Given the state of the Middle East at the moment, I am genuinely surprised that a theatre company is going to start a run of Fiddler on the Roof in Australian capital cities soon.
It's not a bad musical (although I have only seen the movie version, as a child, and a bit of it again some years ago on TV. I do think it's a bit of a downer, overall, though.) But really, running a show full of sympathy for the plight of poor Jews seems to be a bit, um, tone deaf? at the moment.
Update: I asked Claude.ai about this, and here is the most relevant paragraph:
The debate centres on a genuine irony that several commentators have identified. Fiddler on the Roof is a musical about a people thrown out of their homes as their land is seized — a story that resonates achingly with both Jewish history and the current Palestinian crisis. One American theatre director who staged the show in 2024 wrote that his cast was directly challenged on this: they were asked "Is it okay to portray Jewish suffering in a time when Israel is causing so much suffering?" — and one Jewish member of the artistic staff actually dropped out of the production due to concerns that continuing was insensitive in the current climate.
5 comments:
Steve, I am as critical as anyone about the present Israel i government but not playing fiddle on the roof because of their actions seems silly to me
There are practical reasons I wouldn't run it: don't you think that the current Israeli behaviour will discourage audiences from seeing a Jewish themed show, regardless of when it is set? Also, I would be a tad concerned about it being a terrorist target, and it's not as if there aren't hundreds of other musicals that could be revived instead...
NO what is occurring now has nothing to do with what the musical is about. A terrorist target???
Of course I don't want it to be a terrorist target; but come on, it's obvious why a Palestinian supporting extremist might think of it as a target.
you are confusing ISIS inspired murders with other murderers. ISIS disciples ddo things world wide. Why would anyone alleging sympathy for Palestine attempt to kill people at a musical which has nothing to do with the subject or the Israeli government. That sounds like sky after dark to mwe
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