Podcasts about wonders a cultural history

Thinking Cap Theatre's Artistic Director Nicole Stodard talks with Alisa Solomon, professor at the Graduate School of Journalism at Columbia University, writer, and dramaturg about Fornes' relationship with Susan Sontag. ALISA SOLOMON'S BIO Alisa Solomon is a teacher, writer, and dramaturg in New York City. She is a professor at the Graduate School of Journalism at Columbia University, where she directs the Arts & Culture concentration in the MA program. A theater critic and general reporter for the Village Voice from 1983 to 2004, she has also contributed to The Nation, Jewish Currents, ⁠newyorker.com⁠, The Intercept, The New York Times, American Theater, Howlround.com, TDR, and other publications. Her award-winning books include Re-Dressing the Canon: Essays on Theater and Gender, and Wonder of Wonders: A Cultural History of Fiddler on the Roof. Alisa has also edited several books: The Reverend Billy Project: From Rehearsal Hall to Super Mall with the Church of Life After Shopping by Savitri D and Bill Talen; Wrestling with Zion: Progressive Jewish-American Responses to the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict (co-edited with Tony Kushner); The Queerest Art: Essays on Lesbian and Gay Theater (co-edited with Framji Minwalla), a special issue of the journal Theater on theater and social change, and a forthcoming volume of plays and essays by and about Robbie McCauley, The Struggle Continues (co-edited with Elin Diamond and Cynthia Carr). As dramaturg, Alisa's most recent projects are Anna Deavere Smith's Love All and Pipeline Project. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/thinking-cap-theatre/support

FIDDLER ON THE ROOF COMPOSER: Jerry Bock LYRICIST: Sheldon Harnick BOOK: Joseph Stein SOURCE: Sholem Aleichem's short stories Tevye the Dairyman (1894) DIRECTOR: Jerome Robbins CHOREOGRAPHER: Jerome Robbins PRINCIPLE CAST: Maria Karnilova (Golde), Joanna Merlin (Tzeitel), Zero Mostel (Tevye), OPENING DATE: Sep 22, 1964 CLOSING DATE: Jul 02, 1972 PERFORMANCES: 3,242 SYNOPSIS: Tevye, the local milkman, has five daughters that must enter into arranged marriages as dictated by the traditions of his culture. When Tzeitel, his eldest, chooses to make her own match, Tevye's world is turned upside down and traditions become vulnerable. After acclaimed musical successes commissioned by producers, Sheldon Harnick and Jerry Bock set out to write a musical which was of personal, familial interest to them. Based on a series of short stories by Sholem Alecheim, Fiddler on the Roof explores the importance of Jewish traditions to the inhabitants of a small, Russian village. Beth Burrier summarizes the complex identities of Jewish-American theatre artists working on Broadway, many of whom were attacked by the House Un-American Activities Committee or faced other forms of antisemitic discrimination in their lives. Although a liberal wave saw an onslaught of Jewish-American stories on Broadway, Fiddler on the Roof was deemed risky by producers because its characters were Russian villagers, not Americans. Upon opening with a seismic performance by the blacklisted Zero Mostel, and despite a pleased general public, Yiddish writers took issue with the liberal message of the show. Work by director/ choreographer Jerome Robbins posited the piece as a new sort of musical, where the authors took a back seat to the vision of the director. Beth Burrier is head of musical theatre at Manhattanville College in Purchase New York, and a principal conductor and the Associate Artistic Director of the College Light Opera Company in Falmouth, Massachusetts. She holds a Master of Music summa cum laude from Ithaca College, and a Bachelor of Music Education summa cum laude with honors from Otterbein University. Beth has been on the faculty at Baldwin Wallace and Penn State, and has taught Music Theatre History, Music Theory, Acting the Song, Audition Technique, Voice and Piano. National tours include RENT, The Full Monty, and Beehive the Sixties Musical.   SOURCES Fiddler on the Roof by Jerry Bock, Sheldon Harnick, and Joseph Stein, published by Limelight (2004) Fiddler on the Roof, Original Broadway Cast Recording. RCA (1964) Fiddler on the Roof, starring Topol and Neva Small, directed by Norman Jewison. MGM Films (1971) Fiddler: Miracle of Miracles, starring Sheldon Harnick and Lin Manuel Miranda, directed by Max Lewkowicz. Samuel Goldwyn Films (2019) The Making of a Musical: Fiddler on the Roof by Altman, Richard and Mervyn Kaufman. New York: Crown Publishers, 1971.  Wonder of Wonders: A Cultural History of Fiddler on the Roof, by Alisa Solomon, published by Picador (2014) Tradition!: The Highly Improbable, Ultimately Triumphant Broadway-to Hollywood Star of Fiddler on the Roof, the World's Most Beloved Musical by Barbara Isenberg, published by St. Martin's Press (2014) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

FIDDLER ON THE ROOF Book by Joseph Stein, Music by Jerry Bock, & Lyrics by Sheldon HarnickEpisode Segments:1:36 - Speed Test3:54 - Why God Why6:13 - Back to Before28:22 - What's Inside46:15 - How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria?1:03:38 - Our Favorite Things1:10:42 - Corner of the Sky1:15:15 – What Comes Next?Works Consulted & Referenced:Fiddler on the Roof (Original Libretto) by Joseph SteinTevye and His Daughters by Sholem AleichemTradition!: The Highly Improbable, Ultimately Triumphant Broadway-to-Hollywood Story of Fiddler on the Roof, the World's Most Beloved Musical by Barbara IsenbergDance With Demons: The Life of Jerome Robbins by Greg LawrenceFiddler: A Miracle of Miracles (Documentary) Directed by Max LewkowiczWonder of Wonders: A Cultural History of Fiddler on the Roof by Alisa SolomonSense of Occasion by Harold PrinceOpen A New Window: The Broadway Musical in the 1960s by Ethan MorddenThe Making of a Musical: Fiddler on the Roof by Richard Altman with Mervyn KaufmanBlack Fiddler by Richard PiroAfter Anatevka: A Novel Inspired by Fiddler on the Roof by Alexandra SilberFiddler on the Roof (1971 Film) Directed by Norman JewisonMusic Credits:"Overture" from Dear World (Original Broadway Cast Recording)  | Music by Jerry Herman | Performed by Dear World Orchestra & Donald Pippin"The Speed Test" from Thoroughly Modern Millie  (Original Broadway Cast Recording) | Music by Jeanine Tesori, Lyrics by Dick Scanlan | Performed by Marc Kudisch, Sutton Foster, Anne L. Nathan & Ensemble"Why God Why" from Miss Saigon: The Definitive Live Recording  (Original Cast Recording  / Deluxe)  | Music by Claude-Michel Schönberg, Lyrics by Alain Boublil & Richard Maltby Jr.  | Performed by Alistair Brammer"Back to Before" from Ragtime: The Musical (Original Broadway Cast Recording)  | Music by Stephen Flaherty, Lyrics by Lynn Ahrens | Performed by Marin Mazzie"What's Inside" from Waitress (Original Broadway Cast Recording)  | Music & Lyrics by Sara Bareilles | Performed by Jessie Mueller & Ensemble"Miracle of Miracles” from Fiddler on the Roof (New Broadway Cast Recording) | Music by Jerry Bock & Lyrics by Sheldon Harnick | Performed by John Cariani"Maria" from The Sound of Music (Original Soundtrack Recording)  | Music by Richard Rodgers, Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II | Performed by Evadne Baker, Anna Lee, Portia Nelson, Marni Nixon"My Favorite Things" from The Sound of Music (Original Soundtrack Recording) | Music by Richard Rodgers, Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II | Performed by Julie Andrews"Corner of the Sky" from Pippin (New Broadway Cast Recording) | Music & Lyrics by Stephen Schwartz | Performed by Matthew James Thomas“What Comes Next?” from Hamilton (Original Broadway Cast Recording) | Music & Lyrics by Lin-Manuel Miranda | Performed by Jonathan Groff

Tradition, tradition! In honor of a new Yiddish production of Fiddler on the Roof, we're heading back to Anatevka. Our Jewish guest is Rachel Zatcoff, who plays Tzeitel in The National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene Off-Broadway production, Fidler afn Dakh. Our Gentile of the week is James Monroe Števko, who plays Mendl, the rabbi's son. They tell us about learning Yiddish for the show and what it's like working with director Joel Grey and Jackie Hoffman, who plays Yenta. We also sit down with Alisa Solomon, author of Wonder of Wonders: A Cultural History of Fiddler on the Roof, to discuss the cultural significance of Fiddler on the Roof, which first opened on Broadway in 1965, as well as the Sholem Aleichem stories the play is based on. We love hearing from you! Email us at Unorthodox@tabletmag.com or leave a message at our listener line: 914-570-4869. We may share your note on the air. If you like listening, please consider leaving a review in iTunes. Follow us on Twitter and Instagram, and join our Facebook group to chat with the hosts and see what happens behind-the-scenes! Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get new episodes, photos, and more. Show your love for Unorthodox with our new T-shirts, sweatshirts, and baby onesies. Get yours at bit.ly/unorthoshirt This episode is sponsored by One Day University. Get 20% off your ticket to see Mark Oppenheimer's Oct. 14 lecture on religion in America by using the code MARK when you register at OneDayU.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In Wonder of Wonders: A Cultural History of Fiddler on the Roof (Metropolitan, 2013), Alisa Solomon, Director of the Arts and Culture concentration in the MA program at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism, traces how and why the story of Tevye the milkman, the creation of the great Yiddish writer Sholem-Aleichem, was reborn as blockbuster entertainment and a cultural touchstone. She examines the pre-history of the first adaptations, the core story of the development of the broadway musical, and the fascinating afterlife of the musical including adaptations in Israel and Poland. This book is a great read and the essential volume on Fiddler on the Roof. Max Kaiser is a PhD candidate at the University of Melbourne. He can be reached at kaiser@student.unimelb.edu.au. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In Wonder of Wonders: A Cultural History of Fiddler on the Roof (Metropolitan, 2013), Alisa Solomon, Director of the Arts and Culture concentration in the MA program at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism, traces how and why the story of Tevye the milkman, the creation of the great Yiddish writer Sholem-Aleichem, was reborn as blockbuster entertainment and a cultural touchstone. She examines the pre-history of the first adaptations, the core story of the development of the broadway musical, and the fascinating afterlife of the musical including adaptations in Israel and Poland. This book is a great read and the essential volume on Fiddler on the Roof. Max Kaiser is a PhD candidate at the University of Melbourne. He can be reached at kaiser@student.unimelb.edu.au. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In Wonder of Wonders: A Cultural History of Fiddler on the Roof (Metropolitan, 2013), Alisa Solomon, Director of the Arts and Culture concentration in the MA program at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism, traces how and why the story of Tevye the milkman, the creation of the great Yiddish writer Sholem-Aleichem, was reborn as blockbuster entertainment and a cultural touchstone. She examines the pre-history of the first adaptations, the core story of the development of the broadway musical, and the fascinating afterlife of the musical including adaptations in Israel and Poland. This book is a great read and the essential volume on Fiddler on the Roof. Max Kaiser is a PhD candidate at the University of Melbourne. He can be reached at kaiser@student.unimelb.edu.au. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In Wonder of Wonders: A Cultural History of Fiddler on the Roof (Metropolitan, 2013), Alisa Solomon, Director of the Arts and Culture concentration in the MA program at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism, traces how and why the story of Tevye the milkman, the creation of the great Yiddish writer Sholem-Aleichem, was reborn as blockbuster entertainment and a cultural touchstone. She examines the pre-history of the first adaptations, the core story of the development of the broadway musical, and the fascinating afterlife of the musical including adaptations in Israel and Poland. This book is a great read and the essential volume on Fiddler on the Roof. Max Kaiser is a PhD candidate at the University of Melbourne. He can be reached at kaiser@student.unimelb.edu.au. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In Wonder of Wonders: A Cultural History of Fiddler on the Roof (Metropolitan, 2013), Alisa Solomon, Director of the Arts and Culture concentration in the MA program at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism, traces how and why the story of Tevye the milkman, the creation of the great Yiddish writer Sholem-Aleichem, was reborn as blockbuster entertainment and a cultural touchstone. She examines the pre-history of the first adaptations, the core story of the development of the broadway musical, and the fascinating afterlife of the musical including adaptations in Israel and Poland. This book is a great read and the essential volume on Fiddler on the Roof. Max Kaiser is a PhD candidate at the University of Melbourne. He can be reached at kaiser@student.unimelb.edu.au. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In Wonder of Wonders: A Cultural History of Fiddler on the Roof (Metropolitan, 2013), Alisa Solomon, Director of the Arts and Culture concentration in the MA program at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism, traces how and why the story of Tevye the milkman, the creation of the great Yiddish writer Sholem-Aleichem, was reborn as blockbuster entertainment and a cultural touchstone. She examines the pre-history of the first adaptations, the core story of the development of the broadway musical, and the fascinating afterlife of the musical including adaptations in Israel and Poland. This book is a great read and the essential volume on Fiddler on the Roof. Max Kaiser is a PhD candidate at the University of Melbourne. He can be reached at kaiser@student.unimelb.edu.au. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Theater Talk marks the 50th anniversary of "Fiddler on The Roof" with author Alisa Solomon, discussing "Wonder of Wonders: A Cultural History of Fiddler on the Roof," the history of this classic Broadway musical.