FIDDLER Production History

Of the many productions of FIDDLER over the years, which have been the most notable and/or distinctive, and why? I'm trying to do research on the performance history of FIDDLER, but there are just hundreds of productions that have been done, and it's hard to discern which ones are noteworthy and which ones aren't.

Can someone please help?

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Well, if you want to stick with Bway - I'd say (along with what Margo said) any version with Zero Mostel....

The showe opened, closed, then was revived...Both times it started with Zero.

Blue Wizard,

Is this a school project, something you're writing a paper for and/or something you are going to be graded on ? Because, if it is, and you want to write about a show that has a long, interesting and varied production history, I could make a few suggestions (and maybe point you toward some resources that would be helpful -- PM me if you'd like).

Unfortunately, original Fiddler is basically revival Fiddler -- it hasn't changed much in 40 years and would be difficult to write much of a paper about. There are other shows that have had several VERY different versions over the years.

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It was also revivied in 1990 on Broadway with Topol.

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I wish I could help, but I couldn't tell you anything more than I've already said or that is contained in the "Making Of" book you have. I know it's been produced in Israel and around the world, but couldn't say whether those productions strayed far from the Robbins.

Rather than worrying about how subsequent productions differed from the '64 original (they didn't, much), you might try a different tact:

You certainly can get a paragraph or two out of the whole Chekhov's Russia look of the current Leveaux production (and how at the time the show is set, Chekhov was writing "comedies" set in the Russian countryside about how the changes in society were affecting the landed aristocracy necessitating their move to Moscow -- compare and contrast "The Cherry Orchard" to the new production).

Also, for your paper, you might also go back to Sholem Aleichem's stories that were the basis of the book for the show. Aleichem was a very influential Jewish writer of the 19th century and early part of the 20th century and his stories were revered in literary circles. I believe his "Tevye and His Daughters" was the main source of inspiration for Fiddler's creators. If I'm not mistaken there were plays based on that and other Aleichem stories on stage in NY prior to 1964 (subsequent to Fiddler, there was a "World of Sholem Aleichem" that played off-Broadway in the 70s).

And perhaps you should also look into the history of Yiddish Theatre and the Second Avenue circuit and how those actors, musicians and playwrights influenced Fiddler and its creative team (there's at least one great PBS documentary I've seen on the subject - check the Library of Television and Radio).

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Updated On: 1/19/05 at 01:21 AM

Thank you so much, Margo -- those are wonderful ideas. (The parallel to THE CHERRY ORCHARD's themes is particularly interesting, I never thought about that).

I'm reading all the NYT reviews of the Broadway stagings now -- interestingly enough, Zero Mostel played Tevye in an off-Broadway staging (and TV version) of Sholem Aleichem's stories a few years before he played the character again in FIDDLER.

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Margo, I wish that you could sit on my bookshelf. I suffer from a severe lack of storage space, and I'm sure you wouldn't take up nearly the space that the myriad books I have on the subject do. You're much more useful, and infinitely more entertaining.

Back OT, I've been curious about the FIDDLER choreography requirement that maybethistime mentioned for a long time. I don't understand the logistics of it. If you are required to pay for and use the original Jerome Robbins choreography for any production of FIDDLER, what exactly does one get for this payment? While standard choreographic notation does exist, it's a complicated and not particularly well known language. It seems odd to expect that a high school in Peoria would have a drama teacher versed in choreographic notation. Is it simply a financial clause, where Robbins wanted to be paid for his work regardless of whether it was actually performed or not?

If you want variety, how about a paper about the performance history and script and score variations of Candide? That subject might be worth an entire book.

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If only I could, but FIDDLER is the only musical on the syllabus.

However, I'll definitely read up on CANDIDE's production history for my own enjoyment.

Thank you all for your wonderful help.

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