# Fiddler on the Roof **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** movies\ **Created:** [February 14, 2009, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fiddler-on-the-roof/485850 "2009-02-14T19:20:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2009, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fiddler-on-the-roof/485850/61 "2009-02-15T16:37:01Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > “Why do we wear them? I’ll tell you. I don’t know.” When I was studying to convert, I dreamed that the Rabbi made me wear them, but they were cardboard for converts, not leather. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2009, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fiddler-on-the-roof/485850/62 "2009-02-15T16:53:21Z")
Our original VHS copy of the movie was in 2 parts. The first half had all the best songs and dances, and ended with the attack on the wedding reception. The second half was all sadness and loss, and we would seldom get around to putting in the tape and finishing the movie. I saw a touring company version in the 80s, with Herschel Bernardi. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2009, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fiddler-on-the-roof/485850/63 "2009-02-15T17:17:37Z")
I seem to remember hearing that they filmed the movie with pantyhose stretched over the lens to give the picture a gauzy, nostalgic air. Dunno if it’s true. ---
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2009, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fiddler-on-the-roof/485850/64 "2009-02-15T23:02:04Z")
Who or what is the Fiddler? Here’s what the script says. > [@](#): > > Tevye: A fiddler on the roof. Sounds crazy, no? But here, in our little village of Anatevka, you might say every one of us is a fiddler on the roof trying to scratch out a pleasant, simple tune without breaking his neck. It isn’t easy. You may ask ‘Why do we stay up there if it’s so dangerous?’ Well, we stay because Anatevka is our home. And how do we keep our balance? That I can tell you in one word: tradition!.. Without our traditions our lives would be as shaky as, as… as a fiddler on the roof! ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2020, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fiddler-on-the-roof/485850/65 "2020-10-30T03:08:56Z")
Bumped. For fans of the show: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/G1PO9gBHo6g/maxresdefault.jpg "Fiddler: A Miracle of Miracles | Official Preview | Great Performances | PBS") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G1PO9gBHo6g) ---
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2020, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fiddler-on-the-roof/485850/66 "2020-10-30T03:25:22Z")
if I remember didn’t the daughter that married the Russian army guy have to go to Siberia because he was sent to jail for something and she was going there and was going to America after he got out of prison? ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2020, 7:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fiddler-on-the-roof/485850/67 "2020-10-30T07:42:27Z")
[quote=“nightshadea, post:66, topic:485850, full:true”]didn’t the daughter that married the Russian army guy have to go to Siberia because he was sent to jail for something and she was going there and was going to America after he got out of prison? [/quote] No, that was Hodel and Perchik who went to Siberia. Personal fun fact: on my twenty-first birthday, I drove the blind girl I had met three nights previously to an audition for a production of Fiddler that was to be staged that summer. She came out of it in the role of Hodel. Six and a half years later she married me. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2020, 12:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fiddler-on-the-roof/485850/68 "2020-10-30T12:25:16Z")
> [@ivylass](#): > > Last but not least, Topol has made the role of Tevye his own, both in film and on the stage. Has anyone seen him perform it on stage? I bet that’s an experience! I realize that this is a zombie thread (or perhaps, it’s like Tevye’s dream of dead relatives), but I have to respond to this. I DID see it with Topol playing Tevye on stage, years after the movie was made. By that time he was closer in age to the character (like Yul Brynner plying the King of Siam later in life). He did a great job, as in the film. I also saw Zero Mostel on stage in the role, but during a revival. It was a very different performance. Mostel had put on a lot of weight (even though he was pretty hefty when he first played the part), and he had a tendency to “ham up” the role. Topol played it straighter. (I saw the play multiple times in different places. I actually did see it during the original Broadway run, but by that time there had been several Tevyes. My parents saw it with Herschel Bernardi – Charlie the Tuna – in the role. I saw it with Harry Goz – he was the Apple in Fruit of the Loom commercials) ---
**Author:** ![Skinnybones\_Lampshade](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skinnybones_lampshade/32/2872_2.png) [@Skinnybones\_Lampshade](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skinnybones_Lampshade)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2020, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fiddler-on-the-roof/485850/69 "2020-10-30T14:48:01Z")
I have a terrific audiobook called, “Bock to Harnick.” It’s about four hours long. It consists mostly of audio recordings that composer Jerry Bock made to send to his lyricist partner, Sheldon Harnick. It documents the fascinating process of writing the music and lyrics for “Fiddler on the Roof” as it was happening. We get to eavesdrop on Jerry Bock talking to Sheldon Harnick via tape recorder in a very entertaining, conversational and relaxed way, and demonstrating his current ideas for themes and motifs for the various scenes and characters in the play by playing the piano and singing wordlessly (both with great feeling - you can feel the joy he finds in this creative process). He speaks as if Sheldon Harnick were right there sitting beside him. He muses to his partner about his doubts and uncertainties with his own work and also gives his almost always enthusiastic feedback on the contributions Harnick has been sending him in response to these tapes. I find it fascinating. I love the movie, by the way, just about everything about it 😄 ---
**Author:** ![XOldiesJock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/ec9cab/32.png) [@XOldiesJock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XOldiesJock)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2020, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fiddler-on-the-roof/485850/70 "2020-10-31T02:28:09Z")
I’ve always loved the film and Topol was wonderful as Tevye. Back in the 1980’s he was touring in a stage production and it was booked at a venue not far from us, the Hershey Theatre in Chocolatetown USA. The Hershey Theatre is a beautiful, opulent showplace seating almost 2,000. (Check out a history and pictures here: [Hershey Theatre in Hershey, PA - Cinema Treasures](http://www.cinematreasures.org/theaters/4898)). Tickets sold quickly and my wife and I looked forward to the show with great anticipation. The week before the run was to begin, Topol cancelled it because he said he required a bigger stage. Well, I guess he knew what he needed but it’s unfortunate this wasn’t made an issue before thousands of people were disappointed. By the way, this theatre has been used for Broadway touring companies for decades with no complaints from casts and crews. So, we missed our one chance to see Topol in the role he’s made his own. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2020, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fiddler-on-the-roof/485850/71 "2020-10-31T04:43:33Z")
> [@XOldiesJock](#): > > I’ve always loved the film and Topol was wonderful as Tevye. Back in the 1980’s he was touring in a stage production and it was booked at a venue not far from us, the Hershey Theatre in Chocolatetown USA…\…The week before the run was to begin, Topol cancelled it because he said he required a bigger stage. Sad to hear that! I saw him in that tour, on the West Coast. Evidently the stage was sufficiently large. He was great. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2020, 7:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fiddler-on-the-roof/485850/72 "2020-10-31T07:29:45Z")
Around the same time _Fiddler_ came out on Broadway, Topol starred in _Sallah Shabati_. That seemed to open some doors for him, and it’s not a coincidence that he was portraying Tevye within a couple of years. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2020, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fiddler-on-the-roof/485850/73 "2020-11-15T03:55:03Z")
In case you missed the PBS broadcast, here’s the documentary in its entirety: > **[Fiddler: A Miracle of Miracles ~ About | Great Performances | PBS](https://www.pbs.org/wnet/gperf/fiddler-a-miracle-of-miracles-about/12054/)** > > Fiddler: A Miracle of Miracles is the first in-depth documentary that chronicles the story of the international Broadway blockbuster "Fiddler on the Roof" – exploring the unexpected richness of its themes as well as its vast reach across time and... **Skinnybones** , you can hear some of those tapes in it (at 11:27). My other favorite bits are the song that got cut after the Detroit opening (47:43), and Lin-Manuel Miranda’s wedding reception going totally _Fiddler_ (1:00:48). But the whole thing is really worth watching for any fan of the show. ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2020, 6:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fiddler-on-the-roof/485850/74 "2020-11-15T06:35:48Z")
I just watched the re-broadcast tonight on PBS. What a fun documentary! I have seen both the 2015 Broadway revival as well as the Yiddish version off-Broadway from 2018. ---
**Author:** ![psychobunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/54ee81/32.png) [@psychobunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychobunny)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2020, 6:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fiddler-on-the-roof/485850/75 "2020-11-15T06:49:24Z")
I had only ever seen the movie until a couple of years ago when I saw it in DC at Arena Theater. For anybody not aware, Arena is a theater in the round which means that everything has to be staged to look good from all angles. Anyway, they did a terrific job. I love the music and I am also one whose relatives came from Russia although much of the family came earlier, in the 1870s. Still, this is my heritage. I remember as a child reading the original Shalom Alecheim stories it was based on. Anyway, with all the comments about how his daughter marrying out of the faith is the one thing that Tevya cannot tolerate, do not forget his change of heart in the end. At the final reckoning, Tevya loves his daughters more than anything else. One of the benefits of this show is how complex all of the characters are, even those with relatively minor parts like the constable. And for those who can’t see it but love Lin-Manuel Miranda, here is the wedding clip. lin manuel miranda wedding ---
**Author:** ![psychobunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/54ee81/32.png) [@psychobunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychobunny)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2020, 6:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fiddler-on-the-roof/485850/76 "2020-11-15T06:55:46Z")
Too late to edit the last post. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/KgZ4ZTTfKO8/maxresdefault.jpg "To Life: Vanessa's Wedding Surprise") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KgZ4ZTTfKO8) ---
**Author:** ![Skinnybones\_Lampshade](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skinnybones_lampshade/32/2872_2.png) [@Skinnybones\_Lampshade](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skinnybones_Lampshade)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2020, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fiddler-on-the-roof/485850/77 "2020-12-03T22:42:52Z")
Thank you! That was a fascinating clip! I’m sorry I’m so late in replying; I missed your whole post initially. ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2023, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fiddler-on-the-roof/485850/78 "2023-06-24T01:10:57Z")
> **[Sheldon Harnick, Tony-winning Fiddler on the Roof lyricist, dies at 99](https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2023/jun/23/sheldon-harnick-dies-fiddler-on-the-roof-lyricist)** > > The award-winning lyricist, known for his longtime partnership with composer Jerry Bock, died of natural causes ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2023, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fiddler-on-the-roof/485850/79 "2023-06-26T01:58:02Z")
May he rest in peace. He made a lot of people across the globe happy over the years. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fiddler-on-the-roof/485850.md?page=3)