Fiddler: A Miracle of Miracles

Showings

Mary D. Fisher Theatre Mon, Nov 4, 2019 7:00 PM
Film Info
Event Type:Closing Night Film
Sedona Jewish Film Festival
Release Year:2019
Run Time:92 minutes
Production Country:United States
Original Language:English
Trailer:https://youtu.be/YsAXHDowVaU
Cast/Crew Info
Director:Max Lewkowicz

Description

“Fiddler: A Miracle of Miracles” is the origin story behind one of Broadway's most beloved musicals, Fiddler on The Roof, and its creative roots in early 1960s New York, when "tradition" was on the wane as gender roles, sexuality, race relations and religion were evolving.


“Fiddler” is the first in-depth documentary film that chronicles the life and themes of this iconic offering of American theater and culture. The goal of our documentary is to understand why the story of Tevye the milkman is reborn again and again as beloved entertainment and cultural touchstone the world over.


Opening in 1964, “Fiddler on the Roof” held the record for the longest running musical for almost 10 years, won nine Tony Awards, and spawned five Broadway revivals. The show is still performed more than any other show, from middle schools in inner cities to high schools in rural America, around the world from grand state theaters in Japan and Vienna to Johannesburg and Mexico City.


“Fiddler” features interviews with lyricist Sheldon Harnick, producer Hal Prince, original cast member Austin Pendleton, Broadway figures Lin-Manuel Miranda, Chaim Topol and Harvey Fierstei, and authors Fran Lebowitz, Calvin Trillin and Nathan Englander. (USA, 2019, 92 minutes)


“Fidder: A Miracle of Miracles” will be preceded by the short film, “The Fiddle” by director Asher Schwartz: On a lonely slanted roof in Anatevka, a hunched figure plays the fiddle. His soulful music finds its way into the simple homes of even simpler Jews. But this fiddler didn’t always sit on the roof. Come to think of it, he didn’t always have a fiddle to play either. And were it up to his father, Sholom wouldn't know what a fiddle was at all. Based on Sholem Aleichem’s short story “The Fiddle”, this is the story of Sholom, the boy that was destined to become the fiddler on the roof. (Israel, 2018, 9 minutes)