{"id":10702,"date":"2019-08-22T11:38:15","date_gmt":"2019-08-22T11:38:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/laughfrodisiac.com\/?p=10702"},"modified":"2019-10-23T16:03:41","modified_gmt":"2019-10-23T16:03:41","slug":"fiddler-a-miracle-of-miracles-a-must-see-documentary-for-theatre-lovers0","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/laughfrodisiac.com\/2019\/08\/22\/fiddler-a-miracle-of-miracles-a-must-see-documentary-for-theatre-lovers0\/","title":{"rendered":"Fiddler: A Miracle of Miracles, A Must-See Documentary for Theatre-Lovers"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\nIt\u2019s Theatre Thursday! Today we are talking about a theatre documentary film that will be in select theatres tomorrow, August 23.<\/em>\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Few musicals have the staying power and continued resonance of Fiddler on the Roof,<\/em> the 1964 musical about Tevye the poor milkman, his wife Golde, their five daughters, and their struggles as Jews in their tiny village of Anatevka at the turn of the century. After all these years, it\u2019s hard to imagine a world without this miraculous piece of theatre, and the new documentary Fiddler: A Miracle of Miracles<\/em>, from director Max Lewkowicz, shows us how fortunate we are that all the pieces came together as they did. The amount of jaw-dropping names that appear throughout the doc exuding praise over this classic musical is endlessly entertaining. Featuring interviews with composers Sheldon Harnick and Jerry Bock, book writer Joseph Stein, producer Hal Prince (to whom the film is dedicated; he died just a few weeks ago), and tons of actors, writers, experts on cultural studies, journalists, and family members of the creative team, this Fiddler<\/em> does the unthinkable and makes the musical even more special. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Interspersing footage of various productions, the classic film version, and even footage of Aleichem\u2019s silent films with interviews, the doc provides interesting historical context and testimony as to why it\u2019s such a lasting show. Joel Grey, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Harvey Fierstein, Fran Leibovitz, Itzhak Perlman, and endless amazing historians and writers share worthy thoughts on what makes Fiddler<\/em> still resonate. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Everyone today loves Fiddler<\/em>, and for dern good reason, but it opened to surprisingly bad reviews. Variety even wrote that there were no memorable songs, a statement that is beyond ludicrous for a show without a single weak moment and a widely known and widely loved score (okay except for \u201cNow I Have Everything\u201d). But it took a lot of hard work to create the final masterpiece, as Harnick, Bock, Prince, the original actors, and their relatives and those of Jerome Robbins share. H&B got the idea to write a show inspired by Russian-Yiddish author Sholem Aleichem\u2019s short stories, narrowing their idea down to the story of Tevye the milkman and his daughters in turn of the century czarist Russia. They faced a lot of obstacles in the early days from people who, rightly so, heard this idea and went, \u2018are you crazy?\u2019 Who would see a musical based on such a niche story that will likely be super depressing? But this genius team turned this depressing, niche story into one that\u2019s as heartwarming as it is heartbreaking, and one of the most relatable pieces in the canon, since at any time in history, people have been oppressed. One of the best stories is when during intermission of a Japanese production, an actor asked if Americans actually enjoy the show since \u201cit\u2019s so Japanese.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n I could talk forever about how wonderful this documentary and Fiddler<\/em> itself are, but Ima let you discover some things for yourself because I hope you are seeing it, if you are near a theatre playing it. However, I do want to share a few of my favorite discoveries with you. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \nA few things I learned from the Fiddler Documentary<\/strong>\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n The idiot defense attorney from <\/span>My Cousin Vinny<\/span><\/em> was Broadway\u2019s original Motel the Tailor<\/span> <\/p>\n\n\n\n Now look, I\u2019m not reducing Austin Pendleton\u2019s stellar theatre career in calling him the bad lawyer from MCV; I just never realized that that was him until I was watching this doc, okay? I wish I could have seen him in t<\/span>his role!<\/p>\n\n\n\n There\u2019s a Sholem Aleichem statue in Kiev.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n