Tradition!
Think of "Fiddler on the Roof," and the very next thought may well be the rousing musical number that has become embedded in our culture. The song refers to the deep vein of common ritual, belief and practice that has bonded the Jewish people for 5,000 years.
But the word has also come to refer to the show itself. Going to see "Fiddler" is a tradition for Jews, and they will have another opportunity next week when a national touring company stops at the Marcus Center.
Non-Jews have also flocked to "Fiddler," of course, but the musical seems to have enduring power and resonance for Jews 47 years after it debuted on Broadway. As a Jew, I wanted to know why.
Written by Jerry Bock, Sheldon Harnick and Joseph Stein, "Fiddler" is an old fashioned book musical that had the distinction of being the first on Broadway to exceed 3,000 performances. That initial production ran for just shy of eight years and was performed 3,242 times.
The creators used Sholem Aleichem's tales, written in Yiddish in the late 19th century, as the source material for the musical. "Fiddler" has been revived on Broadway four times since the original staging, surviving even a 2005 performance by Rosie O'Donnell that garnered a devastating review from Ben Brantley in The New York Times.
"It is odd, isn't it," Jody Hirsh, the Judaic education director at the Jewish Community Center, replied when I asked him about the strong appeal of an aging and sentimental musical to Jews. Hirsh is a playwright and served as an advisor to the Milwaukee Rep last year for its productions of "Cabaret" and "My Name is Asher Lev."
He noted that "Fiddler" put a saccharine spin on Aleichem's essentially tragic stories. "It is light-hearted compared with its source."
Hirsh thinks the continued popularity of the musical is nostalgia driven. "People think it is authentic, and they think we can't be authentic anymore. We don't have tradition," he explained.
"The musical is about a world where people had values, where families were close. It's kind of innocent. And the music is fun."
Former Broadway Baby dinner theater owner Elaine Parsons-Herro, who has acted in "Fiddler," directed it and saw Zero Mostel, the original Tevye, in it, is a big fan of the show. She thinks Jews and non-Jews alike get a lot from the show.
"The story is endearing and the message is complete. You can't deny the truth of it," she recently said, adding that it isn't necessarily a Jewish story.
"So much is not about Judaism. It is about family. As a family you have to bend, to accept. Everybody can relate to it."
Uprooted Going to Ten Chimneys
Fresh off its run of "Pink Champagne," Uprooted Theatre will head to Ten Chimneys in Genesee Depot June 20 to hold a free staged reading of Alice Childress' 1955 drama "Trouble in Mind." Uprooted is one of 18 African-American theater companies that will be reading the play that night at locations around the country.
The event is being coordinated by Project1Voice, a national initiative to cultivate artistic excellence, creativity and innovation among African-American theater companies. The Uprooted cast includes Bo Johnson, T. Stacey Hicks, Sheri Williams Pannell and Tiffany Yvonne Cox.
Although "Trouble in Mind" is not regularly produced, the Milwaukee Rep staged it two years ago.
Reservations for the free reading are recommended. Call (262) 968-4110.
Damien has been around so long, he was at Summerfest the night George Carlin was arrested for speaking the seven dirty words you can't say on TV. He was also at the Uptown Theatre the night Bruce Springsteen's first Milwaukee concert was interrupted for three hours by a bomb scare. Damien was reviewing the concert for the Milwaukee Journal. He wrote for the Journal and Journal Sentinel for 37 years, the last 29 as theater critic.
During those years, Damien served two terms on the board of the American Theatre Critics Association, a term on the board of the association's foundation, and he studied the Latinization of American culture in a University of Southern California fellowship program. Damien also hosted his own arts radio program, "Milwaukee Presents with Damien Jaques," on WHAD for eight years.
Travel, books and, not surprisingly, theater top the list of Damien's interests. A news junkie, he is particularly plugged into politics and international affairs, but he also closely follows the Brewers, Packers and Marquette baskeball. Damien lives downtown, within easy walking distance of most of the theaters he attends.
