Fiddler on the Roof

Basheva · **Posted:** Tue Jan 15, 2002 7:30 am

From the Los Angeles Times:Surprise--It's Tradition As "Fiddler on the Roof" nears the 40-year mark, its creators marvel at its Jewish story's universal appeal.By BARBARA ISENBERG <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>On Sept. 22, 1964, at New York's swank Rainbow Room, producer Harold Prince read aloud to his opening-night guests from one of "Fiddler on the Roof's" less than inspiring reviews. "I can't resist reading this to you," he told them, "because it's so irrelevant." Nearly eight years and 3,300 performances later, "Fiddler" broke the record for longest-running musical, and Prince again pulled out those reviews.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE><A HREF="http://www.calendarlive.com/top/1,1419,L-LATimes-Search-X!ArticleDetail-49872,00.html?search_area=Blended&channel=Search&search_text=Fiddler" TARGET=_blank>MORE...</A>

kurinuku · **Posted:** Sun Feb 29, 2004 11:43 pm

Quote:

Minskoff Box Office Opens for 'Fiddler on the Roof'; New First Preview Date Is Jan. 23, 2004

By KENNETH JONES
Playbill On-Line

Fiddler on the Roof will begin Jan. 23, 2004, rather than Jan. 17, according to Ticketmaster.com.

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Written by Joseph Stein (book), Sheldon Harnick (lyrics) and Jerry Bock (music), Fiddler on the Roof (from the 1964-65 Broadway season) is considered one of the masterpieces of musical theatre, co-created by director-choreographer Jerome Robbins (whose dances will be re-created with the new revival).

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kurinuku · **Posted:** Sun Feb 29, 2004 11:46 pm

Quote:

Fiddler on the Roof

By CHARLES ISHERWOOD
The Variety
February 26, 2004

The real revolutionary in Broadway's new revival of "Fiddler on the Roof" isn't feisty little Perchik, the firebrand sent off to Siberia. It's Alfred Molina's sad-eyed, soft-spoken Tevye, a modest, human presence trying to fend off both the czar's minions and the ghosts of Broadway legends past in David Leveaux's somber but eloquent new production.

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Stuart Sweeney · **Posted:** Mon Mar 08, 2004 1:00 pm

New-ish, But Still Jew-ish: Fiddler Breaks Tradition
by John Heilpern for The NY Observer

The family battle in the musical itself is, of course, between Papa—otherwise known as the warm-hearted traditionalist Tevye, who must surely be the most famous Jewish milkman in the world—and his three pretty, modernist daughters. I imagine that, by now, more or less everyone knows Fiddler backwards.

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Rennie · **Posted:** Wed Mar 10, 2004 11:41 am

We’ll be having a “Fiddler on the Roof” in Rome (Teatro Olimpico) next April. In Italian and Yiddish.

It’s being put on by Moni Ovadia, a 58-year-old Bulgarian-Italian Jewish folk singer and actor who, in 1990, brought Yiddish Klezmer music on the Italian scene. The show that made him really famous in this country was Oylem Goylem (1992), where he judiciously blended information on Jews and Judaism, jokes (see Rosten’s The Joys of Yiddish) told with a Yiddish or pseudo-Yiddish accent, a dash of tragic(ness?), and LOTS of music (and dancing). All strictly bilingual or even tri- and quadrilingual at times.

The funny thing is that he had/has great success – fully deserved– not only with Jews but with non-Jews as well. He’s really popular. Often invited on TV shows whenever they’ve got to speak about something Jewish. His shows are always sold out. (Which prompts theaters to raise their prices when he’s scheduled: the Teatro Olimpico’s asking too much – by Italian standards – for me to attend this time!)

One has to remember that very few goys in this country had ever seen Fiddler on the Roof (the movie, of course), so klezmer music was a novelty and an immediate hit. It also helped spark a new interest in Jewish culture, especially Italian Jewish culture: food, synagogue music, temples, catacombs… a whole tourist industry (see the ghetto in Venice). There are many klezmer bands around now, several of them featuring no Jewish players whatsoever.
There’s also a much-attended 4-day-long Jewish music festival in Ancona.

To get back to the subject, Moni Ovadia doesn’t do only funny things, though jokes cum music is the basic set-up of all his shows. I particularly remember a heartrending “Dybbuk”. Since all the important spoken lines and the lyrics were in Yiddish, and no sub-titles or a program with translations had been provided, I didn’t catch much of what was being said, but the sense was clear enough.

In short, his Fiddler on the Roof is a must. You won’t need to know either Italian or Yiddish to enjoy it.

Azlan · **Posted:** Wed Mar 10, 2004 1:07 pm

Thanks for this, Rennie. The lead character in "Fiddler" is actually quite complex. It's not just a musical -- it's about personal struggle, so it's important to have an actor who can play the part right. Moni Ovadia sounds like a complex enough of a personality to do this role justice!

Rennie · **Posted:** Sun Mar 14, 2004 4:22 pm

Oh yes, definitely. His whole personal as well as artistic life are proof of his own complexity, and he always brings it to the stage. And of course, his family history (Jews thrown out of Spain in 1492, then Italy, then the Ottoman Empire, Bulgaria, and Italy again after the war) is as complex as one could wish. As he says, he's a Sephardi completely and more at home in Ashkenazi culture: if that ain't mixed up, what is? I'm sure he'll be a great Tevye.

Stuart Sweeney · **Posted:** Sun Mar 14, 2004 5:17 pm

Rennie, do you know whether this Italian production will use the original Jerome Robbins choreography?

[ 14 March 2004, 06:18 PM: Message edited by: Stuart Sweeney ]

trina · **Posted:** Sun Mar 14, 2004 6:57 pm

"Fiddler" is one of my favorite musicals of all time! The music is just wonderful...."If I Were a Rich Man" and "Sunrise, Sunset" in themselves are masterpieces, and retain their bittersweet poignancy, even today. Trivia question: is it not true that Bette Midler played one of the daughters in the original Broadway production?

kurinuku · **Posted:** Mon Mar 15, 2004 11:32 am

Quote:

'Fiddler' revived with great gusto in Coral Gables

By CHRISTINE DOLEN
The Miami Herald
March 15, 2004

Since its creation 40 years ago, Fiddler on the Roof has been on Broadway five times -- it's there right now, in fact. It's a revival-worthy musical and a staple of theaters all over the country for many reasons, but its artistic bottom line is this: It's a moving, well-made classic, a show whose themes of treasuring tradition and fleeing persecution resonate as powerfully today as they ever have.

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Rennie · **Posted:** Thu Mar 18, 2004 10:33 am

Stuart: I wouldn't bet on it. I'd think not. I hope I'll be able to say more about it in the future: Patrizia is trying to get me in as a CD reporter (in her place, I guess, she's not fond of this kind of music).

Trina: I have the original recording in front of me (I wheedled my grandparents into giving me their own many years ago) and Bette Midler isn't mentioned on the cover. But Julia Migenes (of Carmen-movie fame, with Placido Domingo) is, as Hodel.

Stuart Sweeney · **Posted:** Thu Mar 18, 2004 4:09 pm

Looking forward to your review Rennie.

kurinuku · **Posted:** Wed Oct 05, 2005 12:08 am

Quote:

Fiddler on the Roof
by BRYCE HALETT for the Sydney Morning Herald

The cast makes the most of limited parts in what is undeniably a star-vehicle show. Judith Roberts is excellent as the guarded Golde and Maggie Kirkpatrick is terrific as the indomitable Yente.

The three daughters are well cast: Louise Kelly is superb as Tzeitel, Octavia Barron Martin is a passionate Hodel and Emily Green delights as Chava. As their respective loves, the men are just fine: Amos Szeps as Motel, David Harris as Perchik and Shaun Rennie as Fyedka.

published: September 27, 2005

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kurinuku · **Posted:** Sun Dec 10, 2006 8:36 am

Quote:

Fiddler on the Roof
by ALFRED HICKLING for the Guardian
published: December 8, 2006

Fiddler on the Roof crops up in some surprising places. Gwen Stefani released a reworking of Tevye's ode to poverty; American band Bright Eyes included a cover of Sunrise Sunset on a recent album, and there's even been a version entitled Fiddling on Ya Roof by Melbourne-based Jewish punk band Yidcore. But Fiddler is above all a sentimental hymn to the values of tradition, and Lindsay Posner's production is as respectfully traditional as they come.

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Quote:

Deedle-deedle-dum revisited
by KATE BASSET for the Independent
published: December 10, 2006

But in our current climate, this revival looks almost startlingly brave, with its opening scene proudly celebrating religious garb (covered heads and prayer shawls) and arranged marriages - although, of course, Tevye's daughters soon start telling him exactly who they have decided to marry. The Sabbath rituals are absorbing, recreated with quiet care, and the wedding dances are a joy, choreographed by Kate Flatt with wine bottles balanced on Homburg-style hats.

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kurinuku · **Posted:** Sat Dec 16, 2006 3:44 pm

Quote:

Fiddler raises the roof
by DOMINIC CAVENDISH for the Daily Telegraph
published: December 15, 2006

Though there have been successes in the intervening years, as well as the debacle of his premature dismissal from The Producers on Broadway, I can't recall seeing Goodman in such relaxed, confident form since that landmark Merchant of Venice. It's not just that he looks the part as the Russian peasant, with his shaggy beard, great-boots, shawl, cap and fingerless gloves; there's a mobility about him that suggests he's in tune with Tevye's every thought.

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