FIDDLER ON THE ROOF - A discussion of the film and musical

[CapnHook]

Posted: 6/30/05 at 4:20pm

I have just seen the film for the first time.

How is it different from the stage production? I can't imagine a lot of it being done on stage...

I didn't really enjoy the score. It had a few good musical numbers, but nearly all of the music is the same. Musical repetitiveness is usually a good thing, but there wasn't enough distinctive, original music.

WHERE'S THE PLOT!? Actually, I sort of enjoyed it. It was a film about Tevye's family and way of life. That's it. No more, no less. It was a simple, nice story. But I don't like the feeling I got from it in the end. I felt like I wasted three hours of my life. Like nothing happened.

I kind of understand how it became such a classic Broadway musical...and yet I don't.

But my judgement is based off of the film only. Is the stage production different?

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 6/30/05 at 4:37pm

well, having just been to New York and attending the current Broadway revival as the second show I have ever seen, actually, on Broadway I can say that the show as it is on Broadway right now is really beautiful. I too have only seen the movie once and it was right before I left for New York. the movie, in my opinion really does not do the show justice. at least for me, Harvey Firestein as Tevye was a lot more entertaining to watch then Topol. even if his performance is the foundation for which all other performances are based... blah... Harvey was better. also, the revival places the orchestra on-stage which makes the music much more personal. the "Sabbath Prayer" song, for instance was incredibly moving, with three visible familles and then the orchestra on stage as well... like a real family of one. it was very powerful. also the revival has the new song "Topsy-Turvey" which very quickly became one of, if not, my favorite song in the whole show. the movie will always serve as a decent documentation, but I don't think it can show you the heart of the piece unless you see it live. I know the revival received mixed reviews, but I adored it. everything about the production was stunning and beautiful and by the end I was almost in tears... the movie did not do that for me...

[Ann_Margrock]

Posted: 6/30/05 at 4:37pm

Interesting observations Capn. I can't help you either way because I've never seen it on stage and I've never seen the film. Your post is now peaking my interest in actually renting the film.

The only things I know about "Fiddler" are some of the songs. That Zero Mostel originated the role of "Tevye", that Topol essayed the role in the film, that Bette Midler replaced one of the actresses that played one of the daughters, that Juila Migenes (Johnson) was also in the original production as one of the daughters and that Paul Michael Glaser (later of "Starsky and Hutch" fame) played one of the daughter's suitors in the film. Bert Convy fits in there somewhere if I'm not mistaken. . .

[Ann_Margrock]

Posted: 6/30/05 at 4:41pm

Hehe........(Paul) Michael Glaser played "Perchik" the role that Bert Convy originated in the original Brodway production.
I've just learned that Beatrice (Bea) Arthur was also part of the OBC.
Life is great when you learn something new everyday!
Updated On: 6/30/05 at 04:41 PM

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 6/30/05 at 4:46pm

yes. Bea is on the OBC. *I think* she only has one line at the end of "The Rumor" she says "...and that's what comes from men and women dancing!" it's very obvious that it is her, and funny...

[Link Larkin Wanabe]

Posted: 6/30/05 at 4:49pm

I LOVE his show,

I had the pleasure of emmersing myself in the material all last summer, when I played Motel in a big outdoor production of it. It was one of them most fulfilling acting experiences of my life. The director made our cast emmerse ourselves in our characters and relgion and we had to do intense research both historical and internal. The play is very flawless. If you play too much for laughs that aren't in the script you cheapen it and make it cheesy. It is a story about family, tradition, change, love, loss....VERY universal.

I am sooo proud of the show and we were getting ridiculous crowds trying to get tickets, and we were forced to just allow standing room. I think it is a testament to how powerful this work is and how many people relate to it.

Akiva

[CapnHook]

Posted: 6/30/05 at 4:56pm

I don't remember him begging the fiddler to come with him? I thought the Fiddler just followed? Or that the fiddler was a figment of his imagination?

And true, the film was about loss of community and tradition. Loss of religion/culture, really. Loss isn't correct. Evolution is correct. The loss of traditions to evolve as a community and a culture.

However, I don't think it's all that powerful. It was simply a nice story.

[keggss23]

Posted: 6/30/05 at 5:05pm

I just finished doing Fiddler and it is one of my favorite musicals. It has such a beautiful score and the book is excellent. I would love to see Harvey's take on Tevye.

[Ann_Margrock]

Posted: 6/30/05 at 5:15pm

Beaverhausen I am loving your observations on the show. I am going to get better acquainted with it.

[Gothampc]

Posted: 6/30/05 at 5:28pm

In the movie version, Yente is played by Molly Picon who was a star in the Yiddish theater of New York's Lower East Side.

[sanda]

Posted: 6/30/05 at 7:06pm

The first time I watched the movie without seeing the show on stage. I didnot feel a lot about it. Not bad, but not very impressive as well. At that time I even didnot know this show is famous. Just pick the movie randomly.

I decided to watch the stage production in my trip to NY because someone else told me that Fiddler was one of the best shows she ever saw. So, since there was student rush, why not.

And I had one of my best theater experience. The show is magical. The dancing in " To life" and wedding scene is fantastic, lively, full of energy. Alfred Molina's Tevye was such a father. He was not Topol's warm type. His humor gets that kind of bitter. But the love to the daughters is so deep and unlimited. His " If I bend that far, I will break" just made me burst into tears.

After watching the stage version, I rewatched the movie and found out how amazing this movie was. The best is the cast. Everyone is so true to the character. The dancing is faithful to the stage. Topol's Tevye got such an gorgeous voice. And Issac Stern's violin solo is another plus.

Like most of the musical movie, it lacks sort of the magic of the stage. But still, it is one of the best movie adaptions ever made.

[Immortal]

Posted: 6/30/05 at 7:35pm

I'll admit that I'm still a little young and a little bias on the topic since I was recently a lead in the show, but I believe I have some validity to what I have to say. The theatre production of Fiddler has much more depth than meets the eye. Themes, for some reason, are often overlooked in this show. Family, tradition vs. modern society, love, acceptance, etc. are all themes and conflicts that we all experience and are exemplified through this show. I have also known this show to be a very strong production for the Jewish community, for obvious reasons. I was Tevye in a previous production and I did a lot of study to prepare for this show by reading the original book, "Tevye's Daughters," watching the movie, etc., etc., etc. After I rolled my cart offstage as the fiddler played the recurring theme the closing night, this was the first time I had cried in public, I admit.

PS - In case you want to know what happens after the show stops from the original book, surprising as it is... Motel dies, Tzeitel moves back with Tevye, Bielke marries a rich man who gets Perchik out of Russian jail, Shprintze commits suicide, Fyedka divorces Chava who returns to the faith, and Golde dies. Cheerful story, huh?

[roquat]

Posted: 6/30/05 at 10:03pm

I am a big fan of the movie. It is almost verbatim from the stage show--it even preserves the little comic in-one moments (such as Yente handing Tzeitel an open letter from Perchik, shrugging, "So it happened to be open") which are used in the stage version to mask scene changes. The two songs cut are hardly missed. And Neva Small, the soulful-eyed redhead who plays Chava, is remarkable in her few scenes.

Additional fun tidbit--Pia Zadora played Chava at some time in the original production.