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Sheldon Harnick, ‘Fiddler on the Roof’ lyricist, dies at 99
Fiddler: A Miracle of Miracles,” famed director Jerome Robbins kept asking producer Hal Prince, “What is this show about?”“For God’s sake, Jerry,” Prince replied. “It’s about tradition!”Its tryout in Detroit, Mich., where it ran over three and a half hours, was poorly received by critics.Despite those hurdles, “Fiddler,” starring Zero Mostel as Tevye and Beatrice Arthur as the Matchmaker, became a huge hit on Broadway, running eight years (a long time back then) and spawning multiple revivals and the Oscar-nominated 1971 Norman Jewison film starring Topol. Harnick’s lyrics are ingrained in the minds of millions: “Matchmaker, matchmaker, make me a match, find me a find, catch me a catch;” “If I were a rich man”; “To life! To life! L’Chaim!” The original production won the Tony Award for Best Musical, and Bock and Harnick won the Tony for Best Composer and Lyricist.One actor who played Tevye the milkman during the 2005 revival of “Fiddler” was Harvey Fierstein, who mourned Harnick in a statement.“As a devotee of theater, as a Jew, as a person who admires brilliance and gentility, I loved Sheldon Harnick and today he left us,” Fierstein said.
