Jerome Robbins: "Fiddler on the Roof"

Zero Mostel didn't want to work with Jerome Robbins, a terrible person, on "Fiddler on the Roof." (Robbins had named names to HUAC; Mostel had not.)

Actually, though Robbins was a legendary monster, Zero Mostel was an unpleasant person, as well, in his own special way. Mostel became agitated when "Fiddler on the Roof" drew attention for anything other than Mostel's performance. Mostel also had an irritating habit of ad libbing for several minutes whenever possible--broad humor that clashed with the rest of the show. (This lost Mostel the chance to appear in the "Fiddler" movie.)

Jerome Robbins could never make up his mind, regularly motivated people through abuse, and did not give breaks. He terrorized Bea Arthur (Yente) until she burst into tears; she has indicated that he was one of the worst human beings she has ever known.

Despite all that, "Fiddler" happened. Robbins--the director--really sort of wrote the show. He pushed Bock and Harnick to move beyond the idea of a small character-driven story. It's Robbins who had the idea to open with a song called "Tradition," to signal that this show would be about social change. (Robbins also saved "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum" by replacing "Love Is in the Air" with "Comedy Tonight." Stephen Sondheim is sort of responsible for "Fiddler," as he is responsible for so much in the world, because he heard Bock/Harnick tinkering with an early version of the score, and he went to Robbins and said, "There's this idea for a show you should check out....")

Robbins invented the bottle dance. Robbins had the idea of staging Tevye's big number next to a milk pail; at the end of Tevye's plea to God, Tevye would accidentally plunge his hand into the milk, and this would be yet another comical small disaster Tevye would need to contend with.

For a long while, Motel and Perchik basically sang the same number--"Now I Have Everything," and a variation on that tune. The actor playing Perchik said, "This doesn't really work. And, you know, Motel is so religious. Shouldn't Motel have a tune that really emphasizes his religious scholarship?" It's this thought that led to the (late) creation of "Wonder of Wonders." When people heard Austin Pendleton performing this number in rehearsals, they were irritated: "You have the best song in the show."

Bette Midler made an immediate, emphatic mark as Tzeitel. Maria Karnilova won a Tony Award as Golde, and she stuck around much longer than many of her cast-mates. (Mostel was out the door pretty quickly, after he demanded a vehicle and private driver during renegotiations; Harold Prince had already been looking for a reason to let him go, and this was therefore a small gift.)

Chaim Topol--the anti-Zero--became Tevye when he was still quite young, really only thirty or thereabouts, and his grasp on English was tenuous. He enjoyed playing older men. Though "Fiddler," in its film form, has a reputation for being the greatest Broadway musical adaptation ever made, it actually didn't do as well at the Oscars as the earlier "West Side Story." (Like "Hannah and Her Sisters," "West Side" pulled off Best Support/Best Support Oscar wins, for Chakiris and Moreno.)

My source for all this is "Tradition," Isenberg, and you know I could go on and on forever. Essential reading!

How to Host a Baby

-You have assumed responsibility for a mewling, puking ball of life, a yellow-lab pup. He will spit his half-digested kibble all over your shoes, all over your hard-cover edition of Jennifer Haigh's novel Faith . He will eat your tables, your chairs, your "I {Heart] Montessori" magnet, placed too low on the fridge. When you try to watch Bette Davis in Hush Hush Sweet Charlotte , on your TV, your dog will bark through the murder-prologue, for no apparent reason. He will whimper through Lena Dunham's Girls , such that you have to rewind several times to catch every nuance of Andrew Rannells's ad-libbing--and, still, you'll have a nagging suspicion you've missed something. Your dog will poop on the kitchen floor, in the hallway, between the tiny bars of his crate. He'll announce his wakefulness at 5 AM, 2 AM, or while you and another human are mid-coitus. All this, and you get outside, and it's: "Don't let him pee on my tulips!" When...

Joshie

When I was growing up, a class birthday involved Hostess cupcakes. Often, the cupcakes would come in a shoebox, so you could taste a leathery residue (during the party). Times change. You can't bring a treat into a public school, in 2024, because heaven knows what kind of allergies might lurk, in unseen corners, in the classroom. But Joshua's teacher will allow: a dance party, a pajama day, or a guest reader. I chose to bring a story for Joshua's birthday (observed), but I didn't think through the role that anxiety might play in this interaction. We talk, in this house, quite a bit about anxiety; one game-changer, for J, has been a daily list of activities, so that he knows exactly what to expect. He gets a look of profound satisfaction when he sees the agenda; it doesn't really matter what the specific events happen to be. It's just about knowing, "I can anticipate X, Y, and Z." Joshua struggled with his celebration. He wore his nervousness on his f...

Josh at Five

Joshie's project is "flexibility"; the goal is to see that a plan is just an idea, not a gospel, not a guarantee. This is difficult. Yesterday, we went to a restaurant--billed as "open," with unlocked doors--and the owner informed us of an "error in advertising." But Joshie couldn't accept the word "closed." He threw himself on the floor, then climbed on the furniture. I felt for the owner, until he nervously made a reference to "the glass windows." He imagined that my child might toss himself through a sealed window, like Mary Katherine Gallagher, or like Bruce Willis, in "Die Hard." Then--thank the Lord!--I was able to laugh. The thing that really has therapeutic value for Joshie is: a firetruck. If we are out in public, and he spots a parked truck, he wants to climb on each surface. He breathlessly alludes to the wheels, the door, the windows. If an actual fire station ("fire ocean," in Joshie's parla...

Liars and Saints

Search This Blog