Fiddler: Barbara Barrie?

[jamiekennywicked]

Posted: 3/19/11 at 10:47am

I was looking back on the recent revival of FIDDLER ON THE ROOF and seen Barbara Barrie was replaced by Nancy Opel during it's preview run. Does anyone know why?

[AC126748]

Posted: 3/19/11 at 10:51am

The line at the time was that she wasn't coming off as Jewish enough. I find that kind of preposterous, considering that Alfred Molina's Tevye was about as Jewish as an SS officer. The ever popular "creative differences" was used, but Riedel had a column where he claimed she was booted for reading too gentile.

Updated On: 3/19/11 at 10:51 AM

[Dollypop]

Posted: 3/19/11 at 12:40pm

>>>"I was looking back on the recent revival of FIDDLER ON THE ROOF and seen Barbara Barrie was replaced..."<<<

"Seen"???? Heaven forfend! It's "saw", gentle friend.

Some Jewish co-workers saw Barrie in the role and felt she was the only one who was coming across as being really Jewish. (I don't know whether she is in real life.) In all probability she just wanted out because she saw the direction Leveaux's production was heading in. Or maybe she saw Yente's costumes.

[Jon]

Posted: 3/19/11 at 2:13pm

The fact that she's Sheldon Harnick's sister-in-law must have made it awkward.

[AC126748]

Posted: 3/19/11 at 2:32pm

^ I've often wondered about that, Jon.

Updated On: 3/19/11 at 02:32 PM

[Dollypop]

Posted: 3/19/11 at 4:28pm

I'm pretty sure Barrie left because of genuine artistic differences. She'd probably seen the original production many times and wanted out when she saw what was happening under Leveaux's production.

Although I didn't hate that production, it was about as Jewish as Velveeta cheese. What is FIDDLER about if not it's ethnicity?

Updated On: 3/19/11 at 04:28 PM

[bwaylvsong]

Posted: 3/19/11 at 4:38pm

Dolly, while I see where you're coming from, Fiddler is about a universal theme that occurs in all cultures and religions, and that is tradition.
I'm Jewish and thought Leveaux's production was brilliant, as did my parents.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 3/19/11 at 4:55pm

I'm Jewish and I thought Leveaux's production was bland and boring. It wasn't Jewish, but it wasn't Episcopalian either. It was lacking in any atmosphere whatsoever.

The photographs, however, of the famous Japanese production of Fiddler, are among the most authentically Jewish in spirit of any I've every seen.

[daisyviolet]

Posted: 3/20/11 at 9:52am

It had NOTHING to do with appearing "Jewish" or "not-Jewish" enough - and I'd love to see someone define what that is. Barbara Barrie couldn't learn her lines. It was that simple.
Updated On: 3/20/11 at 09:52 AM

[mallardo]

Posted: 3/20/11 at 10:25am

^ That's more or less what I heard at the time. There was a genuine problem.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 3/20/11 at 10:48am

"Tradition"--from the 1982 Japanese production.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uSOXZrLadS0

It's as Jewish as my Grandma Rae's babka.

[Jon]

Posted: 3/20/11 at 4:26pm

Geez - Yente doesn't have that many lines - her total stage time is maybe 20 minutes out of a 3 hour show!

[TheatreDiva90016]

Posted: 3/20/11 at 4:37pm

Actually, Yenta has quite a few lines and monolouges, and they are all very similar in sound and cadence.

That is, in the original script. The last time I did it, the director cut 90% of Yenta.

[K8eeyore]

Posted: 3/21/11 at 4:03pm

Barbara Barrie is Jewish in real life (and wrote a wonderful semi-autobiographical novel for young adults about growing up Jewish in Corpus Christi, TX).

And you want to talk awkward? Not only is she Sheldon Harnick's sister-in-law, but her son Aaron was one of the revival's producers. I really wonder how THAT conversation went...