Other songs from "Fiddler on the Roof"

At rehearsal this week, the song "Dear, Sweet Sewing Machine" came up in conversation.  This song was originally written for the character of Motel to sing, an ode to his sewing machine.  The song didn't make it into the version of "Fiddler" that opened on Broadway in 1964.  But, some lucky audiences in Detroit, Michigan did get to see it, before it was cut from the show.

Cast member Caitlin and our fearless stage manager and producer Mandy did some research and found some clips of this song, posted below.


Mandy also found a link to a story about songs that didn't make it to the final version.  Here is the link to the story, have a listen if you like!  Enjoy the song "A Butcher's Soul," Lazar's big number, which eventually was replaced by "To Life."

Another song, "When Messiah Comes," a song that Tevye was supposed to sing.  This performance is by Adam Heller, who played Tevye at the Goodspeed Opera House earlier this year.  At the end of the video, Sheldon Harnick, lyricist for "Fiddler on the Roof," talks about the song and why it didn't make the final version.


It's hard to think of "Fiddler" without the song "Tradition."  But, there was another song that originally opened the show, called "We Haven't Missed a Sabbath Yet."  Here is a link to hear that tune.  You can hear melodic material that was used in "Tradition."  It also gives you a sense of the manic, excited, brisk energy, leading up to sundown on Friday.

Ghost Stories

This week is Halloween, so I thought I'd post about ghosts in the Jewish faith.

And the one I kept coming across is the Dybbuk.  The Dybbuk is a malicious possessing spirit, believed to be the dislocated soul of a dead person, which leaves the host body after accomplishing its goal.

Writer S. Ansky wrote a play called The Dybbuk.  The story follows a young woman named Leah'le, who wants to marry a man named Hannan.  Leah'le's father objects to the marriage, as he wants her to marry a rich man (sound familiar, anyone?).  Anyway, Hannan dies, and on her wedding day, Leah'le is possessed by his spirit, by the Dybbuk.

This story has been adapted into movies, operas, and even a ballet, composed by Leonard Bernstein and created by one Jerome Robbins, director of the original production of Fiddler.

It's pretty creepy stuff.  I'm including a clip below.  Many, many clips are available on YouTube, including the whole film, if you really want to creep yourself out.

But, to end on a lighter note, there is also another spirit called the ibbur.  This is a positive possession, when a righteous soul temporarily possesses a body.  This is done so that the soul can perform a mitzvah.

Happy Halloween!

Fruma Sarah and her scary little creatures

Last weekend, Carol asked what the vocal ensemble was to do or to be during Fruma Sarah's section of "The Dream."  I said to think about those creepy little creatures that Ursula has in "The Little Mermaid."  So, here they are!  Creepy little critters!

If you got some free time...

On this lovely holiday weekend, if you have a little free time and are looking for something to watch, here are a few "Fiddler" related ideas.  Because I hear "Gone Girl" is selling out like crazy at the Avalon Mall.  Plus it's raining outside.  So why not catch up on your Sholem Aleichem?

"Sholem Aleichem: Laughing in the Darkness" - this is a portrait of the writer whose work provided a basis for "Fiddler on the Roof."  Lots of great information about the culture of the shtetl, lots of great photos, and tons to learn about this writer.  Great background information, if you're interested.

"Broadway Musicals: A Jewish Legacy" - this documentary aired on PBS last year, I believe, and it replays from time to time.  It discusses the Jewish influence on the Broadway musical, beginning with Yiddish Theatre in New York.  Not directly related to our show, but really interesting background.  It discusses melodies in Broadway songs inspired by Jewish prayers ("It Ain't Necessarily So" from "Porgy and Bess" is a direct quote from prayer).  Might be able to find some clips on youtube, or check out if it's replaying!

"Great Performances: The Thomashefskys" - Boris and Bessie Thomashefsky were two of the biggest names in early Yiddish Theatre in New York.  You can see the Yiddish Theatre recreated by a cast of Broadway Stars in this show from PBS.  And the whole thing is available to watch from the PBS website, at this link.  Again, not directly related, but cool stuff.

And, of course, there is the film version of "Fiddler on the Roof," also available on Netflix.  Not to watch because we want to recreate it: we're interested in building our "Fiddler," for our time, in our community.  But, it's a fantastic movie!

Yente's Trip to Corner Brook

This weekend, our very own Yente is in Corner Brook at a wedding.  At a wedding for which she made the match?  Maybe so!  But along the way, Yente kept me updated on her trip across the island via text message.  Here are some of her messages from along the way.

8:22 AM: Yente's on her way to Corner Brook! I will send you Yente like sayings from the road.

10:28 AM: TIMOTHY. I have found the perfect match for you.  Her name is Rhonda, she works at the gas station in Come by Chance. Wonderful girl.

10:36 AM: What do we leave? Nothing much. Only Grand Falls-Winsor.
Grand Falls-Winsor, Grand Falls-Winsor.
Underfed, overworked Grand Falls-Winsor.
Where else could Jiggs Dinner be so sweet?

11:42 AM: Hodel, oh Hodel, have I made a match for you!
He's handsome, he's young!
All right, he's from Baccalieu
But he's a nice man, a good catch, true?
True.

The Wedding

As we look at beginning to stage the Wedding, I wanted to post a few things about the marital customs in Orthodox and Hasidic communities.

So of course, I turned to Oprah.  Well, not directly.  But I ended up watching a bit of Oprah.

She did a sequence on Hasidic culture, and it's pretty interesting.  If you have a few minutes, give it a watch.  It talks about the marital culture of Orthodox Jews, and it's interesting stuff.

This is a much longer video, but includes a lot of information about Hasidic culture as it exists today.  Obviously our show doesn't take place in Brooklyn, but a lot of the rituals and tradition are similar or the same.


But, definitely check out at around the 21 minute mark, they discuss weddings, and show some clips from a Hasidic wedding, including a separation between men and women.  Pretty interesting stuff, check it out!

The Shtetl

The setting for our musical, "our little village of Anatevka," is a shtetl.  A shtetl is a small town with a large Jewish population.  The book I've been bringing to rehearsal is called Life is With People: The Culture of the Shtetl.  This is the book that the creators of Fiddler used as a reference while they were creating the musical, and it is filled with information about the culture we are trying to present on stage.  Here are a few quotes that I especially like, regarding the shtetl life.

"The shtetl of the teeming market place, the unpaved streets, the shabby wooden buildings.  In summer the dust piles in thick layers which the rain changes to mid so deep that wagon wheels stick fast and must be pried loose by the sweating driver, with the assistance of helpful bystanders."

"The houses of the rich are in the center of the town, around the market place.  A few buildings may have two stories, the others will be shabby, unadorned, one-story structures, some with a yard and perhaps a small vegetable garden surrounded by a fence, often broken down."

"The crowds in the market place are predominantly women--those who come to buy and those who to sell.  All are dressed in their weekday clothes, drab mended dresses, a shawl over the shoulders, and each one carries a basket on her arm."

"There is beyond this surface dealing, however, an underlying sense of difference and danger.  Secretly each feels superior to the other, the Jew in intellect and spirit, the 'goy' in physical force--his own and that of his group.  By the same token each feels at a disadvantage opposite the other, the peasant uneasy at the intellectuality he attributes to the Jew, the Jew oppressed by the physical power he attributes to the goy."

"A long history of exile and eviction strengthens the tendency to regard the dwelling place as a husk."

"'My shtetl' is the people who live in it, not the place of the buildings or the street. 'My home' is the family and the family activities, not the walls or the yard or the broken-down fence."

"The Rumor"

Carol mentioned tonight that the Original Cast Recording includes "The Rumor," and this may be a good tool in getting those tricky rhythms down.  The video is posted below, feel free to give it a listen or two or three, to start to get the feel for the song.  I am also posting a few pictures from the original cast of "Fiddler," featuring Zero Mostel as Tevye, Bea Arthur as Yente, and Austin Pendleton as Motel.

Also, let me know if you'd like the CD to put RehearScore on your computer.  It's a great tool for practicing at home!

Here's the video:

Tradition

A quick note from the choreography guide, sent along with the scripts and scores from the licensing house about the opening number of the show.

About the number "Tradition," the guide reads "to introduce the people of the village and their relationships to one another; the role of the Papas to the Mamas, daughters, sons; the role of the Mamas to the Papas, sons & daughters, etc., and the relations of the entire Jewish community to the Russians.  It should be noted that the Jews, when not introducing their individual roles, are almost always involved in circles, to show the strength of their ties."

The picture below shows some of the sketches included in the guide.  We're not doing these exactly, but it gives you an idea of the shapes from the original production.

Sholem-Aleichem

I couldn't sleep last night.  First week of school and all.  So around 3ish in the morning, my lovely wife awoke to find me reading a book with the light on.  She didn't really appreciate the light so much, but I was loving what I was reading.  So, really, I had no choice!

I was looking at a book about Fiddler, the opening section of which is dedicated to the life of Sholem Aleichem.  Sholem Aleichem wrote the stories upon which our musical is based.  He was a writer from Ukraine,whose folksy tales of the towns and villages in Eastern Europe and the Jewish people who inhabited them, were and are still beloved by people around the world.  He wrote a series of stories about Tevye, a Dairyman, who of course became the lead character of Fiddler on the Roof.  In the book, however, Tevye had seven daughters.  In our play, we have just five.  The stories are great - written as monologues, delivered by Tevye to Sholem Aliechem, as if they're friends catching up.

As you'll come to learn (if you don't know already) I really like pictures when working on a show.  I posted some pictures of the Shtetl in the last post.  Here are a few pictures of Sholem Aleichem.  Check them out below.  And I'm also posting a scan of one of the stories of the author in the company DropBox.  The scan quality isn't great, but it gives you a sense of Sholem Aleichem's voice, which I think is captured in the play.  Enjoy!

"When the heart is full it runs out of the eyes," - Sholem Aleichem

"Gossip is nature's telephone," - Sholem Aleichem

"When have you ever heard of a cantor or any artist turning anyone down when he is strongly urged to perform" - Sholem Aleichem

Welcome!

Welcome to the production blog for the 2014 QVRRDF production of Fiddler on the Roof.  We'll use the blog to post research, comments, any information we discover about our little village of Anatevka, and the culture we'll all be exploring over the next several months.  Feel free to send me any material or ideas for the blog, and we'll keep it updated over the course of our production.  And please check back often, as we'll try to regularly add content.

Thank you for being a part of this production!