenting, marriage, community and aging. I ask myself — when do our traditions of faith, patriotism and family serve as anchors and when do they create roadblocks to adaptation in an ever-changing world.”

Jennifer Norton also discussed this feature, the role of small communities and families in the larger context of world conflict.

The final point that Robinson mentioned about the production is that the cast and orchestra is particularly extraordinary, noting a substantial new influx of resident in town and a lot of effort from the younger members of the crew. He said that he respects the casts from productions past and they provided excellent performances, too, but “this cast and orchestra is just kind of blowing me away.”

“They’re just such good musicians, and everything I ask of them just happens and stuff happens even if I don’t ask,” he said.

Robinson said it’s important to emphasize what the rest of the 100-plus member cast and crew bring to the show. Many of them work full time in many capacities in the community and leading up to the first weekend of the show, they were spending all evening in rehearsals for about 10 days. “They’ve attended rehearsal with grace, graciousness and good humor and they have a good time. I pretty much stand in awe of the 100 other people who are contributing to this performance,” he said. He also referred to the backstage and tech crew and their contributions.

Robinson said he came to the community of Homer about 40 years ago and never expected to see the level of skill he has witnessed here compared to theater productions he experienced in larger cities. “The community is committed and up for it here,” he said.

He noted that even the number of people who auditioned created a challenge for him and director Norton because there were more than 110 people who auditioned and that meant they had to cut some of those who were perfectly qualified to participate. “At a certain size, the cast just becomes kind of unmanageable, we couldn’t make the cast much larger,” he said.

Robinson referred to the large number of high school students contributing directly to this particular production, including juniors Anna Springer and Ella Gustufson providing costumes, eighth grade student Ames Kincaid as assistant stage manager, freshman Gulliver Norton working in the light booth as well as many other members of the stage crew. He also commented that there are performers as young as seven 7 to 10 years old contributing to the dance and music in the local event. “They put all of their energy into the production,” he said.

Finally, Robinson referred to Kyle Schneider’s key role as Tevye. He said that typically Pier One aims to find productions that don’t have a single key role but rather a balanced incorporation of the whole cast and “Fiddler” does basically fit that quality.

However, the role of Tevye is “massive,” he said, and in addition to this role in the production, Schneider teaches and contributes to Homer musical students all day. “He has an incredible voice and it’s been so much fun to work with Kyle,” Robinson said, “and he’s always willing to contribute assistance to the other performers in ways that he really isn’t obligated to.”

Director Jennifer Norton noted the effort that Robinson has contributed as well — working with soloists and the choir as well as directing members of the orchestra.

The final shows for “Fiddler on the Roof” will take place this weekend. Tickets are available on the Pier One website or in the Homer High School commons before the start of the shows. Friday and Saturday shows will start at 7 p.m. The Sunday show will start at 3 p.m. Tickets are $25 for general admission and $10 for youth.