DIVING DEEPER | Fiddler: From Shtetl to Stage

The history of Fiddler on the Roof traces back 105 years, originating with the birth of Sholem Rabinovich. In 1883, Rabinovich held the position of a "crown rabbi" and wrote humorous accounts of local politics under the pen name Sholem Aleichem, which means "peace be with you." Aleichem became a leading Yiddish author and playwright. One of his notable characters, Tevye, emerged from a collection of short stories titled "Tevye's Daughters" or "Tevye the Dairyman." These tales depict life in Tsarist Russia, where Tevye navigates decisions for both himself and his daughters, often straying from the teachings of his past.

Sholem Aleichem’s stories are set during a time of political unrest in Russia, from 1884 to 1917. The assassination of Tsar Alexander II led to repression of many peoples under his son, Alexander III. Alexander III’s son Nicholas II refused political change, censored the press, and persecuted Jews. Pogroms, an organized massacre of helpless people, (often encouraged by local government and police), spread throughout the Russian empire between 1881-1884.

Pogrom - a planned, violent mob attack which results in the killing of large numbers of people and of destruction of property, including religious buildings, usually done for reasons of race or religion. Attacks against Jews at other times and places also became known as pogroms. The word is now also sometimes used to describe attacks against non-Jewish ethnic or religious groups. The “unofficial demonstration” that takes place at Tzeitel and Motels’ wedding is a pogrom.

In 1905, protests erupted over land reform and factory conditions in eastern europe. These protests led to the Bloody Sunday massacre, where hundreds of unarmed workers were killed. Russian rightists authored the “Protocols of the Elders of Zion,” a major anti-Semitic false publication, which caused the Tsar to focus more blame on the Jews.

Tsar Nicholas reluctantly signed the October Manifesto a document granting civil rights to Russian citizens, but the Tsar blamed Jews for unrest. He was quoted as saying that he felt, "sick with shame at this betrayal of the dynasty." This attitude of anti-Semitism, depicted in Tevye's stories, was prevalent in Russia and a majority of Europe for many years. This social prejudice led to the relocation of over two million Jews. The Russian Revolution of 1905 and all of its surrounding circumstances has been pivotal to the story created in Fiddler on the Roof.

Life in a Schtetl

At times, Jews were forbidden to live in agricultural communities or specific cities. They were forced to relocate to small provincial towns, which led to the emergence of shtetls, meaning "little towns" in Yiddish. Jewish life in the shtetls was hard and poverty-stricken.

Built upon the Jewish religious practice of tzedakah (charity), a sophisticated framework of Jewish social welfare emerged to address the community's needs. The Rebbe once explained that "charity" inadequately translates to the Hebrew term tzedakah. The literal meaning of tzedakah is "righteousness." It's simply the right and just thing to do.

Learning and education were the ultimate measures of worth in the eyes of this community, while money was secondary to status. Even the poorer classes in the shtetl tended to work in jobs that required the use of skills, such as shoe-making or tailoring of clothes. The shtetl had a consistent work ethic which valued hard work and frowned upon laziness.

The Perfect Story

In 1961, writers Joseph Stein (book), Jerry Bock (music), and Sheldon Harnick (lyrics) set out to transform three stories from Sholem Aleichem’s Tevye’s Daughters into a Broadway musical. Bock and Harnick, still riding the success of their Pulitzer Prize-winning musical Fiorello!, teamed up once again with producer Harold Prince, who joined them in bringing this adaptation to life.

Joseph Stein

Jerry Bock

Sheldon Harnick

Harnick and Bock’s partnership spanned 12 musicals and plays, earning numerous awards and nominations along the way. Their contributions to theater were honored with induction into the Theatre Hall of Fame.

Joseph Stein wrote for radio and television prior to his Broadway debut. He later adapted Fiddler into the screenplay for the acclaimed film version.

The Perfect Title

The title for Fiddler on the Roof was inspired by a painting called “The Fiddler” by Russian Jewish painter Marc Chagall. The fiddler is a metaphor for survival in an uncertain world through the upholding of tradition and joyous living. The original Broadway sets for Fiddler on the Roof, designed by Boris Aronson, were also based on Chagall’s work.

“The word ‘fiddler’ connected the show with music” – Sheldon Harnick, Lyricist

Enduring Legacy

The original Broadway production, which debuted in 1964, made history as the first musical to surpass 3,000 performances. It was both a critical and commercial triumph, earning nine Tony Awards, including Best Musical, Best Score, Best Book, Best Direction, and Best Choreography. The show’s success led to five Broadway revivals, a highly acclaimed 1971 film adaptation, and lasting international popularity. It remains a beloved favorite for school and community productions worldwide.

Thanksgiving Play | Meet the Dramaturgy w/ Courtney Mohler

Please join VSC Marketing Associate Connor Norton as he welcomes and introduces VSC to Dr. Courtney Mohler the Dramaturg/Cultural Consultant on VSC’s The Thanksgiving Play.

Contextualizing The Thanksgiving Play in the American Theatre

In 1931, playwright Lynn Riggs (Cherokee) was the first Native American playwright to have a full-length play produced on Broadway.  Lovingly dramatizing characters from his youth in Indian Territory at the turn of the century, Green Grow the Lilacs had a modest run of 64 performances.  Some years later Rodgers and Hammerstein adapted Riggs’ script into what would become the musical sensation Oklahoma!  In addition to replacing the Indian Territory folk songs with flashy Broadway musical numbers, Rodgers and Hammerstein omitted Riggs’ references to Native identity, traditions, and cultural concerns.  

As of 2022, Broadway has yet to mount a full production of another play by a Native American identified playwright.  However, as a testament to a more inclusive view of American storytelling and to Sicangu Lakota playwright Larissa FastHorse’s talent and tenacity, FastHorse became the first Native American playwright to receive the MacArthur Genius Award in 2020.  The Thanksgiving Play was among the top ten most produced in the 2019-2020 season, and continues to entertain audiences across the nation as theatres re-open their doors for the 2021-2022 season.

Despite what may appear to be sudden success, FastHorse has been writing plays for well over a decade. FastHorse considers her activism to be inseparable from her work in the theatre, and sees her plays as an opportunity to connect Native and non-Native communities.  Her work frequently features one or more Native American characters, and always seeks to explore issues and concerns that are central to Indigenous people.  Unfortunately, this has meant that many of FastHorse’s works have been deemed “unproducible,” because mainstream theatre companies assume it is impossible to find Native actors to cast.

Frustrated but determined, FastHorse decided to write a play that would call for four white-presenting actors, thereby erasing the perceived obstacle around casting. Responsible to her own activist agenda, FastHorse also set out to write this very funny, very producible play in a way that would reflect her dedication to illuminating present-day concerns for Native Americans.  This includes the national attachment non-Indigenous peoples have toward the ideas of Thanksgiving, “discovery,” and early European “contact” in the Americas. As a playwright, FastHorse also harnessed her own experience working in a field dominated by well-meaning white allies and the decades of obstacles she and other Indigenous artists face to make a seat at the table of theatrical representation.  

The Thanksgiving Play draws a parallel between the white privilege of not seeing settler colonialism as active and pervasive and the white ownership over cultural institutions including the American theatre. At the core of this play are the questions: Who gets to tell whose stories? Who benefits from telling the Thanksgiving myth as a peaceful celebration of two neutral cultures celebrating friendship together? What are the limits of white allyship and well-meaning “diversity” centered work?  And when does the artistic impulse to make something “meaningful” brush up against institutional expectations to “do the right thing,” or “to not offend anyone”?  Is it the job of (white) American theatre to “make space” for culturally diverse stories? And if these stories can’t be done “authentically,” is the right approach to do abandon those efforts all together?  Who benefits from passive white allyship?  And more importantly, if we are complicit in advancing white-centered stories at the expense of BIPOC ones, how do we change that?  

-Courtney Elkin Mohler, Ph.D (Santa Barbara Chumash)