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A fiddler on the roof
sounds crazy, no?
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But, in the little village
of Anatevka,
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you might say that everyone
was a fiddler on the roof,
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trying to scratch out
a pleasant, simple tune
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without breaking their necks.
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It wasn'’t easy.
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You may ask,
"Why did they stay up there
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if it was so dangerous?"
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We stayed,
because Anatevka was our home.
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And how do we
keep our balance?
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That, I can tell you
in one word...
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Tradition!
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♪ Tradition ♪
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♪ Tradition ♪
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♪ Tradition ♪
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I remember--
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when I said I was gonna do it.
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I have a fan in Japan
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who has come to see me
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in different shows
over the past 15 years.
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She lives on an island.
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She doesn'’t speak English,
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and she writes to me,
"Dearest Joel"...
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and sends me presents.
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00:04:10,424 --> 00:04:12,643
And I wrote her recently,
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saying, "I'’m doing '’Fiddler
on the Roof in Yiddish,'’"
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00:04:15,429 --> 00:04:18,693
and she said,
"That'’s my favorite musical."
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What is that?
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What is that that makes it
speak in so many languages
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and everybody thinks
it'’s about them?
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What'’s so special
about this story
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00:04:47,852 --> 00:04:51,291
is that it all
can relate to anybody
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who'’s ever been a parent,
who'’s ever been a child,
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00:04:53,380 --> 00:04:55,207
who'’s ever been forced
to leave their home, to--
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00:04:55,295 --> 00:04:56,818
who'’s ever been ostracized
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for what they believe
or how they look.
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This story remains
so resonant and so relevant.
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00:05:04,608 --> 00:05:06,871
Because it is a dark musical,
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00:05:06,958 --> 00:05:10,875
and that can be satisfying, too,
is that, in such entertainment,
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00:05:10,962 --> 00:05:14,618
such high performance value
of dancing and singing
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00:05:14,705 --> 00:05:18,579
and melody and story
and laughter,
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00:05:18,666 --> 00:05:21,973
that there-- you know,
there is the other side,
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00:05:22,060 --> 00:05:24,062
which is to say,
it'’s not just fluff.
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00:05:24,149 --> 00:05:26,804
It'’s not just inconsequential.
It'’s-- It'’s life.
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And in those moments
of darkness and reality
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like the ones we live in now,
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we have pieces of theater
like this to remind us
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that we'’re not alone
in the world and in history.
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00:05:44,474 --> 00:05:47,042
On September 22, 1964,
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00:05:47,129 --> 00:05:49,305
"Fiddler on the Roof"
opened on Broadway.
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00:05:49,392 --> 00:05:52,003
Composer Jerry Bock
and lyricist Sheldon Harnick
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are here today to tell us
about their hit show
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00:05:54,832 --> 00:05:58,401
on "The American
Musical Theatre."
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What was it
about that moment in '’64?
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00:06:13,590 --> 00:06:14,983
What did New York have?
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New York was
the capital of theater.
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00:06:17,594 --> 00:06:19,074
It was the capital
of advertising.
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00:06:19,161 --> 00:06:21,816
It was the capital of magazines.
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00:06:21,903 --> 00:06:24,209
It was sort of
New York in its glory.
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It was a place
where you could be an outsider
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to the rest of the country.
You were ethnic.
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You were Jewish. You were Greek,
You were Italian.
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00:06:33,131 --> 00:06:36,308
You were African-American.
You could be gay.
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00:06:36,396 --> 00:06:39,224
And New York
was this hub that allowed
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this crisscrossing of--
of being who you were,
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00:06:45,013 --> 00:06:47,537
but selling to-- to the mass.
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We should introduce ourselves.
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In place of your usual
glamorous hosts,
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you have
two frightened writers today.
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This is Sheldon Harnick,
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who wrote the lyrics
to "Fiddler on the Roof."
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00:06:57,242 --> 00:06:58,766
And this is Jerry Bock,
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who wrote the music
to "Fiddler on the Roof."
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♪ There'’s noodles to make ♪
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♪ And chicken to be plucked ♪
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00:07:04,032 --> 00:07:06,643
♪ And liver to be chopped
And challah to be baked ♪
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00:07:06,730 --> 00:07:08,906
♪ Race with the sun
So at the proper time ♪
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♪ The candles
Can be lit and blessed ♪
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00:07:11,996 --> 00:07:14,564
♪ There'’s noodles to make
And chicken to be plucked ♪
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00:07:14,651 --> 00:07:17,698
♪ And liver to be chopped
And challah to be baked ♪
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♪ Race with the sun
So at the proper time ♪
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♪ The candles
Can be lit and blessed ♪
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Et cetera.
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In "Fiddler," these outsiders,
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who had come up through
the family of the theater,
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told their own story,
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00:07:29,927 --> 00:07:32,103
told the story
of their grandparents,
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of being ethnic and made that
American popular culture.
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Someone sent me
a book by Sholem Aleichem
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called "Wandering Stars."
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It'’s like a Dickensian novel
about a Yiddish theater troupe
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touring all over Eastern Europe,
and I loved it.
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And I gave it to Jerry Bock,
and he loved it,
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00:07:51,732 --> 00:07:53,385
and we thought
there'’s a musical in it.
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00:07:53,473 --> 00:07:55,649
We thought who would be
the right person to do the book,
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and we thought of Joe Stein.
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And my father read the novel
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and did not think
it could be musicalized.
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00:08:01,655 --> 00:08:04,222
And he then suggested
the Tevye stories,
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00:08:04,309 --> 00:08:06,355
which he fondly remembered
from childhood.
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00:08:06,442 --> 00:08:10,359
The warmth of Tevye, his humor,
his relationship with God,
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00:08:10,446 --> 00:08:12,927
his deep humanism in the context
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00:08:13,014 --> 00:08:16,191
of this very religious,
formerly religious,
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00:08:16,278 --> 00:08:17,801
and rigidly religious
background.
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00:08:17,888 --> 00:08:20,935
Joe had read them
in the original Yiddish,
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00:08:21,022 --> 00:08:22,850
and so we got ourselves
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00:08:22,937 --> 00:08:26,506
some translations
of his short stories,
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00:08:26,593 --> 00:08:30,597
and, one by one,
fell in love with the writing,
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00:08:30,684 --> 00:08:34,688
the ambience, the atmosphere,
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00:08:34,775 --> 00:08:37,691
the connection
it made with us as well.
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00:08:37,778 --> 00:08:41,346
Much of the most profound
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00:08:41,433 --> 00:08:44,393
of Sholem Aleichem'’s writing
was concerned with his people,
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00:08:44,480 --> 00:08:47,178
who were
in this remarkable transition
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from tradition to modernity.
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00:08:50,268 --> 00:08:52,662
All of the spectrum
of human emotions
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00:08:52,749 --> 00:08:55,186
that you see
in Sholem Aleichem'’s work
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were in him, the man.
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00:08:57,145 --> 00:09:00,670
He was funny, and he was angry,
and he was neurotic,
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00:09:00,757 --> 00:09:02,977
and he was anxious
and he was loving
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00:09:03,064 --> 00:09:06,589
and he was ruthlessly ambitious
about his own writings.
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00:09:06,676 --> 00:09:09,374
In some sense, he lived for
and in his writing.
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00:09:09,461 --> 00:09:11,115
He would put
all those emotions out
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00:09:11,202 --> 00:09:14,031
in his letters
and in his stories.
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I came to understand
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00:09:16,077 --> 00:09:18,645
that Sholem Aleichem
so thoroughly understood
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00:09:18,732 --> 00:09:22,170
the people he was writing about
that they really came alive.
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My job was then
to transfigure it
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00:09:25,216 --> 00:09:27,523
so that it
could be done on the stage.
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I was working with Joe Stein,
who was writing the dialogue,
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and, uh, I think
Joe was kind of inspired.
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He took from Sholem Aleichem
and then added
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00:09:36,358 --> 00:09:41,058
his own sense of humor,
his own sense of humanity.
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00:09:41,145 --> 00:09:43,017
"Fiddler on the Roof"
is set in a shtetl,
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00:09:43,104 --> 00:09:46,977
which means
an Eastern European market town
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00:09:47,064 --> 00:09:49,153
with a large Jewish population.
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I don'’t think
there'’s anything to be enamored
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of the shtetl life
that "Fiddler" presents.
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It was anathema. It was
living life on borrowed time
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00:10:02,384 --> 00:10:07,302
and borrowed courtesies
of the nobleman or the czar.
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00:10:07,389 --> 00:10:10,305
You know, there'’s
no great nostalgia for it.
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00:10:10,392 --> 00:10:13,177
Yeah, it was--
it was simple in many ways,
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00:10:13,264 --> 00:10:15,658
uh, but it'’s more the tradition.
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00:10:15,745 --> 00:10:19,314
I think what we yearn for
is the simplicity of life.
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00:10:19,401 --> 00:10:20,968
Everything was clear.
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00:10:24,711 --> 00:10:27,757
♪ The little town ♪
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00:10:27,844 --> 00:10:32,893
♪ Where Papa came from ♪
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00:10:32,980 --> 00:10:39,203
♪ A little town
I'’d like to see ♪
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00:10:39,290 --> 00:10:46,036
♪ The way of life
Where Papa came from ♪
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00:10:46,123 --> 00:10:50,693
♪ A way of life ♪
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00:10:50,780 --> 00:10:55,567
♪ It'’s part of me ♪
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00:10:55,655 --> 00:11:00,398
♪ Was it a good way
A bad way? ♪
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00:11:00,485 --> 00:11:06,578
♪ It'’s not for me
To answer yes or no ♪
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00:11:06,666 --> 00:11:09,930
♪ It was the one way ♪
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00:11:10,017 --> 00:11:15,413
♪ Where Papa came from ♪
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00:11:15,500 --> 00:11:19,113
♪ Not so long ago ♪
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00:11:19,200 --> 00:11:25,815
♪ Not so long ago ♪
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00:11:25,902 --> 00:11:28,252
It'’s a nostalgia for something
that never really happened.
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00:11:28,339 --> 00:11:31,038
I think nostalgia'’s a very
poisonous thing in a culture,
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00:11:31,125 --> 00:11:32,996
and you never heard Jews say,
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00:11:33,083 --> 00:11:35,477
"Oh, I wish we could be
back in the old country."
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00:11:35,564 --> 00:11:37,914
They hated the old country.
Hardly--
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00:11:38,001 --> 00:11:39,786
I know many people my age, Jews,
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00:11:39,873 --> 00:11:41,657
who don'’t even
know what the old country was.
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00:11:41,744 --> 00:11:43,833
Which country was it?
Um, you know,
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00:11:43,920 --> 00:11:45,530
for instance,
like the Irish who came here,
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00:11:45,617 --> 00:11:47,489
they didn'’t really want
to come here.
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00:11:47,576 --> 00:11:49,230
Th-They just had to come here,
'’cause they were starving.
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00:11:49,317 --> 00:11:51,449
The Italians, you know? They--
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00:11:51,536 --> 00:11:54,148
There'’s many immigrant groups
that came to this country,
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00:11:54,235 --> 00:11:58,282
that came here not because they
hated their-- their country.
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00:11:58,369 --> 00:12:00,981
They came here because--
mostly for economic reasons.
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00:12:01,068 --> 00:12:03,418
The Jews did not come here
mostly for economic reasons.
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00:12:03,505 --> 00:12:05,376
They came here,
because they were being killed.
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00:12:05,463 --> 00:12:07,291
We knew what
the reaction would be.
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00:12:07,378 --> 00:12:09,380
"You know,
you want to do a musical
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00:12:09,467 --> 00:12:11,731
about a bunch
of old Jews in Russia
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00:12:11,818 --> 00:12:13,515
who are going
through a pogrom?
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00:12:13,602 --> 00:12:16,431
I mean, what are you,
out of your mind?" You know.
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00:12:16,518 --> 00:12:19,477
So it was our baby,
and we worked on it
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00:12:19,564 --> 00:12:22,524
on and off
for a number of years.
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00:12:22,611 --> 00:12:24,221
Sheldon and I,
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00:12:24,308 --> 00:12:26,484
we'’d become somewhat familiar
with the book.
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00:12:26,571 --> 00:12:31,838
We'’d separate, and I would guess
as to what kind of music,
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00:12:31,925 --> 00:12:35,885
in terms of ambience,
period, character, and so forth.
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00:12:35,972 --> 00:12:40,672
So I would send Sheldon
a half a dozen melodic guesses.
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00:12:40,760 --> 00:12:42,065
I always looked forward
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00:12:42,152 --> 00:12:43,850
to these tapes
that Jerry would send.
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On each tape, one or two
of them would coincide
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00:12:46,635 --> 00:12:49,246
with ideas
that I had for lyrics.
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00:12:49,333 --> 00:12:51,205
Shel, here'’s a--
192
00:12:51,292 --> 00:12:54,991
ersatz Hasidic swinger!
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00:12:55,078 --> 00:12:58,299
It'’s fun, and it'’s
a little musical comedy,
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00:12:58,386 --> 00:13:01,650
but i-it might be
a kind of tour de force
195
00:13:01,737 --> 00:13:06,046
without being cheap, but--
but just being bubbly
196
00:13:06,133 --> 00:13:09,266
and-- and spirited
and kind of kooky.
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00:13:09,353 --> 00:13:10,964
See if you like this one.
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00:13:20,625 --> 00:13:22,323
When you hear those tapes
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00:13:22,410 --> 00:13:24,151
where he'’s plunking out
those different tunes
200
00:13:24,238 --> 00:13:25,848
based on the research
he'’s doing,
201
00:13:25,935 --> 00:13:27,676
and Harnick coming up
with the right lyrics
202
00:13:27,763 --> 00:13:29,983
for the right moments
in the right places,
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00:13:30,070 --> 00:13:32,986
that process which, when they
stayed at it long enough,
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00:13:33,073 --> 00:13:35,205
they were lucky enough
to get '’em all right.
205
00:13:35,292 --> 00:13:37,773
- ♪ If I were a rich man ♪
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00:13:37,860 --> 00:13:41,864
♪ Daidle deedle daidle digga
Deega deedle deedle dum ♪
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00:13:41,951 --> 00:13:45,520
♪ All day long
I'’d bidi bidi bom ♪
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00:13:45,607 --> 00:13:48,523
♪ If I were a wealthy man ♪
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00:14:01,971 --> 00:14:03,930
It is
so specific to what it is
210
00:14:04,017 --> 00:14:07,890
to be a Yiddish,
Jewish man in 1905 Russia.
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00:14:07,977 --> 00:14:10,806
Sholem Aleichem
identified this man,
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00:14:10,893 --> 00:14:12,547
this man'’s family,
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00:14:12,634 --> 00:14:14,679
this man'’s plight,
this man'’s location,
214
00:14:14,766 --> 00:14:16,899
and he kept saying,
"I'’m coming back to him.
215
00:14:16,986 --> 00:14:19,380
I have more stories
to tell through him.
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00:14:19,467 --> 00:14:22,122
I identify with him."
217
00:14:51,760 --> 00:14:52,892
Oy.
218
00:15:21,094 --> 00:15:22,704
When I read
219
00:15:22,791 --> 00:15:24,401
the Sholem Aleichem
stories again, I think,
220
00:15:24,488 --> 00:15:26,621
"Oh, dear. I hope people
who read these stories
221
00:15:26,708 --> 00:15:28,275
don'’t read them too closely.
222
00:15:28,362 --> 00:15:29,798
They'’re gonna find
my lyrics in there."
223
00:15:29,885 --> 00:15:31,931
Because I just stole
as much as I could.
224
00:15:32,018 --> 00:15:36,109
What Sholem Aleichem had written
were people who were so real,
225
00:15:36,196 --> 00:15:39,503
they just leaped
off the page into reality,
226
00:15:39,590 --> 00:15:41,636
and, uh, the girls
were very real,
227
00:15:41,723 --> 00:15:44,160
so that it was--
it was fun to write for them.
228
00:15:44,247 --> 00:15:46,336
Tzeitel, you'’re the oldest.
229
00:15:46,423 --> 00:15:48,338
They have to arrange
a match for you
230
00:15:48,425 --> 00:15:49,949
before they
can make one for me.
231
00:15:50,036 --> 00:15:51,646
And then, after her, one for me.
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00:15:51,733 --> 00:15:54,779
-So if Yente brings a match--
-Oh, Yente, Yente!
233
00:15:57,478 --> 00:16:00,742
When Tzeitel
falls to her knees
234
00:16:00,829 --> 00:16:03,310
and says, "Yente, Yente"...
235
00:16:05,007 --> 00:16:07,792
that'’s the inciting incident
of the entire play.
236
00:16:07,879 --> 00:16:09,229
She'’s had enough.
237
00:16:09,316 --> 00:16:11,100
She'’s had enough
of the matchmaking.
238
00:16:11,187 --> 00:16:15,539
She'’s had enough of not
making choices for herself.
239
00:16:15,626 --> 00:16:20,414
And, in many ways, "Fiddler"
is a female empowerment piece.
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00:16:20,501 --> 00:16:25,549
♪ Matchmaker, matchmaker ♪
241
00:16:25,636 --> 00:16:28,509
♪ Make me a match ♪
242
00:16:28,596 --> 00:16:31,555
♪ Find me a find ♪
243
00:16:31,642 --> 00:16:34,471
♪ Catch me a catch ♪
244
00:16:34,558 --> 00:16:37,213
♪ Matchmaker, matchmaker ♪
245
00:16:37,300 --> 00:16:39,650
♪ Look through your book ♪
246
00:16:39,737 --> 00:16:42,610
♪ And make me a perfect match ♪
247
00:16:42,697 --> 00:16:45,352
If you think of just,
"Matchmaker, Matchmaker,"
248
00:16:45,439 --> 00:16:49,530
as-- as a mini drama
in three acts, act--
249
00:16:49,617 --> 00:16:54,013
act one is these two young girls
who don'’t have a clue,
250
00:16:54,100 --> 00:16:55,840
and they'’re dreaming
about their future.
251
00:16:55,927 --> 00:16:57,581
♪ Matchmaker, matchmaker
Make me a ma-- ♪
252
00:16:57,668 --> 00:17:00,541
Waltz, beautiful,
lovely, lyrical.
253
00:17:00,628 --> 00:17:03,979
♪ Night after night
In the dark, I'’m alone ♪
254
00:17:04,066 --> 00:17:09,680
♪ So find me match of my own ♪
255
00:17:11,769 --> 00:17:14,990
Going back 2,000 years in--
in the tradition of theater,
256
00:17:15,077 --> 00:17:18,080
without forced marriage,
where would we be?
257
00:17:18,167 --> 00:17:19,908
All the way
through Shakespeare,
258
00:17:19,995 --> 00:17:21,649
all the way through--
all the way through Terence,
259
00:17:21,736 --> 00:17:23,520
all the way and the whole thing,
260
00:17:23,607 --> 00:17:25,435
I mean, that creates
all the situations
261
00:17:25,522 --> 00:17:28,003
in which we get dads
demanding one thing.
262
00:17:28,090 --> 00:17:30,527
The daughter doesn'’t want
to do it. She'’s in love.
263
00:17:30,614 --> 00:17:32,964
The tension
between individual love
264
00:17:33,052 --> 00:17:36,620
and the demands of the parent
and the community
265
00:17:36,707 --> 00:17:38,361
is a central question
266
00:17:38,448 --> 00:17:41,799
to the nature
of Western civilization.
267
00:17:41,886 --> 00:17:44,019
The sister that'’s
actually the first one,
268
00:17:44,106 --> 00:17:46,108
the one that'’s on the hook,
269
00:17:46,195 --> 00:17:49,111
who actually knows that Yente'’s
been prowling around the house
270
00:17:49,198 --> 00:17:51,331
and is preparing
to sell her off,
271
00:17:51,418 --> 00:17:53,942
she'’s like, "Wait a minute.
Let me wake you up."
272
00:17:54,029 --> 00:17:56,118
♪ Hodel, oh, Hodel ♪
273
00:17:56,205 --> 00:17:57,859
♪ Have I made a match for you ♪
274
00:17:57,946 --> 00:17:59,513
♪ He'’s handsome, he'’s young ♪
275
00:17:59,600 --> 00:18:01,297
♪ All right, he'’s 62 ♪
276
00:18:01,384 --> 00:18:03,430
♪ But he'’s a nice man
A good catch ♪
277
00:18:03,517 --> 00:18:04,822
♪ True? True ♪
278
00:18:04,909 --> 00:18:06,520
♪ I promise you'’ll be happy ♪
279
00:18:06,607 --> 00:18:08,217
♪ And even if you'’re not ♪
280
00:18:08,304 --> 00:18:10,480
♪ There'’s more
To life than that ♪
281
00:18:10,567 --> 00:18:11,960
♪ Don'’t ask me what ♪
282
00:18:12,047 --> 00:18:14,789
It is possible that you
will get somebody
283
00:18:14,876 --> 00:18:19,228
who is, uh, conceivably brutal,
284
00:18:19,315 --> 00:18:22,536
somebody who is,
uh, egotistical,
285
00:18:22,623 --> 00:18:24,103
somebody who'’s vain,
286
00:18:24,190 --> 00:18:25,365
somebody who doesn'’t
care about you.
287
00:18:25,452 --> 00:18:27,149
♪ You heard he has a temper ♪
288
00:18:27,236 --> 00:18:29,238
♪ He'’ll beat you every night ♪
289
00:18:29,325 --> 00:18:32,850
♪ But only when he'’s sober
So you'’re all right ♪
290
00:18:32,937 --> 00:18:35,331
It'’s kind of like, "Wait.
Hold on. Hold on. What?"
291
00:18:35,418 --> 00:18:39,030
If you actually listen to that,
i-instead of making it light
292
00:18:39,118 --> 00:18:42,991
and-- and bringing this sort of,
like, comedic value to it,
293
00:18:43,078 --> 00:18:44,906
if you actually listen
to what they'’re saying,
294
00:18:44,993 --> 00:18:47,604
it'’s quite horrific
that they don'’t have a choice,
295
00:18:47,691 --> 00:18:50,738
and-- and if somebody
can pay a high dowry
296
00:18:50,825 --> 00:18:54,742
and if somebody can-- can
give '’em their money'’s worth,
297
00:18:54,829 --> 00:18:56,744
the girls are
going to be theirs.
298
00:18:56,831 --> 00:18:59,790
Sholem Aleichem
had nothing good
299
00:18:59,877 --> 00:19:01,618
to say about matchmakers.
300
00:19:01,705 --> 00:19:04,447
When he writes
in the Menachem Mendel stories
301
00:19:04,534 --> 00:19:07,450
about matchmakers,
not honorable,
302
00:19:07,537 --> 00:19:09,409
not an honest profession.
303
00:19:18,940 --> 00:19:21,638
And that'’s
exactly what happens
304
00:19:21,725 --> 00:19:23,597
in Sholem Aleichem'’s
Menachem Mendel story,
305
00:19:23,684 --> 00:19:26,469
which is made in a film
called "Jewish Luck,"
306
00:19:26,556 --> 00:19:28,993
about this guy, is called
"The Man From Buenos Aires."
307
00:19:29,080 --> 00:19:32,954
And it'’s very, very clear
that the man is a white slaver.
308
00:19:37,132 --> 00:19:39,047
How did
these Jewish women
309
00:19:39,134 --> 00:19:41,397
end up in brothels in Argentina?
310
00:19:41,484 --> 00:19:43,399
These procurers,
they'’d hang out at ports.
311
00:19:43,486 --> 00:19:45,401
People would marry people.
They would be match-made.
312
00:19:45,488 --> 00:19:46,924
There were plenty
of people who thought
313
00:19:47,011 --> 00:19:48,883
they were getting married
and somebody would come.
314
00:19:48,970 --> 00:19:51,407
You know, this idea, swept up
off their feet and married,
315
00:19:51,494 --> 00:19:53,714
that they would marry
their husband,
316
00:19:53,801 --> 00:19:57,413
and really just be being
procured for white slavery.
317
00:19:59,372 --> 00:20:02,679
So there'’s women who see that
there is no future for them,
318
00:20:02,766 --> 00:20:05,378
that there is, you know--
dark times are coming
319
00:20:05,465 --> 00:20:06,857
and they have to get somewhere
320
00:20:06,944 --> 00:20:08,990
and, as concerns
these Jewish women,
321
00:20:09,077 --> 00:20:10,905
had to make the choice
to die where they were
322
00:20:10,992 --> 00:20:13,081
or to sell their bodies.
323
00:20:25,963 --> 00:20:28,096
What are your choices
if you'’re poor?
324
00:20:28,183 --> 00:20:30,011
What options do you have?
325
00:20:31,665 --> 00:20:33,667
At the end of
"Matchmaker, Matchmaker,"
326
00:20:33,754 --> 00:20:37,888
Hodel and Chava are open
to the realization
327
00:20:37,975 --> 00:20:41,370
that, if they don'’t
take control of their futures,
328
00:20:41,457 --> 00:20:45,679
they will become fodder
in Yente'’s mill,
329
00:20:45,766 --> 00:20:50,640
I mean, the raw product
of Yente'’s business, right?
330
00:20:50,727 --> 00:20:53,948
You can put the label tradition
on that, if you want,
331
00:20:54,035 --> 00:20:56,777
but that'’s not really
what'’s going on in the drama.
332
00:20:56,864 --> 00:20:59,301
♪ So bring me no ring ♪
333
00:20:59,388 --> 00:21:01,303
♪ Groom me no groom ♪
334
00:21:01,390 --> 00:21:03,087
♪ Find me no find ♪
335
00:21:03,174 --> 00:21:05,307
♪ Catch me no catch ♪
336
00:21:05,394 --> 00:21:11,922
♪ Unless he'’s
A matchless match ♪
337
00:21:12,009 --> 00:21:15,970
The end of "Matchmaker"
is a battle cry,
338
00:21:16,057 --> 00:21:20,322
is these three young women
saying, "This is our reality,
339
00:21:20,409 --> 00:21:25,196
but we are going
to change the world.
340
00:21:25,284 --> 00:21:27,286
We'’re going to change things."
341
00:21:27,373 --> 00:21:30,811
Um, and they-- and so they do.
342
00:21:36,599 --> 00:21:39,689
Fiddler opened less than a year
343
00:21:39,776 --> 00:21:41,691
after "The Feminine Mystique"
came out
344
00:21:41,778 --> 00:21:43,650
and was a blockbuster success.
345
00:21:43,737 --> 00:21:45,652
It was still on the bestseller
list when the show opened.
346
00:21:52,267 --> 00:21:54,182
When I was
working on the show,
347
00:21:54,269 --> 00:21:56,271
what was happening in society,
348
00:21:56,358 --> 00:21:58,795
I think,
affected me peripherally.
349
00:21:58,882 --> 00:22:01,798
I was trying to realize what
Sholem Aleichem had written,
350
00:22:01,885 --> 00:22:05,672
but inevitably what was
happening in the world
351
00:22:05,759 --> 00:22:09,240
had to affect the way I felt
a-and the way I thought
352
00:22:09,328 --> 00:22:10,633
without my even realizing it.
353
00:22:12,243 --> 00:22:14,202
These ideas
that Sholem Aleichem
354
00:22:14,289 --> 00:22:16,422
was grappling with
50 years earlier
355
00:22:16,509 --> 00:22:18,641
were very much part
of the culture, or maybe--
356
00:22:18,728 --> 00:22:20,991
maybe they'’re always
part of our cultures.
357
00:22:23,167 --> 00:22:26,867
I played in the final today,
and we won!
358
00:22:26,954 --> 00:22:28,303
How? When?!
359
00:22:28,390 --> 00:22:30,174
And it was brilliant.
360
00:22:31,480 --> 00:22:33,569
I played the best ever.
361
00:22:34,701 --> 00:22:36,311
And I was happy,
362
00:22:36,398 --> 00:22:38,922
because I wasn'’t sneaking off
and lying to you.
363
00:22:39,009 --> 00:22:40,750
I don'’t want her to make
the same mistakes
364
00:22:40,837 --> 00:22:43,492
that her father made
of accepting life,
365
00:22:43,579 --> 00:22:45,364
accepting situations.
366
00:22:48,279 --> 00:22:49,672
I want her to fight...
367
00:22:52,066 --> 00:22:53,894
and I want her to win.
368
00:22:53,981 --> 00:22:56,592
I don'’t think anybody has
the right of stopping her.
369
00:22:57,898 --> 00:23:00,596
Fathers
who have daughters
370
00:23:00,683 --> 00:23:02,816
become feminists, you know,
371
00:23:02,903 --> 00:23:04,295
and that'’s another thing
372
00:23:04,383 --> 00:23:06,341
that I find so beautiful
about "Fiddler,"
373
00:23:06,428 --> 00:23:10,650
is that the fa-- It'’s because
he has daughters that he loves
374
00:23:10,737 --> 00:23:12,956
that he has to go
with the times
375
00:23:13,043 --> 00:23:17,091
and stand up to thousands
of years of tradition and say,
376
00:23:17,178 --> 00:23:20,224
"Ultimately, my daughter'’s
happiness is important to me."
377
00:23:22,357 --> 00:23:25,534
I was cast as a son
in "Fiddler on the Roof,"
378
00:23:25,621 --> 00:23:27,362
uh, in the sixth grade play,
379
00:23:27,449 --> 00:23:29,799
um, and I still remember
my choreography.
380
00:23:29,886 --> 00:23:32,367
♪ At three
I started Hebrew school ♪
381
00:23:32,454 --> 00:23:34,848
♪ At ten, I learned a trade ♪
382
00:23:34,935 --> 00:23:37,459
♪ I hear they'’ve
Picked a bride for me ♪
383
00:23:37,546 --> 00:23:39,592
♪ I hope, up, down
She'’s pretty ♪
384
00:23:39,679 --> 00:23:42,508
Turn. ♪ The sons ♪
385
00:23:42,595 --> 00:23:44,031
♪ The sons ♪
386
00:23:44,118 --> 00:23:44,988
♪ Tradition ♪
387
00:23:49,471 --> 00:23:50,690
Hey, Lin, how are you?
388
00:23:50,777 --> 00:23:52,648
-Hi! How are you?
-Good.
389
00:23:52,735 --> 00:23:53,910
We enter laughing.
390
00:23:53,997 --> 00:23:55,521
-So...
-Now this is our--
391
00:23:55,608 --> 00:23:58,132
This is my little abode,
and this is where I work.
392
00:23:58,219 --> 00:23:59,916
-You'’ve got some--
-A Hirschfeld.
393
00:24:00,003 --> 00:24:01,352
-You'’ve got quite
a Hirschfield collection here.
394
00:24:01,440 --> 00:24:02,702
- Yeah.
- Oh!
395
00:24:02,789 --> 00:24:04,704
This is the "Fiddler" in Japan.
396
00:24:04,791 --> 00:24:06,793
That is one of
my favorite stories of yours,
397
00:24:06,880 --> 00:24:09,360
the intermission
at "Fiddler" in Japan.
398
00:24:09,448 --> 00:24:11,798
Oh, Yeah.
One of the producers said,
399
00:24:11,885 --> 00:24:15,497
"Do they understand
this show in America?"
400
00:24:15,584 --> 00:24:17,020
I said, "Why do you ask?"
401
00:24:17,107 --> 00:24:20,023
He says, "Because
it'’s so Japanese."
402
00:24:20,110 --> 00:24:24,158
That sums up everything about
the universality of "Fiddler."
403
00:24:24,245 --> 00:24:28,597
How did you decide what would be
musicalized by Bock and Harnick
404
00:24:28,684 --> 00:24:30,120
-and what stayed--
-Well, we decided.
405
00:24:30,207 --> 00:24:32,035
Among the three of us,
we talked about it.
406
00:24:32,122 --> 00:24:34,734
You know, they came up
with notions for songs.
407
00:24:34,821 --> 00:24:37,301
Despite the fact that we
were all successful,
408
00:24:37,388 --> 00:24:39,739
of all of the shows I'’ve done,
that was the most difficult
409
00:24:39,826 --> 00:24:41,654
to get a producer for,
was "Fiddler."
410
00:24:41,741 --> 00:24:44,352
I remember one producer
that says, "You know I read it,
411
00:24:44,439 --> 00:24:46,963
and I really like it.
I like it very much,
412
00:24:47,050 --> 00:24:48,748
but what am I gonna do
for an audience
413
00:24:48,835 --> 00:24:51,707
once I run out
of Hadassah benefits?"
414
00:24:53,230 --> 00:24:55,232
In order to understand the show,
415
00:24:55,319 --> 00:24:57,626
since I clearly
did not understand it
416
00:24:57,713 --> 00:24:59,672
when the guys offered it to me,
417
00:24:59,759 --> 00:25:02,631
Sheldon gave me
a book on shtetls.
418
00:25:02,718 --> 00:25:05,155
So I signed on to do the show.
419
00:25:05,242 --> 00:25:08,550
The budget was
$250,000 for a musical,
420
00:25:08,637 --> 00:25:12,859
which today you can'’t do
a one-man show off-Broadway.
421
00:25:12,946 --> 00:25:16,689
The-- The guys asked me
to direct it originally,
422
00:25:16,776 --> 00:25:20,301
and I said, "I don'’t--
I'’m the wrong guy,"
423
00:25:20,388 --> 00:25:25,480
uh, and we talked,
and I think maybe I-I said
424
00:25:25,567 --> 00:25:30,267
Jerry Robbins should do it,
and my thinking was very clear.
425
00:25:30,354 --> 00:25:33,270
I thought it had
to have universality
426
00:25:33,357 --> 00:25:38,667
and-- and his incredible
adroitness at movement.
427
00:25:39,929 --> 00:25:41,017
♪ Yeah ♪
428
00:25:43,280 --> 00:25:45,065
What Jerry did
with "West Side Story"
429
00:25:45,152 --> 00:25:49,112
was a huge,
incredible accomplishment.
430
00:25:49,199 --> 00:25:51,724
Jerry is
the only genius I'’ve ever met,
431
00:25:51,811 --> 00:25:54,509
my definition of genius
being endless invention.
432
00:25:54,596 --> 00:25:56,032
He never stopped inventing,
so, I mean,
433
00:25:56,119 --> 00:25:58,861
it'’s just so far
above anybody else
434
00:25:58,948 --> 00:26:01,472
who has ever worked in movement
in the musical theater.
435
00:26:01,560 --> 00:26:03,474
I heard the score of "Fiddler,"
436
00:26:03,562 --> 00:26:07,261
I think up at Joe Stein'’s house
in New Rochelle, I think it was.
437
00:26:07,348 --> 00:26:10,438
And I called Jerry,
438
00:26:10,525 --> 00:26:13,659
and I said, "There'’s a show.
You'’ve got to--
439
00:26:13,746 --> 00:26:15,443
This is, I think,
right up your alley."
440
00:26:17,619 --> 00:26:20,361
Jerry Robbins was
a very complicated man,
441
00:26:20,448 --> 00:26:23,407
a man with complicated feelings
about himself,
442
00:26:23,494 --> 00:26:26,759
his sexuality, his ethnicity,
443
00:26:26,846 --> 00:26:31,285
his complicated and conflicted
feelings about Judaism.
444
00:26:31,372 --> 00:26:33,592
When he came to have
his bar mitzvah,
445
00:26:33,679 --> 00:26:35,419
he hated this old zaddik
446
00:26:35,506 --> 00:26:37,639
who would come and, you know,
teach him to read Torah.
447
00:26:39,902 --> 00:26:42,470
When Jerry Robbins
was a little boy,
448
00:26:42,557 --> 00:26:45,255
he had gone back
to this town, Rajanka,
449
00:26:45,342 --> 00:26:46,996
to visit the grandparents,
450
00:26:47,083 --> 00:26:50,957
and, in 1958, he'’s in Europe,
451
00:26:51,044 --> 00:26:52,480
and he went to Rajanka,
452
00:26:52,567 --> 00:26:55,048
and of course
there was nothing there.
453
00:26:55,135 --> 00:26:57,006
The whole Jewish
population of Rajanka
454
00:26:57,093 --> 00:26:58,486
had been wiped out
in the Holocaust.
455
00:26:58,573 --> 00:27:00,183
E-Everything was gone.
456
00:27:03,273 --> 00:27:05,232
To realize
this was gone forever,
457
00:27:05,319 --> 00:27:08,365
it would only live in his memory
or the memory of other people,
458
00:27:08,452 --> 00:27:10,672
this affected him greatly also.
459
00:27:10,759 --> 00:27:12,369
I think
it'’s fair to say
460
00:27:12,456 --> 00:27:17,461
that he became very much
the top of the creative mountain
461
00:27:17,548 --> 00:27:19,986
of the show that became
"Fiddler On The Roof."
462
00:27:20,073 --> 00:27:24,599
Something about Mr. Rabinowitz
from Jersey City,
463
00:27:24,686 --> 00:27:26,340
who had become Jerome Robbins
464
00:27:26,427 --> 00:27:28,342
of New York City Ballet
and Broadway,
465
00:27:28,429 --> 00:27:31,519
something about his roots
was gnawing at Robbins,
466
00:27:31,606 --> 00:27:35,131
and I think he tapped
into something about the story
467
00:27:35,218 --> 00:27:38,047
and the notion of Eastern Europe
and the pogroms
468
00:27:38,134 --> 00:27:40,920
that he was singular
in his vision
469
00:27:41,007 --> 00:27:44,663
about the kind of musical
that he wanted to have created,
470
00:27:44,750 --> 00:27:47,753
and he bludgeoned it.
471
00:28:00,591 --> 00:28:01,810
Dance like that. Get in there.
472
00:28:25,791 --> 00:28:27,662
We had regular meetings,
473
00:28:27,749 --> 00:28:29,142
and Robbins would say...
474
00:28:29,229 --> 00:28:31,622
"What is this show about?"
475
00:28:31,710 --> 00:28:34,016
And we would say,
well, it'’s about this dairyman
476
00:28:34,103 --> 00:28:35,409
and his five
marriageable daughters.
477
00:28:35,496 --> 00:28:37,324
He'’d say, "No. That is not
478
00:28:37,411 --> 00:28:39,413
what gives these stories
their power."
479
00:28:39,500 --> 00:28:43,025
Ultimately, we said,
"Oh, for God'’s sakes, Jerry,
480
00:28:43,112 --> 00:28:45,245
it'’s about tradition, isn'’t it?"
481
00:28:45,332 --> 00:28:46,899
And Jerry said, "Write that."
482
00:28:46,986 --> 00:28:49,162
♪ Tradition ♪
483
00:28:49,249 --> 00:28:50,511
♪ Tradition ♪
484
00:28:51,947 --> 00:28:53,122
♪ Tradition ♪
485
00:28:53,209 --> 00:28:55,342
♪ Tradition ♪
486
00:28:55,429 --> 00:28:57,213
♪ Tradition ♪
487
00:28:57,300 --> 00:28:58,954
♪ Tradition ♪
488
00:28:59,041 --> 00:29:03,611
That unlocked
everything that the show needed.
489
00:29:03,698 --> 00:29:06,135
It was like an education
to people like me
490
00:29:06,222 --> 00:29:08,311
about what
that society was like,
491
00:29:08,398 --> 00:29:09,791
what a shtetl was like.
492
00:29:09,878 --> 00:29:12,751
♪ And who does Mama teach ♪
493
00:29:12,838 --> 00:29:15,579
♪ To mend and tend and fix ♪
494
00:29:15,666 --> 00:29:21,194
♪ Preparing me to marry
Whoever Papa picks? ♪
495
00:29:21,281 --> 00:29:22,761
♪ The daughters... ♪
496
00:29:22,848 --> 00:29:23,979
He had
demanded they write
497
00:29:24,066 --> 00:29:25,589
the opening number "Tradition,"
498
00:29:25,676 --> 00:29:27,548
and then for the first
eight weeks of--
499
00:29:27,635 --> 00:29:29,768
of directing the show
in New York in a rehearsal hall,
500
00:29:29,855 --> 00:29:32,292
he wouldn'’t stage it.
And everybody was saying,
501
00:29:32,379 --> 00:29:34,773
"Jerry, you have
to stage the opening."
502
00:29:34,860 --> 00:29:36,513
He just wouldn'’t.
503
00:29:36,600 --> 00:29:39,386
And then, one day,
he staged it in half an hour.
504
00:29:39,473 --> 00:29:43,085
His choreography
is simple and yet beautiful.
505
00:29:43,172 --> 00:29:44,913
It'’s great storytelling.
506
00:29:45,000 --> 00:29:48,308
The use of circles was
really important to Jerry.
507
00:29:48,395 --> 00:29:51,398
The circle of Tevye'’s family
is the innermost circle,
508
00:29:51,485 --> 00:29:52,965
and then there was the circle
509
00:29:53,052 --> 00:29:55,402
of the villagers
in Anatevka and the shtetl,
510
00:29:55,489 --> 00:29:58,057
and then the bigger circle
is the Jewish people.
511
00:29:58,144 --> 00:29:59,580
Jerry chose to make sure
512
00:29:59,667 --> 00:30:01,538
every character
onstage had a name.
513
00:30:01,625 --> 00:30:03,889
There were over 40 cast members,
514
00:30:03,976 --> 00:30:06,413
and every single villager
had a name,
515
00:30:06,500 --> 00:30:08,284
because they all mattered,
516
00:30:08,371 --> 00:30:10,460
and they were all part
of the circle of the village.
517
00:30:13,768 --> 00:30:15,988
And I think,
with that in mind,
518
00:30:16,075 --> 00:30:19,600
he began to imagine
a circle of tradition
519
00:30:19,687 --> 00:30:21,732
that eventually
began to splinter
520
00:30:21,820 --> 00:30:24,344
and ultimately became...
521
00:30:24,431 --> 00:30:27,826
disappearing in parts
to various places.
522
00:30:29,218 --> 00:30:30,785
"Fiddler on the Roof"
523
00:30:30,872 --> 00:30:32,918
presented a way
of seeing it as a whole place
524
00:30:33,005 --> 00:30:35,398
rather than just
some place that you fled.
525
00:30:35,485 --> 00:30:38,184
And I think,
particularly in '’64,
526
00:30:38,271 --> 00:30:41,317
that was sort of a liberation
for some people.
527
00:30:46,148 --> 00:30:47,889
The Shabbat song,
I love that song.
528
00:30:47,976 --> 00:30:50,413
You know, when they light
the candles, it'’s beautiful.
529
00:30:50,500 --> 00:30:52,763
The music is so-- Oh, my God.
530
00:30:52,851 --> 00:30:56,376
I-It'’s just, you know,
when he starts to sing, it'’s--
531
00:30:56,463 --> 00:30:58,465
Yeah, I'’m-- right now,
I'’m starting to tear up,
532
00:30:58,552 --> 00:31:00,162
you know, just thinking
about the music.
533
00:31:00,249 --> 00:31:05,864
♪ May the Lord
Protect and defend you ♪
534
00:31:05,951 --> 00:31:10,520
♪ May He always
Shield you from shame ♪
535
00:31:11,652 --> 00:31:14,176
♪ May you come to be ♪
536
00:31:14,263 --> 00:31:19,965
♪ In Israel, a shining name ♪
537
00:31:20,052 --> 00:31:22,054
You were
surrounded by that love
538
00:31:22,141 --> 00:31:25,231
and supported
by neighbors and friends.
539
00:31:25,318 --> 00:31:28,582
It'’s a balance to try
and hold-- hold true
540
00:31:28,669 --> 00:31:33,543
to how you identify
yourself in the world.
541
00:31:33,630 --> 00:31:37,199
♪ May God bless you ♪
542
00:31:37,286 --> 00:31:39,680
♪ And grant you long lives ♪
543
00:31:39,767 --> 00:31:45,425
♪ May the Lord fulfill
Our Sabbath prayer for you ♪
544
00:31:45,512 --> 00:31:47,775
For some people,
the Sabbath prayer
545
00:31:47,862 --> 00:31:51,866
becomes more important now
than perhaps it may have meant
546
00:31:51,953 --> 00:31:55,435
to their parents
or grandparents in 1964.
547
00:31:55,522 --> 00:31:59,395
We want to create a world
that my kids will have,
548
00:31:59,482 --> 00:32:01,267
that they will pass on.
549
00:32:01,354 --> 00:32:03,051
And, I think, in '’64,
550
00:32:03,138 --> 00:32:05,619
it was more like,
"Let'’s go out into the world."
551
00:32:05,706 --> 00:32:09,536
I think now there'’s,
"Yes, of course, let'’s,"
552
00:32:09,623 --> 00:32:12,365
but also,
"Let'’s have some traditions
553
00:32:12,452 --> 00:32:15,542
that we, perhaps refind,
rediscover."
554
00:32:15,629 --> 00:32:17,848
And "Fiddler" gives us
a passage to that,
555
00:32:17,936 --> 00:32:19,372
because "Fiddler"
is Janus-faced.
556
00:32:19,459 --> 00:32:20,634
It looks two ways.
557
00:32:20,721 --> 00:32:25,160
♪ Hear our Sabbath prayer ♪
558
00:32:35,388 --> 00:32:42,221
♪ Amen ♪
559
00:32:50,969 --> 00:32:54,102
Jerry was
assiduous in saying,
560
00:32:54,189 --> 00:32:57,323
"I am not going to stage
a lot of numbers
561
00:32:57,410 --> 00:33:01,283
that look like they'’re
in a musical," and he didn'’t.
562
00:33:01,370 --> 00:33:06,636
They naturalistically danced
when it was natural to dance.
563
00:33:06,723 --> 00:33:09,291
"The Bottle Dance"
was his exception.
564
00:33:16,516 --> 00:33:18,822
Jerry Robbins
was always very well prepared
565
00:33:18,909 --> 00:33:20,824
going into rehearsal.
566
00:33:20,911 --> 00:33:23,131
We went to a Hasidic wedding.
567
00:33:23,218 --> 00:33:24,611
He was very taken
568
00:33:24,698 --> 00:33:27,266
by the wildness of the--
of the dancing.
569
00:33:33,228 --> 00:33:36,753
One man was dancing
with a bottle on his head.
570
00:33:36,840 --> 00:33:40,409
I saw it, and I thought
that was interesting,
571
00:33:40,496 --> 00:33:42,411
but that'’s all I thought.
572
00:33:42,498 --> 00:33:45,458
He saw it, and he saw a dance.
573
00:34:01,343 --> 00:34:03,824
I think it'’s a little bit
like a marriage, you know?
574
00:34:03,911 --> 00:34:05,782
I mean, you'’re holding
a bottle on your head,
575
00:34:05,869 --> 00:34:08,350
and you'’re trying to keep
your balance when you'’re going
576
00:34:08,437 --> 00:34:11,919
into a very intense
and profound relationship.
577
00:34:12,006 --> 00:34:14,748
And how one maintains balance
in that relationship
578
00:34:14,835 --> 00:34:16,663
is well illustrated
579
00:34:16,750 --> 00:34:18,926
in the very nature
of "The Bottle Dance" itself.
580
00:34:19,013 --> 00:34:21,494
♪ Hey ♪
581
00:34:23,322 --> 00:34:24,888
♪ Hey ♪
582
00:34:26,803 --> 00:34:28,196
♪ Hey ♪
583
00:34:30,242 --> 00:34:32,113
♪ Hey ♪
584
00:34:38,380 --> 00:34:41,992
Then they went
into this ecstatic dance,
585
00:34:42,080 --> 00:34:44,908
and I asked him about that,
because I found it so moving,
586
00:34:44,995 --> 00:34:48,347
and he said to me, "This is
their communion with God,
587
00:34:48,434 --> 00:34:51,089
and they do it
through movement."
588
00:35:27,255 --> 00:35:30,998
I-I remember something that
Boris Aronson once said to me.
589
00:35:31,085 --> 00:35:32,521
He and I were watching
590
00:35:32,608 --> 00:35:35,002
"The Bottle Dance"
for the first time,
591
00:35:35,089 --> 00:35:37,047
and Jerry was waiting
for our reaction.
592
00:35:37,135 --> 00:35:38,788
And Boris turned to me.
593
00:35:38,875 --> 00:35:42,140
He says, "A-A guy who can do
that kind of work,
594
00:35:42,227 --> 00:35:44,098
you have
to forgive him anything."
595
00:35:44,185 --> 00:35:47,188
Boris Aronson was
one of the greatest figures
596
00:35:47,275 --> 00:35:50,539
in the history of scenic
and theatrical design.
597
00:35:50,626 --> 00:35:53,629
What I love about the way
that Aronson created the set
598
00:35:53,716 --> 00:35:55,544
is that the little houses,
599
00:35:55,631 --> 00:35:58,417
everybody'’s window
is looking into yours.
600
00:35:58,504 --> 00:36:01,463
The homes circled around
in the proscenium,
601
00:36:01,550 --> 00:36:05,163
and that'’s repeated throughout
the show in different sets.
602
00:36:05,250 --> 00:36:09,689
Having the homes in the sky
is an homage to Marc Chagall.
603
00:36:24,834 --> 00:36:27,707
Robbins felt
that there was a strong affinity
604
00:36:27,794 --> 00:36:31,885
between, uh, the material
and the work of Marc Chagall.
605
00:36:34,801 --> 00:36:38,979
One of his paintings was
of a man playing the violin,
606
00:36:39,066 --> 00:36:40,676
and he'’s standing--
607
00:36:40,763 --> 00:36:43,331
He'’s actually floating
just a bit above a roof,
608
00:36:43,418 --> 00:36:46,291
but he looks like
he'’s standing on it,
609
00:36:46,378 --> 00:36:48,162
and that picture fascinated us,
610
00:36:48,249 --> 00:36:51,513
and one of us suggested as
a title "Fiddler On The Roof."
611
00:36:52,906 --> 00:36:56,779
Jerome Robbins
wanted the feel,
612
00:36:56,866 --> 00:37:01,393
the spirituality
of the Marc Chagall canvases,
613
00:37:01,480 --> 00:37:05,092
but he also wanted Boris Aronson
to do Boris Aronson'’s thing.
614
00:37:05,179 --> 00:37:06,920
So they went back and forth
615
00:37:07,007 --> 00:37:08,530
and back and forth
and back and forth,
616
00:37:08,617 --> 00:37:09,923
and it was very fractious
and very contentious.
617
00:37:11,533 --> 00:37:14,362
My father
hated working with Jerry.
618
00:37:14,449 --> 00:37:17,322
He also deeply admired Jerry.
619
00:37:17,409 --> 00:37:19,541
He would
take a scene and say,
620
00:37:19,628 --> 00:37:22,240
"I like this scene very much.
Can you change it?"
621
00:37:22,327 --> 00:37:24,590
I'’d rewrite it, and he'’d
look at it, and he says,
622
00:37:24,677 --> 00:37:27,636
"This is really very good.
I liked the first one better."
623
00:37:27,723 --> 00:37:29,725
The actors were scared of him.
624
00:37:29,812 --> 00:37:32,337
I saw him with Tanya Everett,
who I thought was
625
00:37:32,424 --> 00:37:34,513
the prettiest girl
I'’d ever seen,
626
00:37:34,600 --> 00:37:37,124
really not so much berating her
627
00:37:37,211 --> 00:37:41,215
as making her repeat a line
over and over and over again.
628
00:37:41,302 --> 00:37:43,565
"We'’ll write to you
in America if you want,"
629
00:37:43,652 --> 00:37:45,785
He was unhappy with her reading,
630
00:37:45,872 --> 00:37:48,744
and he would come
closer to her and closer.
631
00:37:48,831 --> 00:37:50,442
"Repeat it," and she'’d,
632
00:37:50,529 --> 00:37:52,574
"We'’ll write to you
in America if you want.
633
00:37:52,661 --> 00:37:54,924
We'’ll write to you in America
if you want."
634
00:37:55,011 --> 00:37:57,536
She gave it multiple readings,
and he was never happy,
635
00:37:57,623 --> 00:37:59,233
and he seemed to be
shaking with rage.
636
00:37:59,320 --> 00:38:01,017
As difficult as he
was to work with--
637
00:38:01,104 --> 00:38:02,541
and, you know,
he could be really mean and--
638
00:38:02,628 --> 00:38:04,630
and, um, an awful man--
639
00:38:04,717 --> 00:38:06,849
uh, I would work
with him any time.
640
00:38:06,936 --> 00:38:08,286
The end product is worth it.
641
00:38:08,373 --> 00:38:10,200
Some of his invention
rubs off on you.
642
00:38:10,288 --> 00:38:13,856
You get more inventive when you
work with Jerry Robbins.
643
00:38:13,943 --> 00:38:15,858
-♪ If I were a rich man ♪
-Mm-hmm.
644
00:38:15,945 --> 00:38:17,730
♪ Ya da di ♪
645
00:38:21,168 --> 00:38:23,997
♪ All day long
I'’d bidi bidi bom ♪
646
00:38:24,084 --> 00:38:26,042
I'’ll do it my way.
You do it your way.
647
00:38:26,129 --> 00:38:28,131
Okay. You do it your way,
You do it.
648
00:38:28,218 --> 00:38:29,742
♪ If I were a rich man ♪
649
00:38:29,829 --> 00:38:31,700
Are you okay?
650
00:38:33,006 --> 00:38:34,050
Jerry Robbins said that,
651
00:38:34,137 --> 00:38:37,445
"Tevye must be larger than life,
652
00:38:37,532 --> 00:38:41,406
and that'’s why I want
to go with Zero Mostel."
653
00:38:41,493 --> 00:38:43,625
Zero was
very much an egoist.
654
00:38:43,712 --> 00:38:47,455
He felt the need
to be onstage offstage.
655
00:38:49,109 --> 00:38:50,589
A lot of Zero'’s behavior
656
00:38:50,676 --> 00:38:53,418
would have made people
want to kill him,
657
00:38:53,505 --> 00:38:56,116
but, when Zero did it,
they would laugh.
658
00:38:56,203 --> 00:38:58,161
The first day of rehearsal,
659
00:38:58,248 --> 00:39:01,556
we were all worried, because
there had been bad history
660
00:39:01,643 --> 00:39:04,342
between Robbins and Zero.
661
00:39:04,429 --> 00:39:08,041
I won'’t use the word "hate,"
but Zero did not like him
662
00:39:08,128 --> 00:39:09,695
for his revealing names
663
00:39:09,782 --> 00:39:12,785
to the House Un-American
Activities Committee.
664
00:39:12,872 --> 00:39:14,526
Jerry had been
a cooperative witness,
665
00:39:14,613 --> 00:39:16,484
and it was very tense.
666
00:39:16,571 --> 00:39:18,181
I mean, Zero would
make fun of him.
667
00:39:18,268 --> 00:39:20,401
He would abuse him
and insult him.
668
00:39:20,488 --> 00:39:22,577
I mean, it was
not a thing people let go.
669
00:39:22,664 --> 00:39:24,187
You know,
people would constantly say,
670
00:39:24,274 --> 00:39:26,015
"I saw you with Jerry
in this restaurant,"
671
00:39:26,102 --> 00:39:28,278
or, you know, "I heard
you were at Jerry'’s house,"
672
00:39:28,366 --> 00:39:30,585
or, "I saw you
at the ballet with Jerry.
Doesn'’t this bother you?"
673
00:39:30,672 --> 00:39:33,066
What they had over Jerry was
not that he was a Communist,
674
00:39:33,153 --> 00:39:35,024
but that he was gay.
675
00:39:35,111 --> 00:39:37,679
I knew that Jerry
had held out for three years,
676
00:39:37,766 --> 00:39:39,333
and then he was threatened
677
00:39:39,420 --> 00:39:42,292
with a kind of exposure
of his homosexuality,
678
00:39:42,380 --> 00:39:44,120
and he named names.
679
00:39:44,207 --> 00:39:46,906
And I think that Jerry
never forgave himself.
680
00:39:46,993 --> 00:39:48,951
I think that he
was full of guilt.
681
00:39:59,309 --> 00:40:00,572
Tzeitel!
682
00:40:11,191 --> 00:40:13,802
It'’s hard
to say Tevye is like this
683
00:40:13,889 --> 00:40:16,762
or Tevye is this one thing,
because Tevye is everything.
684
00:40:16,849 --> 00:40:20,374
Tevye is unbelievably
loving and generous...
685
00:40:20,461 --> 00:40:23,159
♪ God would like us
To be joyful ♪
686
00:40:23,246 --> 00:40:27,294
♪ Even when our hearts
Lie panting on the floor, ho ♪
687
00:40:27,381 --> 00:40:30,645
Tevye is unbelievably
hot-tempered and short.
688
00:40:33,039 --> 00:40:35,563
You can keep
your diseased chickens!
689
00:40:35,650 --> 00:40:39,306
It'’s that amalgamation that
makes the character so human.
690
00:40:39,393 --> 00:40:43,484
♪ I'’d build a big, tall house
With rooms by the dozen... ♪
691
00:40:43,571 --> 00:40:46,052
I honestly
believe Tevye plays you.
692
00:40:46,139 --> 00:40:49,055
In so many ways,
my father found his identity
693
00:40:49,142 --> 00:40:51,187
through doing the stories
of Sholem Aleichem,
694
00:40:51,274 --> 00:40:53,929
by doing "Fiddler on the Roof,"
and playing Tevye.
695
00:40:54,016 --> 00:40:57,367
Since I lost my father
at such an early age,
696
00:40:57,455 --> 00:41:01,241
I'’ve always felt at a loss
697
00:41:01,328 --> 00:41:05,375
when it comes to the lessons
that a father teaches their son.
698
00:41:05,463 --> 00:41:07,160
But by doing "Fiddler"
699
00:41:07,247 --> 00:41:09,597
and especially
by playing Tevye on Broadway
700
00:41:09,684 --> 00:41:12,470
and especially by wearing
my father'’s boots,
701
00:41:12,557 --> 00:41:15,473
I just feel this incredible love
from beyond the grave
702
00:41:15,560 --> 00:41:20,260
that I thought
I had lost access to.
703
00:41:20,347 --> 00:41:24,264
And I think people
get that experience from Tevye.
704
00:41:24,351 --> 00:41:29,574
They transfer their own fathers
when they look at Tevye,
705
00:41:29,661 --> 00:41:32,968
but also, I think,
because he'’s connected to God,
706
00:41:33,055 --> 00:41:35,536
they get a sense
of God as well.
707
00:41:35,623 --> 00:41:37,451
They'’re best friends.
They talk all the time.
708
00:41:37,538 --> 00:41:40,236
They-- They kibbutz. They talk.
709
00:41:40,323 --> 00:41:44,197
God in his mind teases him
by making the horse lame,
710
00:41:44,284 --> 00:41:46,765
by doing this stuff,
by giving him five daughters
711
00:41:46,852 --> 00:41:51,334
and chickens a-and cows and
not another man in his life.
712
00:41:51,421 --> 00:41:53,685
He'’s the only man
in Tevye'’s life.
713
00:41:53,772 --> 00:41:55,774
He'’s his only male friend.
714
00:41:55,861 --> 00:41:57,645
It'’s enough you pick on me.
715
00:41:57,732 --> 00:41:59,778
Bless me with five daughters,
716
00:41:59,865 --> 00:42:02,258
a life of poverty.
That'’s all right!
717
00:42:02,345 --> 00:42:04,783
But what have you got
against my horse?
718
00:42:04,870 --> 00:42:06,785
The thing
that we love about him
719
00:42:06,872 --> 00:42:10,484
is that, in the face
of dire poverty
720
00:42:10,571 --> 00:42:13,574
and dire circumstances,
721
00:42:13,661 --> 00:42:17,404
of-- of being forced out of
your home and forced to leave,
722
00:42:17,491 --> 00:42:21,060
there'’s a life spirit
that courses through him.
723
00:42:21,147 --> 00:42:22,627
Dear God...
724
00:42:24,106 --> 00:42:27,893
did you have to send me
news like that
725
00:42:27,980 --> 00:42:30,504
today, of all days?
726
00:42:31,984 --> 00:42:36,249
I know. I know we are
the chosen people...
727
00:42:38,077 --> 00:42:42,081
but, once in a while,
can'’t you choose someone else?
728
00:43:02,667 --> 00:43:04,930
It'’s not
about abandoning everything
729
00:43:05,017 --> 00:43:07,236
in the face of complete change,
730
00:43:07,323 --> 00:43:10,457
but holding on
to what will give life,
731
00:43:10,544 --> 00:43:12,590
and I think everybody
in their lives
732
00:43:12,677 --> 00:43:14,374
identify with that
733
00:43:14,461 --> 00:43:19,422
and yearn for that kind
of ability to rebound.
734
00:43:19,509 --> 00:43:21,860
♪ If I were a rich man ♪
735
00:43:21,947 --> 00:43:25,733
♪ Yaha deya baha decha
Bacha deya deya dum ♪
736
00:43:25,820 --> 00:43:29,519
♪ All day long
I'’d bidi bidi bom ♪
737
00:43:29,607 --> 00:43:32,392
♪ If I were a wealthy man ♪
738
00:43:32,479 --> 00:43:35,221
♪ I wouldn'’t have to work hard ♪
739
00:43:35,308 --> 00:43:39,355
♪ Yaba deba deba deba
Deba deba debe dum ♪
740
00:43:45,013 --> 00:43:48,713
You know, there is not a song
in the Broadway canon
741
00:43:48,800 --> 00:43:52,499
more universal, uh,
than "If I Were a Rich Man."
742
00:43:52,586 --> 00:43:54,457
Uh, that is, uh--
743
00:43:54,544 --> 00:43:56,285
You know, you don'’t
have to be from Russia.
744
00:43:56,372 --> 00:43:57,896
You don'’t have
to be from anywhere
745
00:43:57,983 --> 00:44:00,289
to-- to get that sort
of aspirational song.
746
00:44:00,376 --> 00:44:03,597
♪ If I were a rich man ♪
747
00:44:03,684 --> 00:44:05,381
♪ Diddle deedle diddle dig ♪
748
00:44:05,468 --> 00:44:07,775
♪ Dig diga diga
Deedle deedle dum ♪
749
00:44:09,255 --> 00:44:13,389
♪ All day long
I'’d bidi bidi bom ♪
750
00:44:13,476 --> 00:44:15,870
♪ If I were a wealthy man ♪
751
00:44:15,957 --> 00:44:19,657
♪ Wealthy man
Man, oh, man, yeah ♪
752
00:44:19,744 --> 00:44:21,833
♪ Wouldn'’t have to work hard
Skabba deeby deeby ♪
753
00:44:21,920 --> 00:44:24,139
♪ Yabba dabba deeby deeby doo ♪
754
00:44:24,226 --> 00:44:27,795
♪ Oh, if I was ♪
755
00:44:27,882 --> 00:44:31,146
♪ A bitty, bitty rich ♪
756
00:44:31,233 --> 00:44:34,802
♪ Yiddle diddle
Deedle diddle dum ♪
757
00:44:34,889 --> 00:44:36,848
♪ I wouldn'’t have
To work hard ♪
758
00:44:36,935 --> 00:44:38,850
♪ Yada deeda deeda ♪
759
00:44:38,937 --> 00:44:40,416
♪ Deeda deeda deeda deeda dum ♪
760
00:44:40,503 --> 00:44:42,027
♪ Ba ba ba ba ♪
761
00:44:42,114 --> 00:44:45,595
♪ Lord who made the lion
And the lamb ♪
762
00:44:49,730 --> 00:44:54,779
♪ Would it spoil
Some vast eternal plan ♪
763
00:44:54,866 --> 00:45:01,742
♪ If I were a wealthy man? ♪
764
00:45:07,705 --> 00:45:09,097
The strength
of the material
765
00:45:09,184 --> 00:45:12,840
has proven itself now
for 50 years,
766
00:45:12,927 --> 00:45:17,192
every kind of production,
every scale of production,
767
00:45:17,279 --> 00:45:19,020
from high school to Broadway,
768
00:45:19,107 --> 00:45:22,937
that whatever you do,
wherever you do it,
769
00:45:23,024 --> 00:45:25,070
and whoever you have
available to you,
770
00:45:25,157 --> 00:45:27,594
the strength in the material
is so strong
771
00:45:27,681 --> 00:45:30,466
that "Fiddler" always wins.
772
00:45:30,553 --> 00:45:34,427
♪ Do you love me? ♪
773
00:45:34,514 --> 00:45:36,298
♪ I'’m your wife! ♪
774
00:45:36,385 --> 00:45:39,867
♪ Then you love me! ♪
775
00:45:39,954 --> 00:45:42,130
♪ I suppose I do ♪
776
00:45:42,217 --> 00:45:44,785
I'’m not the traditional actor
to play Golde.
777
00:45:44,872 --> 00:45:46,874
I'’m Christian, so I don'’t
really know anything about this.
778
00:45:46,961 --> 00:45:49,007
And, like, now I'’ve
learned a lot about it.
779
00:45:49,094 --> 00:45:51,009
You can become a character
that wouldn'’t be traditionally
780
00:45:51,096 --> 00:45:52,880
played by a person like you.
781
00:45:52,967 --> 00:45:56,144
You'’re like, "Wow. This person
is now a part of me."
782
00:45:56,231 --> 00:45:59,757
It'’s crazy. That'’s why
I love theater so much.
783
00:46:01,236 --> 00:46:02,672
♪ Wonder of wonders ♪
784
00:46:02,760 --> 00:46:04,413
♪ Miracle of miracles ♪
785
00:46:04,500 --> 00:46:07,852
♪ God took a Daniel once again ♪
786
00:46:07,939 --> 00:46:11,246
Stood by his side
And, miracle of miracles ♪
787
00:46:11,333 --> 00:46:14,859
♪ Walked him
Through the lion'’s den ♪
788
00:46:14,946 --> 00:46:16,991
We opened in Detroit.
789
00:46:17,078 --> 00:46:20,038
There was a newspaper strike,
and I, uh, called to find out
790
00:46:20,125 --> 00:46:23,171
what the newspaper reviews
would have been,
791
00:46:23,258 --> 00:46:25,826
had they been published,
and they were bad!
792
00:46:25,913 --> 00:46:28,089
The very first review
from "Variety,"
793
00:46:28,176 --> 00:46:30,570
"There are no memorable songs
in this musical!"
794
00:46:30,657 --> 00:46:33,312
People were crying
in the dressing rooms.
795
00:46:33,399 --> 00:46:36,445
"Except for Zero,
the cast is not much good.
796
00:46:36,532 --> 00:46:37,838
The songs are bad.
797
00:46:37,925 --> 00:46:39,579
The choreography
is undistinguished.
798
00:46:39,666 --> 00:46:41,102
The book is flat."
799
00:46:41,189 --> 00:46:42,669
I mean, it was just like...
800
00:46:44,410 --> 00:46:46,412
There was a bar
across the street in Detroit
801
00:46:46,499 --> 00:46:47,892
we went to every night.
802
00:46:47,979 --> 00:46:51,373
I get across the street.
803
00:46:51,460 --> 00:46:54,681
The whole cast is in the back
of the bar at the tables,
804
00:46:54,768 --> 00:46:58,337
laughing and joking and flirting
and being uproarious...
805
00:47:00,469 --> 00:47:03,298
and Jerry is standing
alone at the bar.
806
00:47:03,385 --> 00:47:06,432
Jerome Robbins is standing
alone at the bar
807
00:47:06,519 --> 00:47:09,827
with a drink, looking ahead.
808
00:47:11,306 --> 00:47:14,744
And I said, "Jerry,
what are you gonna do?"
809
00:47:14,832 --> 00:47:17,138
He stood still and quiet.
810
00:47:18,705 --> 00:47:22,448
And finally he said,
"Refinements, cuts,
811
00:47:22,535 --> 00:47:24,276
ten things a day"...
812
00:47:27,018 --> 00:47:28,933
which is what he did.
813
00:47:29,020 --> 00:47:31,631
During rehearsal,
I was watching Maria Karnilova,
814
00:47:31,718 --> 00:47:34,199
who was our Golde,
in the scene with Tevye
815
00:47:34,286 --> 00:47:36,157
where he said,
"Do you love me?"
816
00:47:36,244 --> 00:47:39,073
And the way she replied,
"Do I what?"
817
00:47:39,160 --> 00:47:41,075
was just so funny to me.
818
00:47:41,162 --> 00:47:45,427
I thought, "That'’s a wonderful
beginning for a song."
819
00:47:45,514 --> 00:47:47,125
And when we got to Detroit
820
00:47:47,212 --> 00:47:50,171
for our pre-Broadway tryout,
we put it into the show.
821
00:47:51,303 --> 00:47:52,217
Golde...
822
00:47:53,435 --> 00:47:55,873
♪ Do you love me? ♪
823
00:47:55,960 --> 00:47:57,483
Do I what?!
824
00:47:57,570 --> 00:47:58,701
Shh.
825
00:47:58,788 --> 00:48:01,574
♪ Do you love me? ♪
826
00:48:01,661 --> 00:48:03,881
♪ Do I love you? ♪
827
00:48:03,968 --> 00:48:05,273
Well?
828
00:48:05,360 --> 00:48:06,971
They totally have sex, yeah.
829
00:48:07,058 --> 00:48:08,886
Well, I think they
probably have sex
830
00:48:08,973 --> 00:48:11,366
more than just the five times.
831
00:48:11,453 --> 00:48:12,890
I definitely think that.
832
00:48:12,977 --> 00:48:16,894
And I definitely think,
uh, they probably
833
00:48:16,981 --> 00:48:18,896
have fairly, like, passiona--
834
00:48:18,983 --> 00:48:21,159
not passionate,
but connected sex.
835
00:48:21,246 --> 00:48:23,335
But I don'’t think
they ever talk about it.
836
00:48:23,422 --> 00:48:26,686
♪ For 25 years
I'’ve washed your clothes ♪
837
00:48:26,773 --> 00:48:29,341
♪ Cooked your meals
Cleaned your house ♪
838
00:48:29,428 --> 00:48:32,431
♪ Given you children
Milked your cow ♪
839
00:48:32,518 --> 00:48:36,522
♪ After 25 years
Why talk about love right now? ♪
840
00:48:36,609 --> 00:48:39,046
Tevye is a little bit
more of a luftmensch.
841
00:48:39,133 --> 00:48:41,962
You know, he loves to dream,
and she'’s more practical.
842
00:48:42,049 --> 00:48:44,051
Golde is an equal
in this marriage,
843
00:48:44,138 --> 00:48:47,185
and we delight
in the play between them.
844
00:48:47,272 --> 00:48:50,405
♪ Golde
The first time I met you ♪
845
00:48:50,492 --> 00:48:52,146
♪ Was on our wedding day ♪
846
00:48:52,233 --> 00:48:54,235
-♪ I was scared ♪
-♪ I was shy ♪
847
00:48:54,322 --> 00:48:55,628
♪ I was nervous ♪
848
00:48:55,715 --> 00:48:57,499
♪ So was I ♪
849
00:48:57,586 --> 00:48:59,893
♪ But my father
And my mother... ♪
850
00:48:59,980 --> 00:49:01,460
I was watching it,
851
00:49:01,547 --> 00:49:04,158
and, to my astonishment,
I began to sob.
852
00:49:04,245 --> 00:49:07,248
And I thought it'’s because
my father and mother
853
00:49:07,335 --> 00:49:09,642
had had bitter, angry fights.
854
00:49:09,729 --> 00:49:11,296
When I wrote the song,
855
00:49:11,383 --> 00:49:13,951
I was wishing
that my father and mother
856
00:49:14,038 --> 00:49:15,691
had had this kind
of relationship.
857
00:49:15,778 --> 00:49:19,826
♪ Do you love me? ♪
858
00:49:19,913 --> 00:49:21,610
♪ I'’m your wife! ♪
859
00:49:22,742 --> 00:49:24,048
I know!
860
00:49:24,135 --> 00:49:25,875
He is frightened
to hear the response
861
00:49:25,963 --> 00:49:27,660
and that she'’s
frightened to give it,
862
00:49:27,747 --> 00:49:32,143
because-- because I think,
863
00:49:32,230 --> 00:49:34,493
when I speak about her emotion,
864
00:49:34,580 --> 00:49:37,931
uh, she'’s-- she'’s frightened
to name anything,
865
00:49:38,018 --> 00:49:40,194
for fear that it
will over-- overtake
866
00:49:40,281 --> 00:49:42,588
her ability
to reason through life.
867
00:49:57,777 --> 00:50:00,040
In a way,
it was the most romantic moment
868
00:50:00,127 --> 00:50:02,695
in the show, despite the fact
that we were involved
869
00:50:02,782 --> 00:50:07,526
with three daughters and their
chi-- and their boyfriends.
870
00:50:07,613 --> 00:50:09,571
This felt most romantic,
871
00:50:09,658 --> 00:50:14,402
because this was
an older mother and father
872
00:50:14,489 --> 00:50:18,624
who finally recognize
the word "love."
873
00:50:18,711 --> 00:50:22,497
♪ Then you love me! ♪
874
00:50:22,584 --> 00:50:25,152
♪ I suppose I do ♪
875
00:50:27,720 --> 00:50:34,161
♪ And I suppose
I love you, too ♪
876
00:50:34,248 --> 00:50:38,122
♪ It doesn'’t change a thing ♪
877
00:50:39,558 --> 00:50:43,605
♪ But even so ♪
878
00:51:10,850 --> 00:51:13,026
We had a backer'’s
audition favorite
879
00:51:13,113 --> 00:51:16,334
in the show called
"When Messiah Comes,"
880
00:51:16,421 --> 00:51:19,206
and it was to be
an ironic number
881
00:51:19,293 --> 00:51:21,948
when the villagers are told
they'’re gonna have to leave.
882
00:51:22,035 --> 00:51:26,474
♪ When Messiah comes
He will say to us ♪
883
00:51:26,561 --> 00:51:29,260
♪ "I apologize
That I took so long" ♪
884
00:51:31,088 --> 00:51:33,438
♪ "But I had
A little trouble finding you ♪
885
00:51:33,525 --> 00:51:35,701
♪ Over here a few
And over there a few" ♪
886
00:51:38,182 --> 00:51:41,185
♪ "You were hard to reunite ♪
887
00:51:41,272 --> 00:51:44,144
♪ But everything is
Going to be all right" ♪
888
00:51:47,582 --> 00:51:50,977
♪ "Up in heaven there
How I wrung my hands ♪
889
00:51:51,064 --> 00:51:54,502
♪ When they exiled you
From the Promised Land ♪
890
00:51:54,589 --> 00:51:57,810
♪ Into Babylon
You went like castaways ♪
891
00:51:57,897 --> 00:52:01,248
♪ On the first
Of many, many moving days ♪
892
00:52:01,335 --> 00:52:04,382
♪ What a day, and what a blow ♪
893
00:52:04,469 --> 00:52:07,124
♪ How terrible I felt
You'’ll never know" ♪
894
00:52:10,214 --> 00:52:11,563
It was a favorite.
895
00:52:11,650 --> 00:52:13,391
When we get to Detroit,
896
00:52:13,478 --> 00:52:16,524
there'’s almost no laughter
for "When Messiah Comes."
897
00:52:16,611 --> 00:52:18,178
It just doesn'’t work.
898
00:52:18,265 --> 00:52:20,789
People came from New York
to see the show,
899
00:52:20,876 --> 00:52:22,617
and one of the first
questions we asked
900
00:52:22,704 --> 00:52:25,142
was, "Why doesn'’t
'’When Messiah Comes'’"--
901
00:52:25,229 --> 00:52:26,665
And they would all look at us
902
00:52:26,752 --> 00:52:28,362
as though we were
out of our minds.
903
00:52:28,449 --> 00:52:31,060
They said, "Are you crazy?
This is a moment
904
00:52:31,148 --> 00:52:35,064
of great poignance,
near tragedy.
905
00:52:35,152 --> 00:52:37,676
The villagers are told they'’re
gonna have to leave the place
906
00:52:37,763 --> 00:52:39,156
where they'’ve lived
all their lives,
907
00:52:39,243 --> 00:52:41,070
sell their goods,
and be out in three days.
908
00:52:41,158 --> 00:52:42,724
How can the audience accept it?
909
00:52:42,811 --> 00:52:44,422
You know, it'’s embarrassing.
910
00:52:44,509 --> 00:52:47,251
It'’s awkward." So we cut it.
911
00:52:47,338 --> 00:52:50,384
We worked hard
every day on the changes
912
00:52:50,471 --> 00:52:52,604
and put them in at night
and all that.
913
00:52:52,691 --> 00:52:54,258
And then we opened
in Washington.
914
00:52:54,345 --> 00:52:56,477
The reviews were raves,
probably the best review
915
00:52:56,564 --> 00:52:58,697
that that original cast
ever got.
916
00:52:58,784 --> 00:53:01,003
And I committed a sin
917
00:53:01,090 --> 00:53:04,964
that, in Jerry Robbins land,
is the sin.
918
00:53:05,051 --> 00:53:07,619
I became complacent.
919
00:53:07,706 --> 00:53:10,230
I'’m thinking, "Ah, I think
I'’m on top of this now.
920
00:53:10,317 --> 00:53:11,884
I think I got it."
921
00:53:11,971 --> 00:53:14,365
Finally, one day,
he told the whole cast
922
00:53:14,452 --> 00:53:16,454
he had hated
the Tuesday night performance,
923
00:53:16,541 --> 00:53:20,458
and he went down one by one,
just tearing everyone to shreds.
924
00:53:20,545 --> 00:53:23,548
He took me aside,
and he-- he was mean,
925
00:53:23,635 --> 00:53:26,246
and I got so upset
that I was crying.
926
00:53:26,333 --> 00:53:28,683
"I had to leave the theater
during the wedding scene,"
927
00:53:28,770 --> 00:53:31,033
he said. "The idea
of that wonderful young woman
928
00:53:31,120 --> 00:53:33,384
being married to you
made me sick."
929
00:53:33,471 --> 00:53:35,473
♪ Now I have everything ♪
930
00:53:35,560 --> 00:53:37,518
♪ Not only everything ♪
931
00:53:37,605 --> 00:53:40,434
♪ I have a little bit more ♪
932
00:53:40,521 --> 00:53:41,914
The reviews in New York
933
00:53:42,001 --> 00:53:43,742
were not all that phenomenal.
934
00:53:43,829 --> 00:53:46,484
And the Walter Kerr one,
he was the one everybody
935
00:53:46,571 --> 00:53:49,313
took particularly seriously
then, was not good.
936
00:53:49,400 --> 00:53:51,619
I remember thinking
when I went home opening night
937
00:53:51,706 --> 00:53:53,795
and got into bed at midnight,
938
00:53:53,882 --> 00:53:56,407
"Oh, God. I'’m gonna be out
of work in a couple of months."
939
00:53:58,887 --> 00:54:01,281
The lines
were the longest lines
940
00:54:01,368 --> 00:54:04,197
I'’ve ever seen
in my life for tickets.
941
00:54:04,284 --> 00:54:07,200
You stand outside
when you'’re producing a show.
942
00:54:07,287 --> 00:54:09,594
If there are lines,
you go look at them.
943
00:54:09,681 --> 00:54:12,466
Well, on "Fiddler,"
it was spectacular.
944
00:54:12,553 --> 00:54:15,382
Hal was
handing out coffee to the lines
945
00:54:15,469 --> 00:54:16,949
that went around the block,
946
00:54:17,036 --> 00:54:20,039
but still there was
nothing to prepare us
947
00:54:20,126 --> 00:54:23,825
for what was going to happen
to this piece.
948
00:54:23,912 --> 00:54:26,088
Jerry Bock
called me one day
949
00:54:26,175 --> 00:54:27,873
before they went to Detroit.
950
00:54:27,960 --> 00:54:30,832
Jerry said, "Listen,
our refrigerator'’s on the fritz.
951
00:54:30,919 --> 00:54:33,661
Can we get one?"
And I told him,
952
00:54:33,748 --> 00:54:38,405
"Well, Jerry, um, we have
to allocate certain amounts
953
00:54:38,492 --> 00:54:41,669
for certain things
that are recurring,
954
00:54:41,756 --> 00:54:45,978
and a refrigerator
is not on the list."
955
00:54:46,065 --> 00:54:48,546
The day after Fiddler opened,
I happened to walk
956
00:54:48,633 --> 00:54:52,071
from my apartment
past the Imperial Theatre.
957
00:54:52,158 --> 00:54:54,203
I ran to a phone.
I said, "Jerry,
958
00:54:54,291 --> 00:54:57,163
you know that refrigerator?
You can buy it."
959
00:54:57,250 --> 00:55:00,949
Now, United Artists presents
960
00:55:01,036 --> 00:55:02,386
the joy...
961
00:55:04,518 --> 00:55:05,389
the color...
962
00:55:07,216 --> 00:55:08,261
♪ Hey ♪
963
00:55:08,348 --> 00:55:09,784
...and the spectacle.
964
00:55:11,395 --> 00:55:13,310
"Fiddler on the Roof."
965
00:55:13,397 --> 00:55:16,051
That there was going
to be a Hollywood film version
966
00:55:16,138 --> 00:55:19,098
was determined
almost immediately.
967
00:55:19,185 --> 00:55:20,491
A lot of things had changed
968
00:55:20,578 --> 00:55:22,928
since 1964,
when the show debuted.
969
00:55:23,015 --> 00:55:26,888
Those seven years were packed
with cultural changes
970
00:55:26,975 --> 00:55:31,197
that had a huge impact
on both the making of the film
971
00:55:31,284 --> 00:55:32,546
and the way it was received.
972
00:56:03,360 --> 00:56:06,101
It was 1968, 1969 school year.
973
00:56:06,188 --> 00:56:09,017
The teacher'’s union
went out on strike,
974
00:56:09,104 --> 00:56:11,803
and in Brownsville
at a junior high,
975
00:56:11,890 --> 00:56:13,892
the drama teacher Richard Piro
976
00:56:13,979 --> 00:56:17,635
decided in the middle of
this Black-Jewish conflagration
977
00:56:17,722 --> 00:56:20,464
to make "Fiddler on the Roof"
its spring musical.
978
00:56:20,551 --> 00:56:22,857
♪ I wouldn'’t have to work hard ♪
979
00:56:22,944 --> 00:56:26,905
♪ Yiddle deedle daidle digga
Digga deedle daidle dum... ♪
980
00:56:26,992 --> 00:56:28,863
Jerry Bock
and Joe Stein and I
981
00:56:28,950 --> 00:56:30,909
heard about this school
982
00:56:30,996 --> 00:56:36,915
with a largely black and
Hispanic, uh, student body,
983
00:56:37,002 --> 00:56:40,092
and they asked
for permission to do the show,
984
00:56:40,179 --> 00:56:41,963
and we knew that their cast
985
00:56:42,050 --> 00:56:44,270
would be black and Puerto Rican,
and we gave them permission.
986
00:56:44,357 --> 00:56:47,142
♪ Who day and night
Must scramble for a living... ♪
987
00:56:47,229 --> 00:56:49,754
But some of the Jewish
teachers in the school objected.
988
00:56:49,841 --> 00:56:53,105
They felt that the kids
were gonna make fun of Jews,
989
00:56:53,192 --> 00:56:55,368
that they were gonna
play stereotypes,
990
00:56:55,455 --> 00:56:57,457
the kids were gonna do it
without any respect.
991
00:56:57,544 --> 00:56:59,807
You know, "How can
an African-American boy
992
00:56:59,894 --> 00:57:02,027
put a yarmulke on his head?
This is a blasphemy."
993
00:57:02,114 --> 00:57:03,463
You know, that kind of thing.
994
00:57:03,550 --> 00:57:05,552
It was
that kind of attitude,
995
00:57:05,639 --> 00:57:07,554
"These black children
and the Hispanic children
996
00:57:07,641 --> 00:57:09,251
should not be allowed to do it."
997
00:57:09,338 --> 00:57:11,602
And there were police
all over the place,
998
00:57:11,689 --> 00:57:13,430
and we were appalled.
999
00:57:13,517 --> 00:57:14,996
There were
bomb threats at the school,
1000
00:57:15,083 --> 00:57:17,390
somebody had vandalized
the scenery,
1001
00:57:17,477 --> 00:57:21,176
but the show went on,
and it was great.
1002
00:57:23,570 --> 00:57:26,530
♪ It doesn'’t change a thing ♪
1003
00:57:26,617 --> 00:57:28,053
And these kids really felt
1004
00:57:28,140 --> 00:57:30,316
like they had made
their own Anatevka
1005
00:57:30,403 --> 00:57:32,405
and that they
needed to protect it
1006
00:57:32,492 --> 00:57:34,799
against these outside forces
of bigotry,
1007
00:57:34,886 --> 00:57:37,192
and it was a--
it was a really beautiful,
1008
00:57:37,279 --> 00:57:38,890
triumphant moment
for those kids.
1009
00:57:38,977 --> 00:57:45,418
♪ It'’s nice to know ♪
1010
00:57:50,510 --> 00:57:52,164
The tension in the Middle East
1011
00:57:52,251 --> 00:57:53,731
develops into full-scale war.
1012
00:57:53,818 --> 00:57:55,950
By '’71,
when the film came out,
1013
00:57:56,037 --> 00:57:59,911
the ideas of Jews and
the imagery had changed.
1014
00:58:01,129 --> 00:58:03,741
The 1967 war in Israel
1015
00:58:03,828 --> 00:58:06,657
changed the image
of Israeli Jews,
1016
00:58:06,744 --> 00:58:11,139
this tough, brawny,
victorious, fighting, muscle Jew
1017
00:58:11,226 --> 00:58:12,706
that now represented
1018
00:58:12,793 --> 00:58:16,884
the kind of triumph
of a Zionistic narrative.
1019
00:58:18,973 --> 00:58:23,325
The first time that I was asked
to direct "Fiddler on the Roof,"
1020
00:58:23,412 --> 00:58:27,634
I mean, the first-- that moment,
I remember it quite clearly.
1021
00:58:27,721 --> 00:58:32,073
Uh, I was standing
in the office of Arthur Krim,
1022
00:58:32,160 --> 00:58:34,380
president of United Artists.
1023
00:58:34,467 --> 00:58:36,513
I said,
"There'’s one enormous problem
1024
00:58:36,600 --> 00:58:38,340
of me directing the film.
1025
00:58:38,427 --> 00:58:41,213
What would you say
if I told you I was a goy?"
1026
00:58:44,172 --> 00:58:48,046
And there was
absolute silence in the room.
1027
00:58:49,177 --> 00:58:52,006
Jewison, J-E-W-I-S-O-N,
1028
00:58:52,093 --> 00:58:54,618
Norman Jewison is a goy?
1029
00:58:54,705 --> 00:58:56,358
Start mark three.
1030
00:58:56,445 --> 00:58:58,796
♪ What have we here? ♪
1031
00:58:58,883 --> 00:59:00,885
♪ Nothing much ♪ Okay.
1032
00:59:00,972 --> 00:59:02,887
But Arthur Krim
was a brilliant man,
1033
00:59:02,974 --> 00:59:05,629
recovered almost immediately,
and he said,
1034
00:59:05,716 --> 00:59:09,023
"Why do you think we would
ask you to make this film?"
1035
00:59:10,459 --> 00:59:12,505
There was
tremendous pressure on me
1036
00:59:12,592 --> 00:59:15,639
to choose Zero Mostel
to play the role,
1037
00:59:15,726 --> 00:59:17,641
because he had created it
on Broadway.
1038
00:59:17,728 --> 00:59:20,426
I wanted to cast
a first-generation
1039
00:59:20,513 --> 00:59:22,689
Russian Jew to play Tevye.
1040
00:59:22,776 --> 00:59:24,604
Oh! I'’ve gotta
tell you something marvelous.
1041
00:59:24,691 --> 00:59:27,041
There'’s a song
in "Fiddler on the Roof"
1042
00:59:27,128 --> 00:59:29,740
called "L'’Chaim," and it'’s
a song which means "to life."
1043
00:59:29,827 --> 00:59:32,481
And when Topol first arrived,
I was startled to find out
1044
00:59:32,569 --> 00:59:34,701
that he didn'’t know any
of the English lyrics at all,
1045
00:59:34,788 --> 00:59:36,268
because he does
the whole show in Hebrew.
1046
00:59:36,355 --> 00:59:37,356
-You ready, Topol?
-Yeah!
1047
00:59:37,443 --> 00:59:39,793
Oy! Yes!
1048
00:59:44,885 --> 00:59:46,017
Hey!
1049
00:59:55,504 --> 00:59:57,898
Chaim Topol
was an Israeli actor
1050
00:59:57,985 --> 00:59:59,900
who was appearing
in the play in London,
1051
00:59:59,987 --> 01:00:01,075
and, the moment I saw him,
1052
01:00:01,162 --> 01:00:03,730
I realized that he was closer
1053
01:00:03,817 --> 01:00:05,863
to the reality of the character.
1054
01:00:05,950 --> 01:00:09,083
Paul Michael Glaser
played Perchik in the film,
1055
01:00:09,170 --> 01:00:11,869
and he saw how Topol brought
1056
01:00:11,956 --> 01:00:14,349
a different perspective
to the role of Tevye.
1057
01:00:14,436 --> 01:00:16,874
Topol played it
from an Israeli point of view.
1058
01:00:16,961 --> 01:00:19,224
Any of the others
that have played the role
1059
01:00:19,311 --> 01:00:22,053
in the more Eastern European
Jewish tradition,
1060
01:00:22,140 --> 01:00:24,882
they'’d go, "Why?"
1061
01:00:26,100 --> 01:00:30,583
And the Israeli
would go, "Why?"
1062
01:00:30,670 --> 01:00:32,933
He'’d demand an answer.
1063
01:00:34,239 --> 01:00:36,154
Get off my land.
1064
01:00:37,285 --> 01:00:41,594
This is still my home, my land.
1065
01:00:42,682 --> 01:00:44,728
Get off my land.
1066
01:00:44,815 --> 01:00:48,296
Topol had power,
and he had sexuality,
1067
01:00:48,383 --> 01:00:50,864
and let me tell you something.
That works in the film,
1068
01:00:50,951 --> 01:00:53,824
because you gotta believe
that Tevye and Golde
1069
01:00:53,911 --> 01:00:56,827
get together a lot
to have all those children.
1070
01:00:56,914 --> 01:00:59,786
That chemistry,
that translated on-screen.
1071
01:00:59,873 --> 01:01:03,050
That was exciting.
There was a sexual chemistry
1072
01:01:03,137 --> 01:01:06,358
and a kind of-- a masculinity.
1073
01:01:06,445 --> 01:01:09,317
♪ I wouldn'’t have to work hard ♪
1074
01:01:09,404 --> 01:01:11,972
♪ Yaba diba diba diba
Diba dib-- ♪
1075
01:01:12,059 --> 01:01:14,148
- Shall I tell you?
- Yes.
1076
01:01:14,235 --> 01:01:16,890
-I'’m afraid to tell you.
-No! Please tell me!
1077
01:01:16,977 --> 01:01:21,112
I had a terrible pain
1078
01:01:21,199 --> 01:01:24,376
in my-- in my tooth.
1079
01:01:26,334 --> 01:01:28,685
I'’m not joking now.
1080
01:01:28,772 --> 01:01:34,603
The three days
that we shot the song,
1081
01:01:34,691 --> 01:01:39,478
I was in terrible,
terrible pains.
1082
01:01:39,565 --> 01:01:41,567
♪ Oh, what a happy mood
She'’s in ♪
1083
01:01:41,654 --> 01:01:46,224
The dentist didn'’t
have an injection to numb it.
1084
01:01:50,054 --> 01:01:53,100
And I was s-screaming, "Waahh!"
1085
01:01:53,187 --> 01:01:55,450
♪ Whee-da-ha! Whee-da-ha! ♪
1086
01:01:57,061 --> 01:01:58,366
Okay?
1087
01:01:59,628 --> 01:02:00,499
Keep it clear
on the street.
1088
01:02:00,586 --> 01:02:01,761
27, take 1
1089
01:02:02,893 --> 01:02:03,981
Action.
1090
01:02:04,068 --> 01:02:05,983
♪ Anatevka ♪
1091
01:02:06,070 --> 01:02:11,292
♪ Intimate
Obstinate Anatevka... ♪
1092
01:02:11,379 --> 01:02:13,164
I found it was quite possible
1093
01:02:13,251 --> 01:02:16,341
for me to identify with Tevye.
I identify, I think,
1094
01:02:16,428 --> 01:02:18,386
with certain aspects
of the Jewish religion.
1095
01:02:18,473 --> 01:02:20,432
I find it
a very personal religion.
1096
01:02:22,956 --> 01:02:25,829
I think that he knows
about Judaism today
1097
01:02:25,916 --> 01:02:28,788
more than I do.
We have a joke about it
1098
01:02:28,875 --> 01:02:31,095
that he'’s going
to convert into Judaism
1099
01:02:31,182 --> 01:02:34,446
and call him-- and change
his name to Norman Christianson.
1100
01:02:37,928 --> 01:02:40,408
I wanted to shoot
the film in Eastern Europe.
1101
01:02:40,495 --> 01:02:42,976
I wanted it to be closer
to Sholem Aleichem,
1102
01:02:43,063 --> 01:02:45,762
be closer
to who the film was about.
1103
01:02:45,849 --> 01:02:47,415
- Roll the camera.
- Hit the fans!
1104
01:02:49,635 --> 01:02:52,464
You'’re standing
on real ground in a real place,
1105
01:02:52,551 --> 01:02:54,771
and there'’s real cows
and chickens,
1106
01:02:54,858 --> 01:02:59,253
and he had to find a way
to ground his movie
1107
01:02:59,340 --> 01:03:01,690
in a sense of physical reality
1108
01:03:01,778 --> 01:03:06,086
that wasn'’t going to be at odds
with its more fanciful aspects.
1109
01:03:06,173 --> 01:03:07,522
Action!
1110
01:03:17,881 --> 01:03:18,751
And he turns and looks,
1111
01:03:18,838 --> 01:03:20,187
and there'’s the fiddler.
1112
01:03:20,274 --> 01:03:21,841
And he says,
"Are you gonna forget me?
1113
01:03:21,928 --> 01:03:24,191
Are you going to leave
your spirit behind?"
1114
01:03:24,278 --> 01:03:27,586
So essentially the fiddler is
the spirit of the Jewish people,
1115
01:03:27,673 --> 01:03:30,676
and so the more you
become involved in the story,
1116
01:03:30,763 --> 01:03:32,547
the-- the more he will mean.
1117
01:03:34,636 --> 01:03:36,943
The film version,
just by virtue of being a film,
1118
01:03:37,030 --> 01:03:40,338
had enormous reach
compared to the Broadway show,
1119
01:03:40,425 --> 01:03:42,340
you know,
gazillions more people.
1120
01:03:42,427 --> 01:03:46,953
In Tokyo, uh,
the film ran for three years,
1121
01:03:47,040 --> 01:03:50,522
and, in Madrid, the film ran
for three or four years,
1122
01:03:50,609 --> 01:03:54,047
in Barcelona, in places
that you wouldn'’t imagine.
1123
01:03:54,134 --> 01:03:57,442
The fact is that the issues
are very universal.
1124
01:04:15,547 --> 01:04:17,418
At first, when I knew
1125
01:04:17,505 --> 01:04:19,203
that we were gonna do "Fiddler,"
1126
01:04:19,290 --> 01:04:22,554
I was like, "We are Thai.
How do we relate to that?"
1127
01:04:22,641 --> 01:04:26,340
But then I learned
that it'’s a family thing,
1128
01:04:26,427 --> 01:04:28,603
it'’s culture,
and it'’s humanity,
1129
01:04:28,690 --> 01:04:30,040
and it'’s like love,
1130
01:04:30,127 --> 01:04:32,825
and every parents
love their children.
1131
01:04:32,912 --> 01:04:35,697
But sometimes when you turn out
1132
01:04:35,784 --> 01:04:38,918
to be the person who they
don'’t expect you to be,
1133
01:04:39,005 --> 01:04:40,746
so they'’re gonna
need some time.
1134
01:04:52,671 --> 01:04:54,803
We have two
kinds of society in Thailand.
1135
01:04:54,891 --> 01:04:56,327
We have our parents.
1136
01:04:56,414 --> 01:04:57,806
They'’re a little bit
conservative,
1137
01:04:57,894 --> 01:04:59,330
and we have
these new generations,
1138
01:04:59,417 --> 01:05:01,288
where technology plays a lot,
1139
01:05:01,375 --> 01:05:05,597
and sometimes those traditions
doesn'’t go together.
1140
01:05:05,684 --> 01:05:08,513
We have a lot of Perchiks.
We have a lot of Chava.
1141
01:05:08,600 --> 01:05:11,559
We have a lot of Tzeitel
in our community,
1142
01:05:11,646 --> 01:05:13,561
even though we'’re not set
in Jewish community, of course.
1143
01:05:21,352 --> 01:05:23,658
♪ Do we love Anatevka? ♪
1144
01:05:23,745 --> 01:05:30,100
Yes!
1145
01:05:30,187 --> 01:05:31,275
Whoo!
1146
01:05:40,545 --> 01:05:42,068
I think the reason why the show
1147
01:05:42,155 --> 01:05:44,941
is responded well to Thai people
1148
01:05:45,028 --> 01:05:47,769
is that they speak to them
the same things
1149
01:05:47,856 --> 01:05:49,510
that they are facing
in their families
1150
01:05:49,597 --> 01:05:52,035
and in their culture
and their society as well,
1151
01:05:52,122 --> 01:05:53,558
and that is really fascinating,
1152
01:05:53,645 --> 01:05:56,343
that a published work
of 58 years old
1153
01:05:56,430 --> 01:05:59,738
is still resonating
and they'’re still speaking
1154
01:05:59,825 --> 01:06:02,828
in the context of what
is still happening today.
1155
01:06:08,660 --> 01:06:10,618
I want to thank you all
for being here,
1156
01:06:10,705 --> 01:06:13,491
all your--
all our friends and family.
1157
01:06:13,578 --> 01:06:17,147
And, you know, Lin,
you'’re not expecting this,
1158
01:06:17,234 --> 01:06:19,279
but I think you can help me
1159
01:06:19,366 --> 01:06:22,021
toast all our friends
and family,
1160
01:06:22,108 --> 01:06:23,588
so please come up and join me.
1161
01:06:23,675 --> 01:06:25,285
I was three months away
1162
01:06:25,372 --> 01:06:27,200
from getting married,
living in L.A.,
1163
01:06:27,287 --> 01:06:31,161
performing in "In The Heights'’"
national tour stop.
1164
01:06:31,248 --> 01:06:33,815
I remember being
on my treadmill, working out.
1165
01:06:33,902 --> 01:06:36,035
You know, we were--
we were just wedding planning.
1166
01:06:36,122 --> 01:06:40,431
And "L'’Chaim" came up
on shuffle on my iPod.
1167
01:06:40,518 --> 01:06:42,041
And I'’m on my treadmill,
1168
01:06:42,128 --> 01:06:43,738
listening to "L'’Chaim,"
like you do.
1169
01:06:43,825 --> 01:06:48,004
And I remember thinking,
"This is like the only
1170
01:06:48,091 --> 01:06:51,659
father-in-law, son-in-law song
in the canon."
1171
01:06:51,746 --> 01:06:53,487
So here'’s to our prosperity!
1172
01:06:55,402 --> 01:06:56,838
To our health and happiness.
1173
01:06:58,014 --> 01:06:59,406
And most importantly...
1174
01:07:00,712 --> 01:07:04,411
♪ To life, to life, l'’chaim ♪
1175
01:07:04,498 --> 01:07:07,197
♪ L'’chaim, l'’chaim, to life ♪
1176
01:07:07,284 --> 01:07:09,764
♪ Here'’s to the father
I tried to be ♪
1177
01:07:09,851 --> 01:07:11,853
♪ Here'’s to my bride to be ♪
1178
01:07:11,940 --> 01:07:13,899
♪ Drink, l'’chaim, to life ♪
1179
01:07:13,986 --> 01:07:16,423
♪ To life, l'’chaim ♪
1180
01:07:16,510 --> 01:07:19,339
♪ L'’chaim, l'’chaim, to life ♪
1181
01:07:19,426 --> 01:07:21,689
♪ Life has a way
Of confusing us ♪
1182
01:07:21,776 --> 01:07:23,648
♪ Blessing and bruising us ♪
1183
01:07:23,735 --> 01:07:26,303
♪ Drink, l'’chaim, to life ♪
1184
01:07:26,390 --> 01:07:28,131
♪ God would like us to be... ♪
1185
01:07:28,218 --> 01:07:30,524
"In my wedding party,
who would I cast?"
1186
01:07:30,611 --> 01:07:35,094
I would cast my father-in-law
as Tevye, myself as the butcher.
1187
01:07:35,181 --> 01:07:37,923
And so, I began casting it
as I'’m running on the treadmill,
1188
01:07:38,010 --> 01:07:39,794
and then, you know,
I got off the treadmill,
1189
01:07:39,881 --> 01:07:42,580
ran upstairs, and emailed
everyone in the wedding party,
1190
01:07:42,667 --> 01:07:44,451
"We gotta do this surprise."
1191
01:07:44,538 --> 01:07:47,454
My favorite comment
that we kept getting on YouTube
1192
01:07:47,541 --> 01:07:51,241
was, "What a wonderful
Jewish couple," you know?
1193
01:07:51,328 --> 01:07:53,982
I'’m Puerto Rican. My wife
is Dominican and Austrian.
1194
01:07:54,070 --> 01:07:55,680
I don'’t think there is maybe
1195
01:07:55,767 --> 01:07:57,769
two Jewish members
of that whole wedding party.
1196
01:07:57,856 --> 01:08:00,685
♪ To us and our good fortune ♪
1197
01:08:00,772 --> 01:08:04,428
♪ Be happy
Be healthy, long life ♪
1198
01:08:04,515 --> 01:08:06,778
♪ And if our good fortune
Never comes ♪
1199
01:08:06,865 --> 01:08:08,345
♪ Here'’s to whatever comes ♪
1200
01:08:08,432 --> 01:08:15,003
♪ Drink, l'’chaim ♪
1201
01:08:15,091 --> 01:08:16,440
♪ To life ♪
1202
01:08:16,527 --> 01:08:17,658
To life!
1203
01:08:19,660 --> 01:08:21,227
What "Fiddler" does so well
1204
01:08:21,314 --> 01:08:24,274
is it captures
those big moments in our lives,
1205
01:08:24,361 --> 01:08:26,189
moments of transition,
1206
01:08:26,276 --> 01:08:28,582
moments of tradition breaking,
tradition renewing.
1207
01:08:31,063 --> 01:08:32,978
Chava marries Natasha.
1208
01:08:33,065 --> 01:08:35,459
The exact same lines
would resonate.
1209
01:08:35,546 --> 01:08:37,156
"A bird may love a fish,
1210
01:08:37,243 --> 01:08:38,897
but where would they
build their home together?"
1211
01:08:38,984 --> 01:08:41,073
"The world is changing, Papa."
1212
01:08:41,160 --> 01:08:43,554
♪ Tradition! ♪
1213
01:08:43,641 --> 01:08:47,035
♪ Marriages must be
Arranged by the Papa ♪
1214
01:08:47,123 --> 01:08:49,386
I thought a lot
about the gay rights movement.
1215
01:08:49,473 --> 01:08:52,432
I thought a lot
about the courage that it takes
1216
01:08:52,519 --> 01:08:57,307
to-- to love
who you love and how...
1217
01:08:57,394 --> 01:08:58,960
prevalent that is today
1218
01:08:59,047 --> 01:09:00,745
and how I can feel that
on a visceral level.
1219
01:09:02,094 --> 01:09:03,574
Tradition!
1220
01:09:06,794 --> 01:09:09,232
Well, children...
1221
01:09:09,319 --> 01:09:11,277
when shall we make the wedding?
1222
01:09:11,364 --> 01:09:14,150
-Oh, thank you, Papa!
-Reb Tevye, you won'’t be sorry!
1223
01:09:14,237 --> 01:09:16,239
I won'’t be sorry.
I'’m sorry already!
1224
01:09:16,326 --> 01:09:19,285
When you are a--
you know, young adult,
1225
01:09:19,372 --> 01:09:21,896
you see yourself
as one of the daughters
1226
01:09:21,983 --> 01:09:25,378
who'’s trying to break out
into the world in your own way.
1227
01:09:25,465 --> 01:09:29,165
As-- As a parent, you see
the show completely differently,
1228
01:09:29,252 --> 01:09:32,298
and, as an old person
who'’s seen it all,
1229
01:09:32,385 --> 01:09:34,474
you see it
with that historical view.
1230
01:10:20,346 --> 01:10:21,913
I think
one of the things
1231
01:10:22,000 --> 01:10:23,567
that'’s unusual
about "Sunrise, Sunset"
1232
01:10:23,654 --> 01:10:25,264
is that it'’s
a parent'’s perspective,
1233
01:10:25,351 --> 01:10:26,787
and it'’s a mature parent'’s
perspective.
1234
01:10:26,874 --> 01:10:28,572
And musicals tend to be written
1235
01:10:28,659 --> 01:10:31,444
more about young people
expressing their feelings,
1236
01:10:31,531 --> 01:10:34,839
and to have that maternal
and paternal concern
1237
01:10:34,926 --> 01:10:36,493
and love for one'’s child
1238
01:10:36,580 --> 01:10:38,669
and this idea of like,
"Where did the time go?"
1239
01:10:38,756 --> 01:10:42,238
♪ Sunrise, sunset ♪
1240
01:10:42,325 --> 01:10:45,632
♪ Sunrise, sunset ♪
1241
01:10:45,719 --> 01:10:51,812
♪ Swiftly flow the days ♪
1242
01:10:51,899 --> 01:10:54,075
♪ Seedlings turn overnight... ♪
1243
01:10:54,162 --> 01:10:56,382
He'’s at that
really delicate juncture
1244
01:10:56,469 --> 01:10:59,472
with his children where
they'’re starting to break away
1245
01:10:59,559 --> 01:11:02,258
and they are starting
to go off into their own lives,
1246
01:11:02,345 --> 01:11:06,131
and, um, he'’s facing
the biggest crunching problems
1247
01:11:06,218 --> 01:11:09,090
of being a parent,
being a husband.
1248
01:11:09,177 --> 01:11:10,744
They'’re really hitting.
1249
01:11:12,398 --> 01:11:17,011
♪ How can I hope
To make you understand ♪
1250
01:11:17,098 --> 01:11:22,365
♪ Why I do what I do? ♪
1251
01:11:22,452 --> 01:11:27,413
♪ Why I must travel
To a distant land ♪
1252
01:11:27,500 --> 01:11:31,765
♪ Far from the home I love? ♪
1253
01:11:31,852 --> 01:11:33,419
He doesn'’t speak.
1254
01:11:33,506 --> 01:11:36,553
She sings the song there,
1255
01:11:36,640 --> 01:11:39,556
and he is her with the song,
1256
01:11:39,643 --> 01:11:44,517
understand every single feeling
that she has,
1257
01:11:44,604 --> 01:11:47,694
a-and he knows that he
won'’t see her anymore.
1258
01:11:47,781 --> 01:11:51,872
♪ Here in the home I love ♪
1259
01:11:51,959 --> 01:11:54,484
And this is, for me...
1260
01:11:56,747 --> 01:12:02,666
For me, this is the most, uh...
1261
01:12:02,753 --> 01:12:07,932
hurting, uh, place
i-in the film
1262
01:12:08,019 --> 01:12:09,455
and in the play.
1263
01:12:09,542 --> 01:12:13,459
♪ ...To every hope but his ♪
1264
01:12:13,546 --> 01:12:19,509
♪ Leaving the home I love ♪
1265
01:12:19,596 --> 01:12:24,514
♪ There where my heart
Has settled long ago ♪
1266
01:12:24,601 --> 01:12:30,911
♪ I must go, I must go ♪
1267
01:12:30,998 --> 01:12:34,785
And to sit there with Hodel
in the station,
1268
01:12:34,872 --> 01:12:40,094
that was probably
the last scene that we shot.
1269
01:12:41,400 --> 01:12:45,317
And it-- it stayed in my head,
1270
01:12:45,404 --> 01:12:50,366
my heart for years, that scene.
1271
01:13:02,421 --> 01:13:04,728
They have nothing
but their tradition.
1272
01:13:04,815 --> 01:13:06,425
They have no--
That'’s the whole story.
1273
01:13:06,512 --> 01:13:07,774
They don'’t have money.
1274
01:13:07,861 --> 01:13:09,341
They don'’t have options,
1275
01:13:09,428 --> 01:13:12,388
and they believe that if
they follow this path
1276
01:13:12,475 --> 01:13:15,739
that-- that God
has prescribed for them,
1277
01:13:15,826 --> 01:13:18,872
that somehow
everyone will be okay.
1278
01:13:18,959 --> 01:13:21,701
And so, it'’s one'’s fear that--
the greatest fear
1279
01:13:21,788 --> 01:13:23,964
is that something will hap--
bad will happen to your child.
1280
01:13:24,051 --> 01:13:27,272
Tevye!
1281
01:13:27,359 --> 01:13:29,100
It is a curse
if your child
1282
01:13:29,187 --> 01:13:32,233
leaves this umbrella of safety
1283
01:13:32,320 --> 01:13:34,410
that your religion
offers that child.
1284
01:13:38,239 --> 01:13:40,154
What is it?
1285
01:13:40,241 --> 01:13:41,373
It'’s Chava.
1286
01:13:42,809 --> 01:13:46,422
She left home
this morning with Fyedka.
1287
01:13:46,509 --> 01:13:47,510
What?
1288
01:13:47,597 --> 01:13:50,251
I looked everywhere for her.
1289
01:13:50,338 --> 01:13:52,776
I even went to the priest.
1290
01:13:56,519 --> 01:13:58,956
He told me they were married.
1291
01:14:03,830 --> 01:14:06,137
-Married?
-Yes.
1292
01:14:06,224 --> 01:14:07,878
When we
wrote "Fiddler,"
1293
01:14:07,965 --> 01:14:10,141
the hardest part to write
1294
01:14:10,228 --> 01:14:14,188
was the part about the daughter
who marries out of the faith.
1295
01:14:14,275 --> 01:14:17,104
I thought Joe Stein
handled that beautifully,
1296
01:14:17,191 --> 01:14:23,415
uh, the fact that Tevye
has to consider her dead.
1297
01:14:23,502 --> 01:14:25,199
Chavaleh!
1298
01:14:25,286 --> 01:14:27,854
Chava is dead to us!
1299
01:14:31,945 --> 01:14:33,469
We'’ll forget her.
1300
01:14:35,209 --> 01:14:36,428
Go home.
1301
01:14:38,299 --> 01:14:39,518
Go home, Golde.
1302
01:14:39,605 --> 01:14:41,302
I think Chava
1303
01:14:41,389 --> 01:14:43,348
doesn'’t even fully understand
what she'’s done.
1304
01:14:43,435 --> 01:14:50,181
She sees her romance
as similar to her sisters.
1305
01:14:50,268 --> 01:14:53,227
Okay, um,
Tzeitel broke the mold,
1306
01:14:53,314 --> 01:14:55,012
and she married this Jewish boy
1307
01:14:55,099 --> 01:14:57,405
who'’s part of the community,
and that'’s okay.
1308
01:14:57,493 --> 01:15:00,496
"And Hodel fell in love
with this Bundist, and she,
1309
01:15:00,583 --> 01:15:02,802
you know, took it a little
further, but he'’s Jewish,
1310
01:15:02,889 --> 01:15:04,978
and I don'’t really see
how this is any different."
1311
01:15:05,065 --> 01:15:08,242
I think it'’s an act
of dreamy romance
1312
01:15:08,329 --> 01:15:11,289
like in all the books
she reads.
1313
01:15:11,376 --> 01:15:15,511
She doesn'’t understand
that the door will close
1314
01:15:15,598 --> 01:15:17,251
and will never be opened again.
1315
01:15:17,338 --> 01:15:19,123
If she married Fyedka,
1316
01:15:19,210 --> 01:15:22,256
she had to be baptized
in the Russian Orthodox Church.
1317
01:15:22,343 --> 01:15:24,215
It'’s over.
1318
01:15:24,302 --> 01:15:26,043
It'’s over. She closed a door
1319
01:15:26,130 --> 01:15:29,525
she didn'’t know locked
from the other side.
1320
01:15:30,787 --> 01:15:34,617
-No, Chava.
-♪ Tradition ♪
1321
01:15:34,704 --> 01:15:36,444
-No.
-Papa!
1322
01:15:36,532 --> 01:15:39,360
-♪ Tradition ♪
-No!
1323
01:15:39,447 --> 01:15:40,448
Papa!
1324
01:15:40,536 --> 01:15:45,584
-No!
-Papa!
1325
01:15:45,671 --> 01:15:46,977
You can kind of
feel the audience
1326
01:15:47,064 --> 01:15:49,501
like, on the edge
of their seat saying,
1327
01:15:49,588 --> 01:15:51,634
"Oh, ca-- but you can.
But you can go that far.
1328
01:15:51,721 --> 01:15:53,331
You can bend a little bit more.
1329
01:15:53,418 --> 01:15:55,463
You can bend
just a small amount."
1330
01:15:55,551 --> 01:15:58,815
Tevye'’s instinct is,
"This is my daughter.
1331
01:15:58,902 --> 01:16:01,295
We'’re-- and Russians
are human beings,
1332
01:16:01,382 --> 01:16:04,777
and Jews are human beings,
and I should accept her."
1333
01:16:04,864 --> 01:16:06,823
But then he has to say,
"No, no, no,"
1334
01:16:06,910 --> 01:16:08,389
and turn his back on her,
1335
01:16:08,476 --> 01:16:14,831
because he is part
of this earthbound world.
1336
01:16:16,136 --> 01:16:17,485
It'’s always been approached
1337
01:16:17,573 --> 01:16:19,879
is how hard it is
to say no your daughter,
1338
01:16:19,966 --> 01:16:21,664
but it'’s more than that.
1339
01:16:21,751 --> 01:16:25,276
It'’s-- It'’s all of his instincts
as a human being.
1340
01:16:25,363 --> 01:16:28,540
He never speaks to God again.
1341
01:16:31,848 --> 01:16:34,241
♪ Little bird ♪
1342
01:16:34,328 --> 01:16:37,201
♪ Little Chavaleh ♪
1343
01:16:37,288 --> 01:16:40,944
♪ I don'’t understand
What'’s happening today ♪
1344
01:16:41,031 --> 01:16:45,296
♪ Everything is all a blur ♪
1345
01:16:45,383 --> 01:16:48,908
♪ All I can see
Is the happy child ♪
1346
01:16:48,995 --> 01:16:50,997
♪ The sweet little bird
You were ♪
1347
01:16:51,084 --> 01:16:54,087
♪ Chavaleh, Chavaleh ♪
1348
01:16:55,959 --> 01:16:58,526
♪ Little bird ♪
1349
01:16:58,614 --> 01:17:00,137
♪ Little Chavaleh ♪
1350
01:17:01,791 --> 01:17:05,533
♪ You were always
Such a pretty little thing ♪
1351
01:17:05,621 --> 01:17:10,016
♪ Everybody'’s favorite child ♪
1352
01:17:10,103 --> 01:17:13,454
♪ Gentle and kind
And affectionate ♪
1353
01:17:13,541 --> 01:17:15,718
♪ What a sweet
Little bird you were ♪
1354
01:17:15,805 --> 01:17:18,895
♪ Chavaleh, Chavaleh ♪
1355
01:17:20,810 --> 01:17:22,072
There'’s something special
1356
01:17:22,159 --> 01:17:24,552
about his relationship
with Chava,
1357
01:17:24,640 --> 01:17:28,078
and, knowing that,
that'’s what hurts the most.
1358
01:17:28,165 --> 01:17:30,384
His-- Because she
was the closest.
1359
01:17:30,471 --> 01:17:33,518
She-- He was so sure
1360
01:17:33,605 --> 01:17:36,347
that that would never happen,
not with her.
1361
01:17:37,696 --> 01:17:39,829
The choices
were always based
1362
01:17:39,916 --> 01:17:43,136
on the love
between Fyedka and Chava.
1363
01:17:43,223 --> 01:17:46,792
And the trouble they
invited on themselves,
1364
01:17:46,879 --> 01:17:53,190
the young couple,
was very brave, and, I mean,
1365
01:17:53,277 --> 01:17:56,193
if you just fast-forward
a bit to the-- the Holocaust,
1366
01:17:56,280 --> 01:17:58,238
you know that it
didn'’t save anybody
1367
01:17:58,325 --> 01:18:00,327
to be married to a gentile.
1368
01:18:00,414 --> 01:18:02,329
That saved no one.
1369
01:18:02,416 --> 01:18:04,941
We came to say goodbye.
1370
01:18:05,028 --> 01:18:07,465
We'’re also leaving this place.
1371
01:18:07,552 --> 01:18:08,901
We'’re going to Krakow.
1372
01:18:11,121 --> 01:18:12,775
Goodbye, Papa...
1373
01:18:15,821 --> 01:18:16,909
Mama.
1374
01:18:20,957 --> 01:18:22,698
Come, Chava.
1375
01:18:22,785 --> 01:18:25,439
Tevye'’s response,
"She'’s dead to us,"
1376
01:18:25,526 --> 01:18:27,920
it will be a burden for life,
1377
01:18:28,007 --> 01:18:30,357
except for that tiny,
little glimmer you see
1378
01:18:30,444 --> 01:18:33,970
as they emigrate
to-- to America
1379
01:18:34,057 --> 01:18:37,974
and-- and Tevye speaks to her
through Tzeitel.
1380
01:18:38,061 --> 01:18:40,019
Goodbye, Chava, Fyedka!
1381
01:18:41,717 --> 01:18:43,457
And God be with you.
1382
01:18:52,553 --> 01:18:54,207
And God be with you!
1383
01:18:54,294 --> 01:18:57,123
We will write to you
in America if you like.
1384
01:18:57,210 --> 01:19:00,126
We will be staying
with Uncle Avram!
1385
01:19:00,213 --> 01:19:01,562
Yes, Mama!
1386
01:19:03,826 --> 01:19:05,523
It'’s not
just that Chava
1387
01:19:05,610 --> 01:19:11,137
is marrying outside the faith,
which is a very American,
1388
01:19:11,224 --> 01:19:13,661
20th-century way
of thinking of it.
1389
01:19:13,749 --> 01:19:18,188
She'’s an apostate
in Sholem Aleichem'’s time.
1390
01:19:18,275 --> 01:19:19,755
She'’s leaving the community.
1391
01:19:19,842 --> 01:19:21,713
She'’s turning her back
on everything.
1392
01:19:21,800 --> 01:19:24,672
It'’s not just a matter of faith,
of what one believes.
1393
01:19:24,760 --> 01:19:28,241
It'’s a whole way of life
that she is exiting from.
1394
01:19:28,328 --> 01:19:31,027
This is the blow to Tevye
that I think is different
1395
01:19:31,114 --> 01:19:33,812
from the anxiety
that Jewish Americans had
1396
01:19:33,899 --> 01:19:37,076
about interfaith
marriages in 1964
1397
01:19:37,163 --> 01:19:39,122
or that still have today.
1398
01:19:39,209 --> 01:19:41,037
We'’ve had
many different reactions
1399
01:19:41,124 --> 01:19:42,865
from different audience members.
1400
01:19:42,952 --> 01:19:47,086
When I said, "Chava is
dead to us," one night,
1401
01:19:47,173 --> 01:19:49,828
som-- we heard a woman
in the audience go, "Yes!"
1402
01:19:49,915 --> 01:19:51,525
and appl-- and clapped.
1403
01:19:53,614 --> 01:19:54,833
♪ To life ♪
1404
01:19:57,575 --> 01:20:00,230
What I loved about this play
is you'’re going to a musical,
1405
01:20:00,317 --> 01:20:02,928
and you'’re getting
a lot more than a musical.
1406
01:20:03,015 --> 01:20:05,365
It'’s a much happier version
of a looming pogrom.
1407
01:20:05,452 --> 01:20:08,978
You know, it'’s a musical,
so the nostalgia is built in.
1408
01:20:09,065 --> 01:20:10,849
It'’s a happy version
of a dark history,
1409
01:20:10,936 --> 01:20:13,983
which is also what drives it,
is it'’s a very fun play,
1410
01:20:14,070 --> 01:20:15,593
but there'’s so many dark ele--
1411
01:20:15,680 --> 01:20:17,377
I mean there'’s a, like,
looming disaster.
1412
01:20:17,464 --> 01:20:20,163
-A pogrom here?
-No. No.
1413
01:20:20,250 --> 01:20:22,078
No, no, no.
1414
01:20:22,165 --> 01:20:25,255
It'’s just a little
unofficial demonstration.
1415
01:20:25,342 --> 01:20:28,606
-How little?
-It'’s not too serious.
1416
01:20:28,693 --> 01:20:33,306
You had to live
under the fear of the pogroms.
1417
01:20:33,393 --> 01:20:35,178
When the guy
comes in and he said,
1418
01:20:35,265 --> 01:20:36,396
"There'’s nothing personal.
1419
01:20:36,483 --> 01:20:37,876
I really like you
very, very much,
1420
01:20:37,963 --> 01:20:40,705
but we have to do
a little bit to show--
1421
01:20:40,792 --> 01:20:43,316
you know, to-- you know,
to kick you a little bit,
1422
01:20:43,403 --> 01:20:45,971
to hit you a little bit,
to make a little problems,"
1423
01:20:46,058 --> 01:20:49,801
it-- there'’s nothing
more horrible than that.
1424
01:20:49,888 --> 01:20:51,759
The first Russian revolution,
1425
01:20:51,847 --> 01:20:54,153
the Russian revolution
of 1905, was a failure.
1426
01:20:54,240 --> 01:20:56,416
It didn'’t overthrow
the czarist regime.
1427
01:20:56,503 --> 01:21:00,507
And the czarist regime looked
for a bloody counterresponse
1428
01:21:00,594 --> 01:21:04,076
to these revolutionaries,
and, as is not surprising,
1429
01:21:04,163 --> 01:21:08,124
they found the Jews as one
of the prime scapegoats,
1430
01:21:08,211 --> 01:21:11,692
and that lead
to an extremely bloody series
1431
01:21:11,779 --> 01:21:14,304
of anti-Jewish events
and anti-Jewish violence.
1432
01:21:16,001 --> 01:21:17,655
The carpet was pulled out
1433
01:21:17,742 --> 01:21:19,352
from underneath all of Judaism
1434
01:21:19,439 --> 01:21:21,441
on the political front,
on the religious front,
1435
01:21:21,528 --> 01:21:23,966
on the very land
on which they lived,
1436
01:21:24,053 --> 01:21:26,403
like being forced to move
and run and shift,
1437
01:21:26,490 --> 01:21:29,797
and then these extraordinarily
violent pogroms all the time.
1438
01:21:29,885 --> 01:21:32,235
People could see
the writing on the wall,
1439
01:21:32,322 --> 01:21:34,237
which doesn'’t happen
often in history.
1440
01:21:34,324 --> 01:21:36,021
Where we talk about
the Holocaust is--
1441
01:21:36,108 --> 01:21:38,937
you know, people just
not seeing what was coming,
1442
01:21:39,024 --> 01:21:40,939
'’cause it'’s
just too unbelievable,
1443
01:21:41,026 --> 01:21:44,943
but some Jews understood
to get on a boat and get out.
1444
01:21:47,511 --> 01:21:48,816
I think,
for Jerry Robbins,
1445
01:21:48,904 --> 01:21:50,688
when he was working
on "Fiddler,"
1446
01:21:50,775 --> 01:21:54,300
an analogy was the Klan during
the civil rights movement...
1447
01:21:57,260 --> 01:22:01,090
and other racist forces
in the South.
1448
01:22:04,789 --> 01:22:07,923
That was the kind of violence
that had, for Jerry Robbins,
1449
01:22:08,010 --> 01:22:12,362
the same kind of racial animus
at its core.
1450
01:22:12,449 --> 01:22:14,581
In the early rehearsals
for "Fiddler,"
1451
01:22:14,668 --> 01:22:17,149
Robbins had actors
1452
01:22:17,236 --> 01:22:22,067
improvising scenes
of African-American exclusion,
1453
01:22:22,154 --> 01:22:24,722
and the parallel
for him was, you know,
1454
01:22:24,809 --> 01:22:29,379
very live
in that moment of 1964.
1455
01:22:43,306 --> 01:22:46,309
The Holocaust looms
over "Fiddler on the Roof."
1456
01:22:46,396 --> 01:22:48,833
You'’re sitting there
in an audience in 1964
1457
01:22:48,920 --> 01:22:53,707
or '’74, '’84, or today,
and you just know that.
1458
01:22:53,794 --> 01:22:55,405
One night,
I was watching the show,
1459
01:22:55,492 --> 01:22:57,929
and there was a couple
sitting opposite me.
1460
01:22:58,016 --> 01:22:59,670
Looking at them, you thought,
1461
01:22:59,757 --> 01:23:01,585
"That couple must have been
in a concentration camp."
1462
01:23:01,672 --> 01:23:04,327
They looked Jewish
and skinny and old,
1463
01:23:04,414 --> 01:23:06,459
and they-- they were
marked with suffering,
1464
01:23:06,546 --> 01:23:09,245
and, during the pogrom,
I worried about them,
1465
01:23:09,332 --> 01:23:11,899
because they both
began to go, "Ahh, ahh."
1466
01:23:11,987 --> 01:23:14,250
They started to breathe heavily,
and they were apparently
1467
01:23:14,337 --> 01:23:17,209
reliving some experience
they-- they lived in Europe,
1468
01:23:17,296 --> 01:23:18,776
and they were reliving it
1469
01:23:18,863 --> 01:23:20,299
through what they
were seeing onstage,
1470
01:23:20,386 --> 01:23:21,561
and that was frightening.
1471
01:23:23,215 --> 01:23:24,738
In moments
of great upheaval,
1472
01:23:24,825 --> 01:23:27,089
"Fiddler" is always
going to seem relevant,
1473
01:23:27,176 --> 01:23:30,135
because the world is changing
faster than we can understand,
1474
01:23:30,222 --> 01:23:32,877
and we look
to our traditions to guide us,
1475
01:23:32,964 --> 01:23:34,618
and sometimes they fail us.
1476
01:23:34,705 --> 01:23:36,533
You know, sometimes
they don'’t prepare us
1477
01:23:36,620 --> 01:23:39,014
for the world that'’s
happening around us, you know?
1478
01:23:39,101 --> 01:23:41,233
In Anatevka, things have
been done the same way
1479
01:23:41,320 --> 01:23:42,626
for thousands of years,
1480
01:23:42,713 --> 01:23:44,236
but what happens
when the outside world
1481
01:23:44,323 --> 01:23:45,672
is saying you can'’t
live here anymore?
1482
01:23:45,759 --> 01:23:47,631
I have an order here!
1483
01:23:47,718 --> 01:23:49,372
It says that you
must sell your homes
1484
01:23:49,459 --> 01:23:51,200
and be out in three days.
1485
01:23:51,287 --> 01:23:53,071
Three days?!
1486
01:23:53,158 --> 01:23:56,074
When I think
about the ending of "Fiddler,"
1487
01:23:56,161 --> 01:23:58,294
there'’s an interesting point
about the circle,
1488
01:23:58,381 --> 01:24:00,209
which is the breaking
of the circle,
1489
01:24:00,296 --> 01:24:02,646
because now
they'’ve become a line.
1490
01:24:02,733 --> 01:24:06,041
After all,
what have we got here?
1491
01:24:07,912 --> 01:24:10,523
♪ A little bit of this ♪
1492
01:24:10,610 --> 01:24:13,178
♪ A little bit of that ♪
1493
01:24:13,265 --> 01:24:15,789
-♪ A pot ♪
-♪ A pan ♪
1494
01:24:15,876 --> 01:24:18,357
-♪ A broom ♪
-♪ A hat ♪
1495
01:24:19,489 --> 01:24:21,099
♪ Someone should have ♪
1496
01:24:21,186 --> 01:24:24,146
♪ Set a match
To this place years ago ♪
1497
01:24:24,233 --> 01:24:26,061
- ♪ A bench ♪
- ♪ A tree ♪
1498
01:24:26,148 --> 01:24:29,194
-♪ So what'’s a stove? ♪
-♪ Or a house? ♪
1499
01:24:29,281 --> 01:24:31,414
People who pass
through Anatevka
1500
01:24:31,501 --> 01:24:34,591
don'’t even know
they'’ve been here.
1501
01:24:34,678 --> 01:24:36,071
A stick of wood.
1502
01:24:37,159 --> 01:24:39,335
A piece of cloth.
1503
01:24:39,422 --> 01:24:41,902
♪ What do we leave? ♪
1504
01:24:41,989 --> 01:24:44,601
♪ Nothing much ♪
1505
01:24:44,688 --> 01:24:47,995
♪ Only Anatevka ♪
1506
01:24:51,173 --> 01:24:56,526
♪ Anatevka, Anatevka ♪
1507
01:24:56,613 --> 01:25:02,532
♪ Underfed
Overworked Anatevka ♪
1508
01:25:02,619 --> 01:25:04,490
♪ Where else could Sabbath... ♪
1509
01:25:04,577 --> 01:25:06,318
Every production
of "Fiddler" I'’ve seen,
1510
01:25:06,405 --> 01:25:10,105
from the first one on,
it'’s tragic that every time
1511
01:25:10,192 --> 01:25:13,369
it has gotten
to the last scene, the exodus,
1512
01:25:13,456 --> 01:25:15,501
there has been
something in the news
1513
01:25:15,588 --> 01:25:17,068
which relates to that.
1514
01:25:18,722 --> 01:25:21,028
A refugee'’s
different than an immigrant.
1515
01:25:21,116 --> 01:25:22,900
A refugee means
you'’ve been forced out.
1516
01:25:22,987 --> 01:25:24,380
You'’ve had to leave.
1517
01:25:24,467 --> 01:25:25,816
You can'’t stay
where your home is,
1518
01:25:25,903 --> 01:25:27,557
even if you wanted to.
1519
01:25:27,644 --> 01:25:29,385
And that'’s what you
experience in "Fiddler."
1520
01:25:29,472 --> 01:25:32,301
Fiddler is
really not just about violence
1521
01:25:32,388 --> 01:25:34,564
that is visited
on a single person,
1522
01:25:34,651 --> 01:25:36,783
but being visited
on an entire culture.
1523
01:25:36,870 --> 01:25:38,698
Really, it'’s about
what we now call
1524
01:25:38,785 --> 01:25:41,223
ethnic cleansing in the end,
1525
01:25:41,310 --> 01:25:45,314
and these forces are still
very much alive in the world.
1526
01:25:45,401 --> 01:25:46,967
Bigotry, oppression,
1527
01:25:47,054 --> 01:25:49,840
sometimes disguised
as mere conservatism.
1528
01:25:49,927 --> 01:25:53,235
It'’s eerily and perhaps
sadly relevant today.
1529
01:25:58,240 --> 01:26:00,024
People can go on
about tradition,
1530
01:26:00,111 --> 01:26:02,200
and I think they all want
to feel the connection of that,
1531
01:26:02,287 --> 01:26:03,984
but the real secret to this show
1532
01:26:04,071 --> 01:26:06,161
is how they come
to cope with loss,
1533
01:26:06,248 --> 01:26:08,467
losing their community,
losing their children,
1534
01:26:08,554 --> 01:26:09,903
and moving forward.
1535
01:26:09,990 --> 01:26:12,297
And art is very powerful
1536
01:26:12,384 --> 01:26:16,127
as it helps us cope
with loss and change.
1537
01:27:07,047 --> 01:27:08,701
We'’re in Anatevka,
1538
01:27:08,788 --> 01:27:11,487
just a little
outside of Kiev in Ukraine.
1539
01:27:19,146 --> 01:27:20,800
This is the old country.
1540
01:27:29,896 --> 01:27:35,728
It'’s-- It'’s like I feel just
transported to back in time,
1541
01:27:35,815 --> 01:27:38,688
and, um--
1542
01:27:38,775 --> 01:27:43,258
It feels so, uh, familiar.
1543
01:28:10,981 --> 01:28:15,464
I had the great joy of playing
"Fiddler on the Roof" music
1544
01:28:15,551 --> 01:28:17,422
in the Shalom Aleichem Museum
1545
01:28:17,509 --> 01:28:20,904
and playing for
the modern Anatevka audience.
1546
01:28:20,991 --> 01:28:24,037
I spent 13 months
on Broadway Anatevka,
1547
01:28:24,124 --> 01:28:27,911
and I enjoyed
going there every day.
1548
01:28:29,869 --> 01:28:31,523
Eight performances a week,
1549
01:28:31,610 --> 01:28:33,830
it'’s Kelly
the audience hears playing
1550
01:28:33,917 --> 01:28:37,181
the gorgeous violin solos
threaded through "Fiddler."
1551
01:28:40,184 --> 01:28:44,275
♪ There would be one
Long staircase just going up ♪
1552
01:28:44,362 --> 01:28:47,583
♪ And one even longer
Coming down ♪
1553
01:28:47,670 --> 01:28:51,761
♪ And one more
Leading nowhere just for show ♪
1554
01:28:51,848 --> 01:28:54,198
We performed
at the Sholem Aleichem Museum,
1555
01:28:54,285 --> 01:28:57,636
uh, for Ukrainian refugees,
displaced peoples...
1556
01:29:03,686 --> 01:29:06,732
...singing the songs
from "Fiddler on the Roof"
1557
01:29:06,819 --> 01:29:08,952
about displaced peoples.
1558
01:29:14,305 --> 01:29:15,654
Throughout this journey
1559
01:29:15,741 --> 01:29:18,657
of arriving to Kiev
and, uh, Anatevka,
1560
01:29:18,744 --> 01:29:20,877
I feel like I'’ve
had the opportunity
1561
01:29:20,964 --> 01:29:24,315
to walk into the "Fiddler" story
in real time, in real life.
1562
01:29:24,402 --> 01:29:27,231
Music is such an--
a universal language
1563
01:29:27,318 --> 01:29:28,711
that it'’s-- it'’s amazing
1564
01:29:28,798 --> 01:29:30,582
that, no matter
where I play this music,
1565
01:29:30,669 --> 01:29:31,931
people connect with it.
1566
01:29:39,199 --> 01:29:40,505
Nice. That was fun!
1567
01:29:43,160 --> 01:29:44,944
Bravo. Bravo.
1568
01:29:46,250 --> 01:29:49,471
I had to-- to help
to the people
1569
01:29:49,558 --> 01:29:53,779
that lost their homes
and every-- lost everything.
1570
01:29:53,866 --> 01:29:55,607
Here'’s a guy
that really understands
1571
01:29:55,694 --> 01:29:57,479
what "Fiddler on the Roof"
is about.
1572
01:29:57,566 --> 01:29:59,219
It'’s about displaced peoples.
1573
01:29:59,306 --> 01:30:01,961
Why not recreate that home
1574
01:30:02,048 --> 01:30:04,964
that so many people were
displaced from and that exists
1575
01:30:05,051 --> 01:30:07,402
in the imaginations
of so many people?
1576
01:30:07,489 --> 01:30:09,752
Anatevka has survived.
1577
01:30:11,275 --> 01:30:17,760
After millions of Jews
were annihilated...
1578
01:30:19,544 --> 01:30:20,676
um...
1579
01:30:22,242 --> 01:30:23,679
what'’s left is a memory...
1580
01:30:25,245 --> 01:30:29,336
and there'’s nothing wrong
with remembering.
1581
01:30:34,341 --> 01:30:37,170
It was mystical
standing there at night,
1582
01:30:37,257 --> 01:30:41,174
and you can feel this commitment
from everyone that was there
1583
01:30:41,261 --> 01:30:45,004
to that world and--
and to that union.
1584
01:30:45,091 --> 01:30:49,444
Mazel tov!
1585
01:31:06,025 --> 01:31:08,550
There'’s so many aspects at play.
1586
01:31:08,637 --> 01:31:09,942
That'’s what makes it rich.
1587
01:31:10,029 --> 01:31:11,553
That'’s why it'’s lasted 50 years,
1588
01:31:11,640 --> 01:31:13,032
because it'’s complex.
1589
01:31:13,119 --> 01:31:14,773
It'’s not a melodrama.
1590
01:31:14,860 --> 01:31:18,995
It'’s complicated, be--
1591
01:31:19,082 --> 01:31:21,214
because it'’s human,
1592
01:31:21,301 --> 01:31:24,783
and it'’s incredible to me
that it'’s a musical.
1593
01:31:24,870 --> 01:31:28,439
♪ To us and our good fortune ♪
1594
01:31:28,526 --> 01:31:31,573
♪ Be happy, be healthy
Long life ♪
1595
01:31:31,660 --> 01:31:33,662
♪ And if our good fortune
Never comes ♪
1596
01:31:33,749 --> 01:31:35,664
♪ Here'’s to whatever comes ♪
1597
01:31:35,751 --> 01:31:38,405
♪ Drink, l'’chaim ♪
1598
01:31:38,493 --> 01:31:40,364
♪ To life... ♪
1599
01:31:40,451 --> 01:31:42,105
And the parents are using
1600
01:31:42,192 --> 01:31:44,716
the opportunity of "Fiddler"
to pass on the history.
1601
01:31:47,502 --> 01:31:49,286
I can'’t
believe I was in it.
1602
01:31:49,373 --> 01:31:51,680
Maybe I bribed my way in
1603
01:31:51,767 --> 01:31:54,596
to getting
on the original cast album.
1604
01:31:56,380 --> 01:31:59,644
On a gut level,
we all are connected to this.
1605
01:31:59,731 --> 01:32:01,472
I don'’t think
there'’s any other show
1606
01:32:01,559 --> 01:32:03,779
that has done that
for more people.
1607
01:32:06,346 --> 01:32:08,218
You listen to it
once or twice,
1608
01:32:08,305 --> 01:32:11,177
and you'’re singing the songs
for the rest of your life,
1609
01:32:11,264 --> 01:32:12,788
whether you like it or not.
1610
01:32:14,137 --> 01:32:16,922
As long
as humankind exists
1611
01:32:17,009 --> 01:32:19,142
and continues to have struggles,
1612
01:32:19,229 --> 01:32:21,623
"Fiddler on the Roof"
will be there.
1613
01:32:21,710 --> 01:32:23,581
♪ To life! ♪
1614
01:32:25,627 --> 01:32:28,325
♪ Who day and night
Must scramble for a living ♪
1615
01:32:28,412 --> 01:32:29,718
♪ Feed the wife and children ♪
1616
01:32:29,805 --> 01:32:31,633
♪ Say his daily prayers? ♪
1617
01:32:31,720 --> 01:32:33,939
♪ And who has the right
As master of the house ♪
1618
01:32:34,026 --> 01:32:37,116
♪ To have the final word
At home? ♪
1619
01:32:37,203 --> 01:32:40,598
♪ The Papa, the Papa ♪
1620
01:32:41,773 --> 01:32:42,644
♪ Tradition ♪
1621
01:32:46,256 --> 01:32:48,824
♪ Who must know the way
To make a proper home ♪
1622
01:32:48,911 --> 01:32:52,001
♪ A quiet home, a kosher home? ♪
1623
01:32:52,088 --> 01:32:54,656
♪ Who must raise the family
And run the home ♪
1624
01:32:54,743 --> 01:32:57,528
♪ So Papa'’s free
To read the holy book? ♪
1625
01:32:58,921 --> 01:33:02,228
♪ The Mama, the Mama ♪
1626
01:33:03,621 --> 01:33:04,666
♪ Tradition ♪
1627
01:33:04,753 --> 01:33:07,756
♪ The Mama, the Mama ♪
1628
01:33:08,887 --> 01:33:10,280
♪ Tradition ♪
1629
01:33:13,022 --> 01:33:15,677
♪ At three
I started Hebrew school ♪
1630
01:33:15,764 --> 01:33:18,462
♪ At ten, I learned a trade ♪
1631
01:33:18,549 --> 01:33:21,204
♪ I hear they'’ve
Picked a bride for me ♪
1632
01:33:21,291 --> 01:33:24,163
♪ I hope she'’s pretty ♪
1633
01:33:24,250 --> 01:33:27,427
♪ The sons, the sons ♪
1634
01:33:28,690 --> 01:33:29,734
♪ Tradition ♪
1635
01:33:29,821 --> 01:33:32,650
♪ The sons, the sons ♪
1636
01:33:34,173 --> 01:33:35,305
♪ Tradition ♪
1637
01:33:38,525 --> 01:33:41,224
♪ And who
Does Mama teach ♪
1638
01:33:41,311 --> 01:33:44,140
♪ To mend and tend and fix ♪
1639
01:33:44,227 --> 01:33:49,972
♪ Preparing me to marry
Whoever Papa picks? ♪
1640
01:33:50,059 --> 01:33:52,757
♪ The daughters, the daughters ♪
1641
01:33:52,844 --> 01:33:54,541
I have five daughters!
1642
01:33:54,629 --> 01:33:55,760
♪ Tradition ♪
1643
01:33:55,847 --> 01:33:58,850
♪ The daughters, the daughters ♪
1644
01:34:00,156 --> 01:34:02,288
♪ Tradition ♪
1645
01:34:13,517 --> 01:34:15,911
-♪ The Papa ♪
-♪ The Mama ♪
1646
01:34:15,998 --> 01:34:17,695
-♪ The sons ♪
-♪ The daughters ♪
1647
01:34:17,782 --> 01:34:19,479
♪ Tradition ♪
1648
01:34:19,566 --> 01:34:22,134
-♪ The daughters ♪
-♪ The sons ♪
1649
01:34:23,266 --> 01:34:24,180
♪ Tradition ♪
1650
01:36:39,445 --> 01:36:40,969
- Wonderful.
- Beauty.
1651
01:36:41,056 --> 01:36:42,535
Wonderful.
1652
01:36:43,305 --> 01:37:43,359
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