Fiddler: A Miracle of Miracles dir. by Max Lewkowicz (review)

A man with a violin sits on a rooftop terrace in New York City. Eyes closed, he plays the iconic opening theme to Fiddler on the Roof, the 1964 hit Broadway musical that has captivated audiences for decades. Later, we find out that this man is Sheldon Harnick, Fiddler's lyricist.

Fiddler: A Miracle of Miracles is a documentary about musical theater that foregrounds music in a way that I've never seen before. Not only does the film open with an extended musical sequence, but filmmaker Max Lewkowicz weaves music throughout, deftly interspersing interviews with production footage of some of Fiddler's most beloved songs. Fiddler's soundtrack forms the structural backbone of this documentary. Lewkowicz tells the story of Fiddler On the Roof—its genesis, its key productions, its impact, and its legacy—through close readings of the songs, organizing his storytelling around them. Through "Matchmaker," Lewkowicz considers Fiddler as a story about female empowerment. "If I Were a Rich Man" becomes a conversation about casting Topol over Zero Mostel for the role of Tevye in the 1971 Fiddler film. The "Anatevka" section explores Fiddler's depiction of the refugee experience and contemporary resonance. Alongside these classics, Lewkowicz also includes songs that were ultimately cut from the show. There's a clip of Bock and Harnick performing a version of the title song that was later cut on a television show, and a memorable sequence about "When Messiah Comes," a comic number about God apologizing to the Jews for what he put them through that was cut during Fiddler's Detroit tryout. The inclusion of these songs offers fascinating insight into how Fiddler's creators developed and edited the musical. It's an unusual structure for a documentary, but by and large it works, presenting viewers with the story of how Fiddler on the Roof came to be through fresh perspectives on songs that most of its viewers already know by heart.

Fiddler: A Miracle of Miracles features an impressive roster of interviewees. Lyricist Sheldon Harnick is interviewed at length about the show's beginnings, alongside Harry Stein, son of the late Fiddler book writer Joseph Stein. Many other key figures from Fiddler's early days appear in the film, including producer Harold Prince and actor Chaim Topol. Steven Sondheim recalls what he thought the first time he heard the score and shares fascinating details on how notoriously difficult Jerome Robbins was to work with. Scholars, such as Alisa Solomon and Jeremy Dauber, offer historical context and background—though I sometimes found myself wishing that the filmmaker had made more use of his interviews with scholars and that there were more scholarly voices included in this film. Actors, and directors from various Fiddler productions reflect what Fiddler has meant to them and their audiences. There are also some delightful surprises. Lin-Manuel Miranda speaks at length about acting in Fiddler on the Roof in his very first school play and about what this musical means to him; later in the film, there's a memorable scene in which he visits Sheldon Harnick's apartment and the two musical theater composers talk about their writing. Itzhak Perlman visibly tears up on camera talking about what the song "Sabbath Prayer" means to him. The interviews are beautifully shot and edited, and it is clear that Lewkowicz loves Fiddler on the Roof just as much as his subjects and his audience do.

However, as fascinating as this documentary is, it has a blind spot in its singular focus on Fiddler's universality. Again and again, the film emphasizes how Fiddler on the Roof tells a universal story with which almost anyone can identify. According to Lewkowicz, this universality explains Fiddler's remarkable staying power. True, Fiddler has touched audiences around the world, Jewish and non-Jewish. The film includes a famous and oft-repeated story that when Fiddler on the Roof first came to Japan, the producer asked Joseph Stein whether or not audiences in America understood the...