I can think of a reason to revive Fiddler, but I can guarantee that my view will cause controversy. I didn't see the 2004 revival, but if I understand the complaints , the revival portrayed the townspeople as suffering because the Czar did not believe in freedom, instead of because of anti-Semitism. Frankly, I find such an interpretation (if that's how events were indeed interpreted) to be so insensitive, it's almost anti-Semitic itself.
Recently, there has been an uptick in anti-Semitism in Europe and the US, probably because many people are angry at the Israeli government. Sometimes, that anger boils over into denying that Israel has the right to exist, and into flawed news reports that come close to implying that the UN gave a bunch of Jews land in a functioning Arab country, and the Israelis proceeded to attack the Arabs in 1948 to steal even more land. A revival of Fiddler, if it goes back to its roots as a show that portrays the Jewish experience, can lower the vitriol by showing us (i.e., Jewish people) as human beings just like other human beings, and by showing what our forebears went through not so long ago because of bigotry and hate.
As I said, I know this post is controversial, but I believe that now is EXACTLY the time to revive "Fiddler on the Roof," albeit for reasons having nothing to do with the bottom line.
Audrey, the Phantom Phanatic, who nonetheless would rather be Jean Valjean, who knew how to make lemonade out of lemons.
