This is the monthly FREE issue of The Broadway Maven’s Weekly Blast for June. For a full weekly subscription ($36/year), press this button:
Shalom!
This week, The Broadway Maven looks at Fiddler on the Roof:
• On Monday, June 7 at Noon and 8 pm ET, “Jewish Broadway Month” kicks off with a FREE Zoom class exploring that landmark show. Register here: bitly.com/MavenFiddler.
• My newest homework video assignment (found at this Playlist) presents my top ten favorite Jewish shows, with Fiddler ranked at #3. Do you agree with my ranking? Put your answer in the comments.
• This Weekly Blast looks at the reception of Fiddler on the Roof when it arrived in Israel; RAVES about the Yiddish Fiddler from the point of view of a Broadway Maven student who essentially grew up with it; RAVES about a cultural history of Fiddler; and links to a YouTube GEM about Fiddler’s “bottle dance” as performed in American high schools.
The Great Jewish Musical would seem a natural match for the Jewish state, right? The story is a little more complicated, but really interesting:
Israelis generally do not pine for the Eastern European Jewish experience, and Yiddish disappeared quickly in the early history of the State. There are probably more Yiddish words in everyday American English than in modern Israeli Hebrew, and it’s very rare to find matzo ball soup on the menu of an Israeli restaurant.
Yet Fiddler found an audience. It played more than a year, and more than one in four Israelis saw it.
Israeli critics were less enthusiastic. Sample phrases: “saccharine water with rose petals made of cellophane”; “not even fresh shmaltz, [but] putrid schmaltz”; and “cheap, empty, and hollow.”
One very funny promotion: El Al pitched trips to Israel to see Fiddler, arguing that it’s easier to get tickets there than on Broadway! Also, money was raised to dismantle the Tevye’s home set from the movie and reconstruct it in Israel, but it was torn down before they could.
Sign up for our FREE class on Fiddler on the Roof here: bitly.com/MavenFiddler
Your homework for the Fiddler on the Roof class: Watch the video below, which is on my top 10 Jewish Broadway musicals. I ranked Fiddler #3. Do you agree with my ranking? Put your comments below the video.
Sign up for the Summer ALL-ACCESS Pass at bitly.com/MavenSummer
JUST ANNOUNCED: Jewish singer-songwriters, special 90-minute class. Register: bitly.com/MavenSongwriters
Finally, sign up for our special FREE Ragtime class with lyricist Lynn Ahrens (Monday, June 14 at Noon ET ONLY) here: bitly.com/MavenRagtime.
Bob Nemser: My grandmother, Tillie Rabinowitz, was a star of the Yiddish Theater and a cousin of Sholom Aleichem (Solomon Naumovich Rabinovich), who wrote the stories on which Fiddler on the Roof is based. Molly Picon, who played Yentl the Matchmaker in the movie, was my Godmother. I saw all the variations of Fiddler, from Zero Mostel, Hershel Bernardi, Alfred Molina, and Topol, to the great all-Yiddish version (which I saw four times) with Steven Skybell, directed by Joel Grey. This show is dear to my heart. It’s my family heritage and has been part of my life since before my birth. The all-Yiddish version brings me back to my childhood when my Grandma Tillie used to take me backstage for many of her performances that, of course, were in Yiddish. It had been many, many years since I heard Yiddish spoken onstage. It was very emotional for me. It truly brought a tear to my eye and much joy to my heart. That’s why “Fiddler on the Roof” has and always will be so very special to me.
Wonder of Wonders by Alisa Solomon is a, well, “wonderful” exploration of the Fiddler phenomenon. Far more than a history, the book covers the show’s role in the Jewish community and the world.
Who was Sholom-Aleichem? Who combined his Tevye stories into a coherent whole? How did Fiddler get to Broadway? How did the content of the songs develop?
The 356-page book contains lots of great nuggets, like the Fiddler tchatchkes that were promoted during the show’s run to the production of the show in communist Poland.
My favorite part, though, is the explanation of why the Second Act is so underwhelming: Jerome Robbins had planned a Chava-themed ballet, which was cut, leaving the end of the show rather limp.
In a show with stunning Jerome Robbins choreography, one dance number is nonetheless widely accepted as the most memorable: the bottle dance at Tzeitel and Motel’s wedding. The Robbins estate requires all productions of Fiddler to include his dances, so even amateur productions - including high schools - do their versions of that very difficult numbers. Check out these three excellent high school presentations of the bottle dance, and in the comments identify your favorite and explain why.
Note: links to register for ALL classes are ALWAYS available at TheBroadwayMaven.com.
Monday, June 7 Fiddler on the Roof (FREE, Noon and 8 pm ET)
Tuesday, June 8 Ashman/Menken musicals (Noon ET, ALL-ACCESS only)
Monday, June 14 Ragtime (FREE, Noon ET) with special guest, lyricist Lynn Ahrens
Thursday, June 17 Jewish singer-songwriters (90-minute class, $6, Noon and 8 pm ET)
Monday, June 21 Barbra Streisand’s Musicals (FREE, Noon and 8 pm ET)
Tuesday, June 22 Show Boat (Noon ET, ALL-ACCESS only)