‘Fiddler on the Roof” does not take its title from a character.

The image of a musician precariously fiddling on a rooftop is a metaphor for the Jewish people in the story, who live their lives and traditions in early 20th century Ukraine, said Joe Bowen, director of META Performing Arts’ upcoming production of the 1964 musical.

“It’s dangerous to be a Jew in Ukraine in 1905 when Russia is on the verge of revolution,” Bowen said. “The fiddler on the roof is the metaphor for all of them. It represents any minority that is at the mercy of the majority.”

Bowen wanted his actors to build their roles off a foundation of tradition and historical context. With that in mind, he asked a rabbi to talk with his cast of children, teenagers and adults.

The rabbi taught the cast the hows and whys of the dress, religion and lifestyle of early 20th century Jews. Two of the young men in the cast demonstrated how they must respect their prayer shawls.

Threads dangle from the shawls at the waists of the young men, who use the threads in various prayer rituals to stay connected with God.

Patrick Holahan, 29, of Bellingham, and Nathan Hamer, 17, of Big Lake, learned that even saying hello in passing has its own element of tradition.

During the recent rehearsal, the rabbi showed them how to hold some fringe from their shawls in their palms as they shake hands, and then kiss the bunch of fringe after.

“We spent an hour talking about little touches — what the prayer shawl is, how to greet people with it,” Holahan said of the meeting with the rabbi.

While rehearsing with a cast of 70 people at Bethany Covenant Church in Mount Vernon, Bowen reminded the ensemble about the tradition and context for each scene.

In one pivotal scene, a wedding party is disrupted when a young woman and man break tradition and start dancing together.

The main character shocks the wedding guests by insisting on dancing with his wife, and his example is followed by the town’s rabbi, who also wants to dance with the women at the gathering.

“The rabbi is a rock star,” Bowen told a group of kids, noting that the rabbi has a huge influence on a community and how its traditions are followed.

Organizing a cast of 70 people for “Fiddler” posed its own challenge for Bowen.

“Artistically you’d like to have 30 people,” Bowen said. “But 30 people doesn’t look like a village.”

So he filled the stage with as many cast members as he could. After some prodding from Suzann McLamb, the play’s choreographer, Bowen agreed to the complicated dance moves used for the show.

Bowen said the opening scene benefits greatly from the highly choreographed crowd. The cast moves between the chaos of a full village street to controlled dance moves, which Bowen describes as ballet.

As Tevye, the main character, is singing, the crowd is able to see inside his head as he switches his attention from reality and fantasy — present day and memory, Bowen said.

This is META’s second production of “Fiddler on the Roof.” Bowen starred in the first one. Tevye is played for the second time by Jennings Bruce Watts III.

Tevye’s wife, Golde, is Leslie Wisdom, 38, of Mount Vernon. This is the first time she’s starred in a play or has sung in front of a crowd.

Aaron Burkhalter can be reached at 360-416-2141 or .

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Want to go?

What: META Performing Arts presents the award-winning musical “Fiddler on the Roof.”

When: 7 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays; 2 p.m. Sundays, May 1-10.

Where: McIntyre Hall, 2501 E. College Way, Mount Vernon.

Cost: $15-$35. One pay-what-you-can performance at 2 p.m. Saturday, May 2; no reservations are available for that show.

Tickets and information: 360-416-7727 or http://www.mcintyrehall.org