The Wall Street Journal - 23.08.2019

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. ** Friday, August 23, 2019 |A9B

When “Fiddler on the Roof”

opened on Broadway in 1964,

it became an instant hit, a

show that captured the Jewish

experience of the Old World

and made it relevant for a con-

temporary American audience.

Now, 55 years later, the mu-

sical, set in Russia and based

on the writings of the Yiddish

author Sholem Aleichem, is

going stronger than ever and

being discovered by new gen-

erations of theatergoers across

many cultures and countries.

The enduring fascination

with the show is the subject of

“Fiddler: A Miracle of Miracles,”

a documentary from New York

City filmmaker Max Lewkowicz

opening nationally this week.

The film traces the musical

from its origins, when com-

poser Jerry Bock, lyricist Shel-

don Harnick and book writer

Joseph Stein developed the

show about the milkman Te-

vye and his five daughters,

and worked with producer

Harold Prince and director-

choreographer Jerome Rob-

bins to bring it to Broadway.

The documentary also looks

at how “Fiddler” was embraced

by the Jewish-American com-

munity as a statement of faith,

family and values. The musical

resonated in productions out-

side that sphere as well,

whether at a New York City

public school in a predomi-

nantly black and Hispanic neigh-

borhood or in Japan, as the film

shows in clips and interviews.

“This is an incredible piece

that speaks in so many

places,” Mr. Lewkowicz said in

an interview.

And it continues to speak to

New York audiences. A Yiddish

version of the musical, which es-

sentially brings the story back to

its roots by using Aleichem’s

language, has become a recent

success off-Broadway.

Originally presented by the

National Yiddish Theatre Folks-

biene at the Museum of Jewish

Heritage in Manhattan last year,

the staging, which is offered

with English subtitles, regularly

drawscrowdsatitsnewhome

at Stage 42 in Midtown. The

production also attracts many a

boldface name, as evidenced

last week when Supreme Court

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg

and her “Saturday Night Live”

impersonator Kate McKinnon

attended on the same night.

Joel Grey, the Oscar and

Tony Award-winning actor who

directs the Yiddish version of

“Fiddler,” says the musical re-

mains a theatrical force be-

cause the issues it tackles, from

anti-Semitism to the changing

family structure, are as relevant

today as they were in 1964.

“All the things that happen

in real life are happening in

this play,” said Mr. Grey.

Another factor behind the

continuing success of “Fid-

dler” is that it is very much a

musical for actors to make

their mark, particularly in the

lead role of Tevye. Steven Sky-

bell, who plays Tevye in the

current Yiddish production,

said he considers the part one

of the most significant in the

theatrical canon. “The role of

Tevye is equivalent to a great

Shakespearean role,” he said.

The success of “Fiddler”

was never a given, said Mr.

Harnick, the show’s lyricist. He

noted that it was difficult to

find investors for the original

Broadway production because

many felt the show’s darker el-

ements would turn theatergo-

ers away. But when “Fiddler”

opened in New York, he finally

saw its potential. “There was a

huge line at the box office. We

couldn’t believe it,” he said.

BYCHARLESPASSY

‘Fiddler’ Is an Enduring Tradition

Lyricist Sheldon Harnick seen in ‘Fiddler: A Miracle of Miracles.’

ROADSIDE ATTRACTIONS/SAMUEL GOLDWYN FILMS

GREATERNEWYORKWATCH

BROOKLYN

Pizzeria Reopens

After Tax Woe Settled

Di Fara, a popular pizzeria in
Brooklyn’s Midwood neighborhood,
reopened Thursday after being
shut down by New York state
earlier in the week for a tax debt.
“The state tax department
has worked with them and
come to terms,” Gov. Andrew
Cuomo said in an interview with
NY1. “People have to pay their
taxes, that’s clear, but we want

voice their support. Among them:

Mayor Bill de Blasio, who

tweeted Wednesday, “Di Fara is

THE best pizza place in New York

City. I’m ready to do anything I

can to get them reopened.”

That led to an outcry from

some restaurateurs, who said

they wished the mayor would

support a broad spectrum of

dining establishments in the city.

The mayor, Mr. Cuomo said,

has no control over state taxes,

unless “he wants to get

$200,000 worth of pizza.”

—Charles Passy

COURTS

University Faces

Sex-Abuse Lawsuit

Thirty-eight former students

of an Orthodox Jewish school in

New York City operated by Ye-

shiva University sued Thursday

over claims they were molested

by two prominent rabbis in the

1960s, ’70s and ’80s.

The suit alleged the univer-

sity failed to protect students at

Yeshiva University High School

for Boys and even promoted one

of the rabbis to principal after

receiving abuse reports.

A Yeshiva University spokes-

person declined to comment, cit-

ing a school policy against

speaking publicly about litigation.

The lawsuit is one of hun-

dreds that have been filed involv-

ing child-sexual abuse allegations

since last week, when New York

state opened a one-year window

for suits previously barred by the

state’s statute of limitations.

During a news conference

Thursday, three of the alleged

victims, flanked by their lawyers,

spoke about disturbing behavior

they say went on for decades.

“I didn’t even understand at

the time that this was sexual

abuse; I just knew that this guy

was putting his hands all over

me,” said Barry Singer, now 61

years old, speaking of one of the

rabbis he said kept reaching into

the boy’s pants, even in school

hallways.

One of the accused rabbis,

Macy Gordon, died recently in Is-

rael. The other, George Finkel-

stein, has denied the allegations.

—Associated Press

businesses open and flourishing.”

The pizzeria owed $167,506 in

unpaid taxes when the state

seized the establishment Tuesday.

Mr. Cuomo didn’t specify the

terms of the state’s agreement

with Di Fara, which has been open

for 54 years, that led to the quick

reopening. A spokesman for the

tax department said the details

are confidential under secrecy laws.

The closing of one of two Di

Fara stores prompted many fans

of the pizzeria, which is consid-

ered one of the bastions of the

classic New York City slice, to

New York City will no lon-
ger make burial records public
that include the names of
women who had stillbirths,
miscarriages and possibly
abortions, Mayor Bill de Blasio
said. The practice has raised
alarms among medical-privacy
experts.
The Wall Street Journal had
reported that women’s names
had been included in burial re-
cords for infants and fetal re-
mains on Hart Island, one of
the country’s largest public
cemeteries that serves as a
potter’s field for the city’s un-
claimed bodies and deceased
low-income residents.
For nearly a decade, the
city has been providing the re-
cordstoanadvocacygroup,
the Hart Island Project, which
has compiled the information
into a searchable online data-
base meant to allow relatives
to locate the remains of a
loved one buried on the island.
At an unrelated news con-
ference on Thursday, the
mayor said he first heard
about the issue from reading
the Journal’s article.
“It’s a horrible policy,” he
said. “We’ve immediately in-
structed that it end. It’s
wrong. We’re changing it. It’s
not acceptable.”
Medical experts expressed
concern about the publication
of the information, saying it

had the potential to lead to

harm and discrimination

against those whose names

had been publicized.

Melinda Hunt, president of

the Hart Island Project, said in

an email Thursday that the

group would agree to redact-

ing the first names of women

who are listed in the infant

burial records, adding she is

open to learning what the

city’s privacy concerns are.

She previously said many

mothers over the years have

expressed gratitude toward

her for helping them locate

their stillborn infants’ remains.

The city’s Department of

Correction, which oversees

Hart Island, also had been

publishing the information on

its website after the City

Council passed a law in 2013

mandating all burial records

for Hart Island be posted on-

line. Some 30,100 infant re-

cords ranging from 1981 to

2017 had appeared online.

The Department of Correc-

tion previously said it was fol-

lowing the city’s law when it

published the information on

its website, and that it was

acting pursuant to an earlier

settlement with the Hart Is-

land Project when it gave it

the records requested through

the state’s Freedom of Infor-

mation Law.

—Katie Honan

and Melanie Grayce West

contributed to this article.

Mayor Moves to End

‘Horrible’ Burial Policy

BYTESSRISKI

GREATER NEW YORK

NY