HAL HELPS TEVYE

HAL HELPS TEVYE
In 1964, composer Jerry Bock and lyricist Sheldon Harnick set upon a project to set to music Shalom Alechem’s story of Tevye and his daughters to the musical stage. Produced by Hal Prince, and directed by Jerome Robbins, an out of town opening was determined for the fall of 1964. Just before opening, Jerome Robbins urged Bock and Harnick to create a song that would link the stories of Tevyes’ daughters into one cohesive whole. He asked Sheldon to write a sentence of two that would tell the element that held Tevye and his people together. Sheldon said “that I can tell you in one word...TRADITION! Hence, the brilliant first moments of Fiddler on the Roof were born. Opening in the Imperial Theatre September 22, 1964, Fiddler would run 3, 242 performances surpassing Oklahoma! and My Fair Lady. It remains today one of the most beloved musical theatre works of all time. I believe that along with the Diary of Anne Frank, Fiddler on the Roof, has done more to stem the heinous tide of anti-Semitism than any other work. How could anyone allow the maniacal dream of Adolf Hitler to be perpetrated after getting to know Tevye and his peopl