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| If you saw Yiddish Fiddler... | |
| Posted by: gad90210 10:25 am EST 12/28/18 | |
| In reply to: A question... - TheHarveyBoy 07:39 am EST 12/28/18 | |
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| And you don't understand Yiddish, wouldn't you already know if the show works for a non Yiddish speaker? I guess I'm puzzled by your question. And I think the show would work fine even for people who had never seen any previous incarnations. Yes, they would have to keep glancing at the translation text, but I don't think that would be a problem unless the person is a very slow reader. |
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| re: If you saw Yiddish Fiddler... | |
| Posted by: NewtonUK 10:32 am EST 12/28/18 | |
| In reply to: If you saw Yiddish Fiddler... - gad90210 10:25 am EST 12/28/18 | |
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| I loved this production as well. More than any FIDDLER I have seen - and I saw the original production on Broadway, on tour, and in revival with at least 5 Tevye's including Zero, as well as the two recent revivals. My concern about its commercial appeal is that the average theatregoer won't go to movies with titles, let alone a play with titles - which is much more challenging. I've seen a lot of foreign language plays with titles at BAM, Park Ave Armory, and Lincoln Center - and I dont mind titles - and I find it challenging much of the time. Time will tell. I also wonder about the intimacy of this production in the vast confines of Stage 42. And I mean VAST. Wishing them well. |
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| re: If you saw Yiddish Fiddler... | |
| Posted by: Michael_Portantiere 12:30 pm EST 12/29/18 | |
| In reply to: re: If you saw Yiddish Fiddler... - NewtonUK 10:32 am EST 12/28/18 | |
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| "I also wonder about the intimacy of this production in the vast confines of Stage 42. And I mean VAST." I'm not sure why some people have this idea that Stage 42 is "vast." Neither the stage nor the auditorium is unusually large. There are just under 500 seats, as has been often reported. It is true that there's no mezzanine and no overhang, just one rising level of stadium seating. So yes, people seated in the very back rows might feel SOMEWHAT distant from the stage. But the same is true for lots of other theaters, including the theater where the Yiddish FIDDLER is currently playing, at the Museum of Jewish Heritage. Although that theater does have fewer seats, I can't imagine anyone who sees the show from the last row of Stage 42 will feel significantly more removed from the action that someone who saw it from the last row in the theater at the museum. And, to make another comparison, the back rows of Stage 42 can't feel any more remote from the stage than the back rows at Second Stage's Off-Broadway space on 43rd St. Stage 42 has has some major issues, all of which have been discussed previously on this board, but I don't think. P.S.: Although I think I know what you mean about intimacy, the Yiddish FIDDLER has a cast of 29, so it is not a small show in that respect, and I think it should fill the Stage 42 stage very nicely. |
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| re: If you saw Yiddish Fiddler... | |
| Posted by: NewtonUK 06:19 am EST 12/30/18 | |
| In reply to: re: If you saw Yiddish Fiddler... - Michael_Portantiere 12:30 pm EST 12/29/18 | |
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| Michael - I don't have the specs on the theatre where the shpw opened at the Museum, but Stage 42 has a 39'7" proscenium opening, which is 24' high. The overall stage is 71' wide, and 26' deep. |
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| re: If you saw Yiddish Fiddler... | |
| Posted by: ryhog 10:27 am EST 12/30/18 | |
| In reply to: re: If you saw Yiddish Fiddler... - NewtonUK 06:19 am EST 12/30/18 | |
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| I am not sure the point of these specs. We don't need numbers to look at the two stages and tell that the playable area is comparable. And of course if a set designer wants to make the playable area more intimate, that does not take a great deal of artistry. The main difference I see between the 2 spaces is that the midtown space has stadium seating which is a definite plus for everyone. | |
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| re: If you saw Yiddish Fiddler... | |
| Posted by: ryhog 04:31 pm EST 12/29/18 | |
| In reply to: re: If you saw Yiddish Fiddler... - Michael_Portantiere 12:30 pm EST 12/29/18 | |
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| I had the same reaction and I agree with you. Had a different cast of characters been smitten by this production, it would have transferred to Broadway where, even in the smallest house, it would have been less intimate. (And it would have won the Tony, but that's another matter.) |
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| re: If you saw Yiddish Fiddler... | |
| Posted by: Michael_Portantiere 05:35 pm EST 12/29/18 | |
| In reply to: re: If you saw Yiddish Fiddler... - ryhog 04:31 pm EST 12/29/18 | |
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| "Had a different cast of characters been smitten by this production, it would have transferred to Broadway where, even in the smallest house, it would have been less intimate. (And it would have won the Tony, but that's another matter.)" Yes. I believe the producer of the transfer has said basically that no available Broadway theater was viable for the production. But I do wish it could have transferred to Broadway for several reasons, including the fact that then it would have been eligible for the Tony nominations and awards that it deserves (and that the most recent Broadway revival of FIDDLER did not, except for the Burstein nomination). |
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| re: If you saw Yiddish Fiddler... | |
| Posted by: ryhog 06:11 pm EST 12/29/18 | |
| In reply to: re: If you saw Yiddish Fiddler... - Michael_Portantiere 05:35 pm EST 12/29/18 | |
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| That is what was said, but recognize that "viable" is a euphemism for "we don't have enough money." It does not require a great deal of sleuthing to figure out that there were physically viable alternatives available if the money had been in place. | |
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| re: If you saw Yiddish Fiddler... | |
| Posted by: Michael_Portantiere 10:08 pm EST 12/29/18 | |
| In reply to: re: If you saw Yiddish Fiddler... - ryhog 06:11 pm EST 12/29/18 | |
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| "That is what was said, but recognize that 'viable' is a euphemism for "we don't have enough money." It does not require a great deal of sleuthing to figure out that there were physically viable alternatives available if the money had been in place." You are probably correct, I was just repeating -- actually paraphrasing -- what was said. |
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| re: If you saw Yiddish Fiddler... | |
| Posted by: ryhog 11:00 pm EST 12/29/18 | |
| In reply to: re: If you saw Yiddish Fiddler... - Michael_Portantiere 10:08 pm EST 12/29/18 | |
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| I know. I have just become conditioned to not believing everything I hear. :-) :-( | |
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