Last night I saw Fiddler on the Roof at the Chanhassen Dinner Theater. It was a great show. All the voices were really strong, the script was witty, and the actors landed almost all the jokes. (the guy to my left, especially, was loving it.) Chanhassen also drew a full house on a Tuesday night, for a three-hour show that didn’t end until 11pm.
But when it came time to write this review, I was stuck. What more is there to say about a show that’s been around since 1964 that hasn’t already been said? Well, nobody has ever compared Fiddler on the Roof to television’s top drama Homeland. So consider this a TC Jewfolk exclusive — all the ways Fiddler on the Roof at Chanhassen Dinner Theater compares to the hit Showtime drama, Homeland. (There’s one spoiler if you’re not quite caught up.)
Fiddler on the Roof doesn’t have any terrorist masterminds hellbent on destroying America.
It DOES have people who don’t take too kindly to the Jews.
Homeland doesn’t have anyone dancing with bottles on their heads.
Fiddler doesn’t have Claire Danes.
Both are musicals.
Both feature Jews marrying non-Jews.
Homeland you can watch whenever. Fiddler has set showtimes.
Watching Homeland you don’t get to hear your seat neighbor say to his girlfriend, “That was tasty, but you’re tastier.”
Fiddler gives you cake.
Both feature old Jewish guys with big gray beards.
Mandy Patinkin sang the shehecheyanu on Colbert. That’s all.
SPOILER:
One has a character who gets arrested and sent to Siberia. The other has a character who flees the country and ends up in Venezuela. One gets his heroine to come live with him. The other gets heroin.
SPOILER OVER.
OK. That’s about it. In retrospect maybe Homeland wasn’t the best show to compare Fiddler to. But after that scene with Tevye killing the Mexican drug lords, a Breaking Bad comparison just seemed too obvious.
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