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    A Study Guide for Joseph Stein's "Fiddler on the Roof"
    A Study Guide for Joseph Stein's "Fiddler on the Roof"
    A Study Guide for Joseph Stein's "Fiddler on the Roof"
    Ebook37 pages31 minutes

    A Study Guide for Joseph Stein's "Fiddler on the Roof"

    By Gale and Cengage

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    About this ebook

    A Study Guide for Joseph Stein's "Fiddler on the Roof," excerpted from Gale's acclaimed Drama For Students. This concise study guide includes plot summary; character analysis; author biography; study questions; historical context; suggestions for further reading; and much more. For any literature project, trust Drama For Students for all of your research needs.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherCengage Learning - Gale
    Release dateJul 27, 2016
    ISBN9781535823302
    A Study Guide for Joseph Stein's "Fiddler on the Roof"

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      A Study Guide for Joseph Stein's "Fiddler on the Roof" - Gale

      4

      Fiddler on the Roof

      Joseph Stein

      1964

      Introduction

      Joseph Stein’s book for Fiddler on the Roof represents the author’s best known and most successful work in musical comedy. It was one of the last big successes in an era of great musicals on Broadway. Following its debut on September 22, 1964, at the Imperial Theatre, Fiddler ran for 3242 performances, achieving the longest run for a musical up to that time. This success was ironic considering the play’s producers’ initial fears that, due to the ethnically based story, the musical might not appeal to a broad audience.

      Fiddler is based on short stories written by Sholom Aleichem, a Jewish writer who wrote primarily in Yiddish. Despite the producers’ reservations, a diverse audience embraced the musical, relating to its universal themes of family, love, dignity, and the importance of tradition. Many critics agreed. Theophilus Lewis, reviewing the original production in America, wrote, Joseph Stein’s story has dramatic dignity, a continuous flow of humor, and episodes of pathos that never descend to the maudlin. While most critics generally found the musical praiseworthy on many fronts—the performances especially the original Tevye, Zero Mostel; the acting; music; choreography; and direction. Several critics, however, found the production too Broadway while others felt it was too sentimental.

      Stein won three prestigious awards for Fiddler on the Roof in 1965: The Antoinette Tony Perry Award for best musical, the New York Drama Critics Award, and the Newspaper Guild Award. The B’nai B’rith society also bestowed their Music and Performing Award upon Stein for his exceptional creative achievement in 1965.

      Author Biography

      Joseph Stein was born on May 30, 1912, in New York City, the son of Charles and Emma (Rosenblum) Stein, Polish immigrants who emigrated to the United States. Growing up in the Bronx, Stein’s father read him the stories of Sholom Aleichem, a noted author of Jewish folk tales. Stein would remember these stories when he was called upon to develop the musical that became Fiddler on the Roof. Stein did not immediately turn to the theater, though. He attended City College, earning his B.S.S. in 1935, then his

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