Wonder of Wonders: A Cultural History of Fiddler on the Roof (72 page)

Laughter Through Tears.
Directed by Grigori Gricher-Cherikover. VUFKU 1928; Waltham, MA: National Center for Jewish Film, 2006. DVD.

Memorial Prayer
by Grigori Gorin, televised version of the Lenkom Theater production directed by Mark Zaharov and starring Yevgeny Leonov, viewable at:
http://art-sluza.info/2009/02/10/pom/
In Russian. (Thanks to Olga Gershenson for simultaneous translation.)

Sallah Shabati.
Directed by Ephraim Kishon, a Sallah Limited Production, Israel, 1964.

Sholem Aleichem’s Tevye der milkhiker.
Film starring and directed by Maurice Schwartz, 1939; videocassette. Waltham, MA: National Center for Jewish Films, 1979.

Sixty Minutes.
Jane Nicholl, “Fiddler in the Ghetto,” CBS, June 10, 1969.

Tevye and His Seven Daughters.
Directed by Menachem Golan. Viewed at Cinematek, Tel Aviv, January 11, 2009.

Waiting for Godik.
Lama Films, 2007. My gratitude to Ari Davidovich, director, for enabling me to see it online.

WCBS-NY. 6 O’clock News. Jeanne Parr report on
Fiddler
at Eiseman Junior High, January 30, 1969.

The World of Sholom Aleichem.
Television version, originally broadcast December 14, 1959. My gratitude to Alan Rosenberg for a copy of the videotape along with his generously shared research material on the production; it has since been issued on DVD by the Archive of American Television, Entertainment One B0057O6IFU.

REPORTS, TRANSCRIPTS, GOVERNMENT DOCUMENTS

American Jewish Committee Oral History Collection, New York Public Library. Jerry Bock interviewed by Harold Flender, February 4 and 11, 1971. Sheldon Harnick interviewed by Harold Flender, February 22, March 1 and 4, 1971.

Cook, James. Harold Prince interviewed for
Forbes
, February 1, 1972. Unpublished transcript kindly provided by Karen Cook.

Elder, Lonne III. “Observer’s Report:
Fiddler on the Roof
,” 1964. Thanks to New Dramatists and Judy Ann Elder for making this available.

Fiddler on the Roof Choreographic Manual
. Jerome Robbins’s choreography diagrammed and described. New York: Music Theatre International.

Investigation of Communist Activities, New York Area—Part VI (Entertainment). Hearings Before the Committee on Un-American Activities, United States House of Representatives, Eighty-Fourth Congress, August 15 and 16, 1955. Government Printing Office, 1955. (Includes testimony of Sarah Cunningham and Madeline Lee.)

Zero Mostel testimony. Investigation of Communist Activities, New York Area—Part VIII (Entertainment), United States House of Representatives, Subcommittee of the Committee on Un-American Activities,
Congressional Record
. October 14, 1955: 2489–509.

Jerome Robbins testimony before the House Committee on Un-American Activities Investigation of Communist Activities, New York City area: Hearing before the Committee on Un-American Activities, House of Representatives, Eighty-Third Congress, first session, Part 2. May 5, 1953. Congressional Record, 1315–25.

Howard Da Silva testimony before the House Committee on Un-American Activities: Transcript of Hearings before the Committee on Un-American Activities, House of Representatives, Eighty-Second Congress, “Communist Infiltration of Hollywood Motion Picture Industry”—Parts 1 and 2. March 21, 1951. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, March 21, 1951: 112–21.

FBI Files

Zero Mostel. FOIA No. 1151480-000. WFO FILE 100-28145.

Arnold Perl. FOIPA No. 1071473 generously shared by Rebecca Perl.

Jerome Robbins. FOIPA No. 1151493-000.

A
CKNOWLEDGMENTS

The large number of people who deserve my thanks is a tribute both to their generosity and to the abiding power of
Fiddler on the Roof.
Many friends, relatives, and colleagues shared stories about seeing the show or performing in school or summer camp productions, pointed me to references, forwarded YouTube links, spread enthusiasm. And they did so with delight born of the material itself. I’d have to list nearly my entire contacts file to name everyone touched by
Fiddler
who helped out in this way and thus must express my heartfelt gratitude with this general shout-out: A blessing on all your heads!

Professional curators, archivists, and librarians were no less magnanimous, whether digging out dusty or digital files, answering queries, or arranging special access. Thanks to each of the many wonderful people—too numerous to name individually—working in the archives and collections in the United States and abroad that are listed in the notes section.

What luck that I reside in the same city as the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts—in fact, I practically resided in its Special Collections area for a couple of years. I’m grateful to everyone there, from coat-checkers to curators to copiers, among them: John Calhoun, Danielle Castronovo, Temma Hecht, Tanisha Jones, Tom Lisanti, Louise Martzinek, Jeremy Megraw, Karen Nickeson, Charles Perrier, Amy Schwegel, Alice Standin, Annmarie van Roessel. And how fitting that Jerome Robbins’s royalties from
Fiddler
fund the dance film archive there.

Jeffrey Shandler and Alan Rosenberg shared their personal research files with me—an exceptionally generous gesture that I deeply appreciate. Jeffrey was also one of the kind souls—along with David Hajdu, Erika Munk, and Jordan Schildcrout—who read some or all of the manuscript and offered invaluable feedback.

Over the years, I was lucky to have the opportunity to write about
Fiddler
and to share my developing ideas in talks and conferences. This book benefits from the insights of the editors of the articles, Charles McNulty, then at the
Village Voice
(where the idea began) and Alana Newhouse, then at the
Forward,
and of the conveners and interlocutors of the presentations: Barbara Kirshenblatt-Gimblett and Jeffrey Shandler and the seminar participants at New York University’s Working Group on Jews, Media and Religion, and the Objects of Affection: The Wedding in Jewish Culture conference at the Center for Jewish History; Henry Bial at the University of Kansas; Joel Berkowitz then at the Center for Jewish Studies, the University at Albany; my sister Debby Simon and her chavurah in Overland Park, Kansas; Warren Hoffman, Jewish cultural studies panel at the Modern Language Association; Edna Nahshon and the Jews/Theater/Performance in an Intercultural World conference, Jewish Theological Seminary; Yael Zerubavel and the Beyond Eastern Europe: Jewish Cultures in Israel conference at Rutgers University; Jill Dolan and Stacy Wolf and the Good for the Jews? conference at Princeton (who also published an article based on my talk in a special issue of
TDR
); and Jenna Weissman Joselit of George Washington University, who honored me with the invitation to give the Frieda Kobernick Fleischman Lecture in Judaic Studies, George Washington University, and to the Washington, D.C., JCC, Ari Roth and the staff at Theater J who hosted it.

In traveling for research, I enjoyed the warm hospitality of Ron and Deb Shattil in San Francisco; Sinai and Timna Peter, Lilka Peter, Udi Aloni and Sarah Kamens, and Ruthie and Dani Toker, in Israel; and Tomek Kitlinksi and Pawel Leszkowicz in Lublin. Tomek and Pawel also kindly provided on-the-spot translation in Lublin; Ewa Zieli
ń
ska and Piotr Domalewski did so in Dynów.

For translating clippings and other relevant finds, my thanks to: Elik Elhanan (Hebrew); Helena Chmielewska-Szlajfer, Ursula Kudelski, and Agnieszka Sablinksa (Polish); Olga Gernshenson, Lina Zeldovich (Russian); Jenny Romaine with input from Adrienne Cooper (z”I) (Yiddish columns by Maurice Schwartz). For locating some of those finds: Anna Brenner. And for assisting with photo research and licensing, Roberta Newman.

I’m delighted to have such beautiful and powerful images as illustrations. Photographers and relevant archives or agencies are gratefully noted alongside them. I want to add special thanks to people who were particularly generous in helping me acquire them: Lisa Jawoletz Aronson, Eileen Darby Images, Joseph Dorman, Zeev Godik, Aron Katz, S
ł
awomir Kitowski, Tom Pye, Daniel Sieradski, Ewa Wozniak, Ewa Zieli
ń
ska, Milo Zonka.

I humbly acknowledge the artists, without whom
Fiddler
and its proliferating versions would not have been. I feel fortunate to have met with Joseph Stein and to have corresponded with Jerry Bock before they both died in 2010 and to have spent several days with Richard Piro, who died in 2012. I’m grateful to have been granted access to the Jerome Robbins Personal Papers by the Jerome Robbins Trust and for the cheerful assistance of Christopher Pennington. I hope this book honors in its modest way the considerable legacy of each of those artists.

Sheldon Harnick graciously met with me on many occasions and patiently answered e-mail queries on many more, always with a welcoming, buoyant spirit; he also read the final manuscript with careful attention. Deep thanks, too, to the many cast members, musicians, designers, writers, directors, artists’ relatives, and scholars who granted me interviews and/or corresponded with me. (They are listed in the notes section.)

And thanks to those (not already mentioned elsewhere) who helped open doors to those interviewees, provided useful suggestions or materials, shared ideas, cheered me on, and/or helped keep me whole: Joyce Antler, Deirdre Baker, Mark Bandy, David Barreda, Eileen Blumenthal, Jonathan Boyarin, Aseem Chhabra, Karen Cook, Ari Davidovich, Carolyn Dinshaw, Judyann Elder, Monika Fabianksa, Sharon Feiman-Nemser, Elinor Fuchs, Mark Gevisser, Bob Gibbs, Sheila Goloborotko, Agata Grenda, Mark Harris, Andrew Hsiao, Andrew Ingall, Melanie Joseph, Jonathan Kalb, Carla Kaplan, Josh Kun, Gideon Lester, Vladimir Levin, Alan Levine, Todd London, Marget Long, Rivka Meshulach, Framji Minwalla, Kaicho T. Nakamura, Nidaime A. Nakamura, Joanna Nawrocka, Victor Navasky, Donna Nevel, Debra (Khinke) Olin, Robert M. Prince, Gordon Rogoff, Elissa Sampson, Stuart Schear, Gary Shapiro, Bob Simon, Lorin Sklamberg, Anna Deavere Smith, Carolyn Solomon, Mike Solomon, Rena Solomon, Sree Sreenivasan, Nyssa Tang, Evan Zelermyer, David Zellnik.

I’m incalculably fortunate to have a job that I love, with students who teach me new things every day and colleagues who inspire me with their own work and their camaraderie. Every one of my colleagues at the Columbia School of Journalism has encouraged and supported me and I am grateful to them all. Deans Nicholas Lemann and Bill Grueskin, and my partner in the Arts & Culture MA concentration, David Hajdu, also made it possible for me to have some time off from teaching to write—a most precious gift. Sam Freedman and Michael Shapiro offered essential advice in just the right doses. Marguerite Holloway shared every step of the process with me as she worked on her beautiful book,
The Measure of Manhattan
: she is the finest writer and the finest friend.

My comrades in the radio-show collective for “Beyond the Pale” did extra work so that I could be AWOL from the program for ages: Marissa Brostoff, Kiera Feldman, Adam Horowitz, Alex Kane, Esther Kaplan, Lizzy Ratner, Jenny Romaine, Eve Sicular.

I was fortunate to receive a George A. and Elizabeth Gardner Howard Foundation Fellowship in Theater Studies early on to support research travel.

Metropolitan Books has been a perfect match, arranged by my savvy and sensitive agent Scott Moyers, and sustained with enthusiasm and smarts by Adam Eaglin when Scott moved to Penguin Press. It has truly been a wonder of wonders to work under the guiding brilliance of both Sara Bershtel and my editor Riva Hocherman, who combines a keen mind and perfect ear with good humor and tender care. The whole team—in copyediting, art, and promotion—has been a pleasure to work with.

This undertaking has been overdetermined in myriad ways, beginning with the influences of my parents. My mother, Josephine Kleiman Solomon, a professional Jewish educator, instilled my love of
Yiddishkayt
as a living source of insight and pleasure, as well as my passion for music and theater. My father, Jack Solomon, who loved American culture and popular forms, was especially enthusiastic about this project, and took great pleasure in passing along tips. I read him a chapter of the just-completed first draft on our last visit. He was weak and sometimes out of it—he died only two weeks later—but his mind was sharp as ever and he shared zeal and suggestions, only the last of his many gifts.

It would take dozens of pages to thank my partner, Marilyn Kleinberg Neimark, for all the ways she has helped make this book—and my happiness—possible. So I dedicate it to her, my
beshert.

I
NDEX

The index that appeared in the print version of this title does not match the pages in your eBook. Please use the search function on your eReading device to search for terms of interest. For your reference, the terms that appear in the print index are listed below.

Abbott, George

Abbott, Tommy

Abie’s Irish Rose
(Nichols)

Abramoff, Jack

Ackerman, Rabbi

Actors’ Equity

Actors Lab

Actors Studio

Adderley, Cannonball

Adler, Jacob P.

Adler, Luther

Adler, Sara

Adler, Stella

Admiral Broadway Revue
(TV show)

African Americans

Afternoon of a Faun
(Robbins ballet)

Alexander II, Tsar of Russia

Alexander III, Tsar of Russia

Allen, Rae

Allen, Woody

Allessandrini, Gerard

All-Ukrainian Photo-Cinema Administration

Almagor, Dan

Altman, Natan

Altman, Richard

Amazing Bottle Dancers

American Federation of Television and Radio Artists

American Film Institute

American Jewish Committee

American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee

American Jewish Year Book, The