Surprising revelations and praise from famous fans add to the appeal of this documentary about the world-conquering Broadway musical Fiddler on the Roof
Director Max Lewkowicz’s richly detailed documentary celebrates the illustrious Broadway show Fiddler on the Roof, the evergreen shtetl-set musical first staged in 1964 with choreography and direction by Jerome Robbins and starring Zero Mostel as Teyve, the milkman.
Contributions from a range of interviewees – including people attached to the original production, such as producer Hal Prince and lyricist Sheldon Harnick, and famous fans of the show, including Fran Lebowitz and Hamilton creator Lin-Manuel Miranda – help to structure the history lesson about how Fiddler became a massive international hit. That account is filled out with footage of recent productions from around the world, including one in Japanese and one by some African
American high-school kids in Brooklyn, as well as the 1971 film version, starring Chaim Topol and directed by Norman Jewison. Among the many tasty trivia titbits on offer here is the fact that Jewison, despite the name, is not in fact Jewish. Who knew?