Summary of Reviews

From its premiere in 1964 through revival after revival, the two fundamental questions of Fiddler on the Roof have remained the same. First, how can the show balance its universality with its specific cultural identity? Second, how can the show effectively balance Broadway convention with authenticity and newness? It is ironic that a show with a title that quite literally describes an act of balancing is itself perpetually balancing between various extremes. 

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In the 1964 premiere, Fiddler on the Roof received rave reviews. Howard Taubman of the New York Times called the show, and specifically Mostel’s performance as Tevye, “one of the most glowing creations in the history of musical theater.” Taubman’s main critique comes down to the issue raised in second question: “Although [Fiddler] does not entirely eschew the stigmata of routine Broadway, it has an honest feeling for another place, time and people.” The element of Broadway convention was brought up again in Leah D. Frank’s review of the 1983 revival, critiquing the director’s choice to have Tevye frequently engage with the audience. Audience engagement is a key facet of many Broadway shows, and Fiddler on the Roof’s fourth wall has varied in thickness throughout its many interpretations. Mostel himself was known to pander to the audience, but Frank argued that “Directing Tevye toward the audience rather than to heaven voids the sense of tradition and deep faith that sustains the Jews of Anatevka.” 

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Perhaps the most harshly criticized production was David Leveaux’s 2004 revival starring Alfred Molina. Here is where the first question – too Jewish or not Jewish enough – truly starts to take hold. Thane Rosenbaum of the LA times claims that the 2004 production has “an absence of Jewish soul”, blaming this partially on the fact that Jewish culture in America is no longer unusual. While in 1964, Fiddler served the role of educating American people on Jewish culture, in 2004, that was no longer necessary. As a result, Ben Brantley of the New York Times argues, the show became restrained and antiseptic. Rosenbaum writes: “Now, 40 years later, after having successfully maximized its universal appeal, the question, ironically, is whether ‘Fiddler on the Roof’ simply isn’t Jewish enough.”

 

Bartlett Sher’s 2015 revival was one of the first to try something new – most productions of Fiddler chose to stick very closely to the comfortable familiarity people come to see. However, Sher not only did away with Robbins’ original choreography, but included a framing device of Tevye beginning and ending the show in a bright red parka, bringing the production into the modern world with Tevye representative as either a descendant of those in the shtetl or as a modern day refugee. Jeremy Gerard, of Deadline, felt that this choice was simultaneously too much but not enough. “In making a blunt connection between the deported Jews of Anatevka and today’s global tragedy of exile and dislocation, Sher does himself and this indestructible show a disservice.” Charles Isherwood of the New York Times, on the other hand, felt that the choice “strikes home with unusual force." Again, Fiddler seems to struggle with an issue of balance.  

The reviews of Yiddish Fidler afn Dakh in both 2018 and 2022, like the 1964 review, are glowing. “By reuniting the Jews of the Pale with their language,” Jesse Green writes in the New York Times, “ ‘Fidler Afn Dakh’ does something more: It brings both alive again, not just in sadness.” Because of the audience’s familiarity with the material and the use of supertitles, the Yiddish language seems to be a way to make the show more authentic rather than isolating non-Yiddish speakers. But again, the question is raised – does this choice do away with some of Fiddler’s universalism? Is that a good thing?  

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The balance between universality and cultural specificity, between Broadway convention and new authenticity, is an issue that every new director of Fiddler on the Roof will have to address. 

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Sources

Brantley, Ben. “A Cozy Little McShtetl.” New York Times, February 27, 2004. https://www.nytimes.com/2004/02/27/movies/theater-review-a-cozy-little-mcshtetl.html. 

Gerard, Jeremy. “Fiddler on the Roof Broadway Revival that Reaches for Topicality.” Deadline, December 20, 2015. https://deadline.com/2015/12/fiddler-on-the-roof-broadway-review-1201668822/ 

Frank, Leah D. “‘Fiddler’ Returns as an Old Friend.” New York Times, May 29, 1983. https://www.nytimes.com/1983/05/29/nyregion/theater-in-review-fiddler-returns-as-an-old-friend.html. 

Green, Jesse. “A Yiddish ‘Fiddler on the Roof’? Sounds Crazy, Nu?” New York Times, July 17, 2018. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/17/theater/review-yiddish-fiddler-on-the-roof.html. 

Gordon, David. “Yiddish Fiddler on the Roof Returns for a Second Victory Lap.” Theater Mania, November 29, 2022. https://www.theatermania.com/news/review-yiddish-fiddler-on-the-roof-returns-for-a-second-victory-lap_94608/ 

Isherwood, Charles. “A ‘Fiddler on the Roof’ Revival with an Echo of Modernity.” New York Times, December 20, 2015. https://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/21/theater/review-a-fiddler-on-the-roof-revival-with-an-echo-of-modernity.html 

Rosenbaum, Thane. “A Legacy Cut Loose.” LA Times, February 15, 2004. https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2004-feb-15-ca-rosenbaum15-story.html. 

Taubman, Howard. “Mostel as Tevye in ‘Fiddler on the Roof’.” New York Times, September 23, 1964. https://www.nytimes.com/1964/09/23/archives/theater-mostel-as-tevye-in-fiddler-on-the-roof-sholem-aleichem.html.