Plan for 'Fiddler on the Roof' movie remake ignites passions
A large cohort feels that a remake of Fiddler was unnecessary at best and sacrilege at worst.
By HANNAH BROWNFiddler on the Roof(photo credit: Wikimedia Commons)
It’s sunrise and not sunset for a new film version of the classic musical Fiddler on the Roof, and social media erupted with both joy and quite a bit of outrage. The joy came from the fact that the new film of the beloved story of Tevye the Dairyman in the shtetl, inspired by the stories of Sholem Aleichem, will be directed by Thomas Kail, an acclaimed, Tony-Award winning director who collaborated with Lin-Manuel Miranda on the Broadway productions of Hamilton and In the Heights, according to a report on the website Deadline. Kail also directed the soon-to-be-released film version of Hamilton.Those who feel that a remake directed by Kail would be a wonder of wonders include Miranda, who called it a “miracle of miracles” in a tweet. Psychotherapist Helene Zimmerman tweeted to Kail that during the 1960s she “demonstrated the Israeli dance steps with my Dance Teacher, Deborah Lapson in front of choreographer Jerome Robbins. All the best in your upcoming movie.” TV matchmakers, Bubbies Know Best, tweeted that they were “totally and completely ‘ferklempt’ over this news... We can barely speak.”But a large cohort felt that a remake of Fiddler was unnecessary at best and sacrilege at worst. Danielle Solzman spoke for many when she tweeted, “Here’s an idea: Write a musical about how Hollywood is out of ideas for new musicals. Leave #FiddlerOnTheRoof alone!” Imagine Pete 2024 agreed, tweeting, “NO. Please stop remaking classics.”Some, like Robert Berg, tweeted their objection to the fact that Kail is not Jewish, perhaps forgetting that, in spite of his name, Norman Jewison, who directed the 1971 movie version, is also not Jewish. In any case, Steven Levenson is on board to write the script for the new version and Aaron Harnick, the nephew of Sheldon Harnick, who wrote the lyrics for the songs in the original Broadway version, is one of the producers.Another question widely discussed on social media is the casting. The name mentioned most often for Tevye was Mandy Patinkin, whom Homeland audiences know as CIA agent Saul but who is also a singer famous for roles in such Broadway musicals as Evita. He has performed Yiddish songs in a one-man show, Mamaloshen.Although setting a musical in a shtetl seemed to go against all conventional wisdom, the 1964 Broadway version of Fiddler became one of the biggest hits in history, winning nine Tonys and spawning the movie adaptation starring Israeli actor Chaim Topol (billed as Topol), which won three Oscars. It has been revived on Broadway and on London’s West End many times, and a 2018 Yiddish version of the show directed by Joel Grey was a hit in New York.It has become such a touchstone of popular culture that it is constantly referenced, including during these days of the pandemic. Comedian Randy Rainbow posted a song parody on May 19 roasting President Donald Trump for repeatedly bringing up his predecessor, Barack Obama, in a clip called “Distraction!,” to the tune of the Fiddler song, “Tradition.” In the clip, Rainbow interrupts a fake interview with the president to sing and he dresses in ultra-Orthodox men’s garb, as well as both male and female Fiddler characters.Fiddler also captured the imagination of Abby Goldfarb, a New York-based actress who appeared in the Yiddish revival of Fiddler. She released “Maskmaker, Maskmaker,” a parody of the song, “Matchmaker, Matchmaker,” in April.So, judging from the passionate social media response, once the virus is under control, the producers of the new Fiddler will be singing, “If I Were a Rich Man” all the way to the bank.
