I saw Fiddler ont he Roof last night....- Page 2

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 2/16/04 at 6:42pm

I have never seen the show nor do I own the cast album so I cannot compare one performer to another

[Dollypop]

Posted: 2/16/04 at 8:33pm

So why then did you bother to post a message about it?

[LloydStamps]

Posted: 2/17/04 at 10:11am

Add me to the list of people who saw Mostel clowning around. (I was 11.) He "accidentally" put his arm into a milk jug during "Rich Man," and then spent 5-10 minutes wringing it out.

My mother yesterday told me at that performance he also held onto the costume of the ghost, so that the actors (there were two of them in it) couldn't move properly.

I also remember my parents saying that if they'd known Herschel Bernardi was going to take Tevye, they would've waited for him.

I've been planning to go see this production, but what's been said here isn't encouraging. Any more reviews or feedback?

[leeinlondon]

Posted: 2/17/04 at 10:22am

Dollypop - bullying is not nice and it is not clever.

Leave it out !!!

[Dollypop]

Posted: 2/17/04 at 2:56pm

Dear LeeInLondon,

I wasn't "bullying". I was merely asking a simple, and obvious, question. Put that in your bangers and mash!

[BrdwyThtr]

Posted: 2/17/04 at 3:50pm

I saw Bikel in the recent tour and he was genius!

[Tesse]

Posted: 2/18/04 at 8:19pm

I had the pleasure of seeing Brent Carver play Tevye at Canada's Stratford Festival in 2000. I went in to the theatre with enormous reservations (even tho' I'd been a fan of Mr. Carver's for years), since I couldn't picture Tevye as blonde, blue-eyed, and... well, young and thin. () Mr. Carver was brilliant in the role- instead of playing a mountain of a man refusing to budge against the winds of change, Tevye became a willow, bending in those winds but never breaking. (I spent days coming up with that metaphor. Thank you.) It was a wonderfully different production from anything I'd seen before, and a very refreshing take on a classic role. Maybe when Alfred Molina is ready for a break, Mr. Carver might be convinced to step in...?

~Tesse, fingers crossed

Updated On: 2/18/04 at 08:19 PM

[elvisisking63]

Posted: 2/19/04 at 8:02am

First time posting a message here. I also saw a preview of Fiddler, on 2/11, and although I wanted to love this show, I too was disappointed. I think the whole show has been terribly miscast (Barrie's exit indicates others agree). Molina has some interesting takes, but in general he speeds through his lines, swallows the punchlines, and does not deliver ANY the big moments. Graff has a wonderful voice, but she is not right for Golde--in voice and acting, we get no justification for why Tevye is afraid of her. Motel and Tzeitel are played bizarrely like cartoon characters, and the rest of the leads are generally not distinguishable. The set design is quite nice, however there were some real problems with staging (just elementary blocking) that need to be ironed out (such as: it seems like Tevye was always facing away from the audience at crucial moments; and in many scenes actors seemed rooted to one spot, talking or singing to each other from 20 feet apart, never moving).

And sadly I believe that time has passed over the material. In a Playbill article, Molina goes on about how this is not a museum-piece and Fiddler remains a vital, relevant show. I don't think so. I get the feeling that with the immigrant generation now dead and gone, the intense personal/familial link to this material has dissipated, and we Jews who kvelled over Fiddler in childhood now recall it fondly for the reason many have posted here: we acted in it in high school. This is a far less intense connection to the material that caused it to be a sensation in the 60s-70s. Back then this show (and movie) was the singular representation of American Jews' arrival and acceptance in American culture (along with the bagel, and Woody Allen).

I daresay that a "deconstruction" approach to Fiddler, taking a more critical or ironic approach to the material, might have more resonance today.

Not only is the material seemingly dated, but I realized it's just a horribly flawed book. The first act packs all the joy, and all the good numbers -- one more spectacular than the previous one (by the way, the male dancers in the cast do a terrific job). The second act is a dreadful downward spiral, right from the opening number "Now I Have Everything," which has all the Jewish charm of a Robert Goulet Vegas encore. The songs get weaker, sadder, and duller. The newly composed song is a weak attempt to create a purpose for Yenta, who is basically an unecessary character after the first 30 minutes of the show.

Finally, when the constable arrives to evict them, I think most of us were thinking, "It's about time!"

From the restlessness in the audience and comments at intermission, I got the idea that everyone else was on the same page as me. But then at curtain? Instant standing ovation! Does anything NOT get a standing O these days?

[Dollypop]

Posted: 2/19/04 at 9:41am

Yes, standing ovations are much too common these days. There have been several threads on that topic posted on this board.

I haven't seen this production of FIDDLER, but I've performed in numerous local versions of the show and designed the sets for a high school production. What has always impressed me about this material is its human qualities. I don't know how a father's relationship with his daughters and changing times can be considered "dated", but then again, I don't know how these emotions are played in the current production.

I was looking forward to seeing this FIDDLER, but recent comments both here and in dinner conversations have made me think otherwise.

[onceadancer2]

Posted: 2/19/04 at 11:54am

Tesse,

The description of Carver's Tevye is on the mark. Tevye should be a thin willow who never breaks. Now that is a production I wish I could have seen.

Miriam

[sabrelady]

Posted: 2/19/04 at 8:18pm

It really was lovely He was kinda like a yeshiva bocher who was n't able to go to yeshiva!

[Alex the Cat]

Posted: 2/19/04 at 9:16pm

I have to say I'm almost afraid to see this now- I haven't seen a good review yet. As far as the material being dated, I never understand why a show becomes 'dated' just because the people who actually remember the time in which it occurs are mostly gone now... anyone whose ancestors came from someplace else has had to deal with assimilation and trying to keep the old 'traditions' ('My Big Fat Greek Wedding', for example)- and it's always a part of who you are. For me it's the story of my grandparents, aunts and uncles, so it will always have meaning- every song reminds me of something or someone... If this 'Fiddler' has no soul I'll definitely be disappointed.

I'm sure Alfred Molina and the rest of the cast are fine actors, but I'm still amazed that they couldn't find Jewish actors for these roles... some things you have to feel in your bones. I'm hoping I'll like it more than others here have (hey, I liked 'Never Gonna Dance'!). Maybe it's just that I'm so old I'm dated...

[mamamia sammy]

Posted: 2/19/04 at 9:27pm

You haven't seen a good review yet? Did you read the first post in this thread?

PS. I also thoroughly enjoyed the show. The only person in the cast that I didn't like was Barbara Barrie and that seems to have been fixed.

[BudFrump23]

Posted: 2/19/04 at 9:38pm

I think Fiddler has some of the most beautiful songs in it. They always seem to become stuck in my head. I always sing the Sabbath Prayer at big holiday family dinners, and we aren't even Jewish. My parents get confused. Well, it's a hard life I lead.

[thirdrowcenter]

Posted: 2/19/04 at 9:40pm

Bud you're adorable!!

[BudFrump23]

Posted: 2/19/04 at 9:48pm

But that doesn't help me convince my parents that I haven't converted.

[elvisisking63]

Posted: 2/19/04 at 10:30pm

Responding to whether material becomes dated or not (a few posts up)...
Yes, I'd tend to agree that a lot of material might not get dated, especially more pure Bwy entertainment like 42nd Street or Gypsy. But part of the phenomenon of Fiddler on the Roof when it first hit Broadway was that it was THE first example of Jewish culture really reaching mainstream acceptance. Hard to believe now, but coming out of the 1950s, anti-Semitism was still very much an active force in America, and Jews were still restricted from certain universities, corporations, clubs, etc. By bringing this show to Broadway and finding an audience that clearly went beyond just NY Jews, there was a real sense of We Have Arrived...kind of like what Roots did for African Americans...or what Queer Eye did for gays last year.

Today, with Jews so thoroughly assimilated, and with discrimination against us virtually nonexistent (in the U.S.)...and with all of our aged relatives who actually lived in the shtetl now long dead....well, a lot of that resonance of cultural acceptance is absent.

Yes, there are lots of universal themes in Fiddler (father-daughter relationships, cultural change, etc.), and those themes' presence added to Fiddler's initial impact. But to me, there is a palpable element very much missing here. This show almost serves as a reminder that with our acceptance, Jews have become indistiguishable from the next suburban family, and the price we have paid is that our culture has been absorbed into American culture and lost its special distinguishing character.

Just look at how painfully irrelevant Jackie Mason is these days........

[Dollypop]

Posted: 2/19/04 at 10:49pm

Now wait a minute!

I'm a bit ticked off by the assumption that FIDDLER should only be played by Jewish people!

Yes, there are many talented Jewish actors and actresses, but the right actor will BE Jewish...or Russian...or Polish. He will meet the demands of the role. I'm Italian and have played an assortment of roles in various productions of FIDDLER down through the years. Granted, my early years were in Brooklyn, where I lived among Jews and had neighbors of many ethnic backgrounds. I may have absorbed much there. In my last production, the actress playing Golde commented that all I needed was a bris to make me a total Jew. I took that as a great compliment.

FIDDLER has to have the FEEL and milieu of the Jewish people. When the cast comes out so proudly singing about their traditions, the audience must sense that pride--regardless of the ethnicity of the actors who've been cast in those roles.

[thirdrowcenter]

Posted: 2/19/04 at 11:03pm

I'm cool with any good actor playing Tevye. Hmmm Hugh Jackman as Tevye. Yes, I think it would work!!!

[sabrelady]

Posted: 2/20/04 at 12:06am

I got the mohel right here Pollydop.... Updated On: 2/20/04 at 12:06 AM

[Jon]

Posted: 2/20/04 at 1:59am

I don't know if you are aware of this, but the wig is SUPPOSED TO LOOK LIKE A WIG. It was Jewish tradition at the time that married women shaved their heads to make themselves less appealing to other men.

[sabrelady]

Posted: 2/20/04 at 4:00am

It is a Tradition of the Orthodox sects to wear a "ketel" after marrige because hair is considered so sensual in its sexuality that it should not be seen least it tempt imorality. This is still widely practised although some only wear hair coverings or hats. But yes you are right it should look like a wig.

[Dollypop]

Posted: 2/20/04 at 7:49am

"I've got the mohel right here
His name is Paul Revere
And with one well-placed snip
We'll have a Jew appear

One Jew
One Jew
The mohel makes our dreams come true
With only a snip or two
One Jew
One Jew"

[SonofMammaMiaSam]

Posted: 2/20/04 at 8:20am

Jew makin me crazee!

[Dollypop]

Posted: 2/20/04 at 9:20pm

I'm driving jew crazee with a snip of my humor?