All-New 'FIDDLER AT 50' Talk with Sheldon Harnick & Hal Prince Set for CUNY TV, Beginning Today

Fifty years ago this fall, "Fiddler on the Roof" - one of the most beloved and enduring of American musicals - opened on Broadway.

And in a warm and revealing Special Edition of CUNY TV's ARTS IN THE CITY - FIDDLER AT 50: A Conversation with Sheldon Harnick and Hal Prince - happy memories about the musical's creation are shared by the show's lyricist and original producer.

The all-new FIDDLER AT 50, also including an interview with Sheldon Harnick's wife, Margery Gray Harnick, is hosted by Pat Collins and premieres today, Nov. 14 (2014) at 10am, 3pm and 8:30pm on CUNY TV*. (The show is repeated Sunday 11/16 at noon. On and after Nov. 14, the program may be viewed anytime on www.cuny.tv.

Like most classics, the idea for a musical version of Sholem Aleichem stories was born indirectly, through the appreciation of Aleichem's massive work Wandering Stars. It was librettist Joseph Stein, recalls Harnick, who said the book's canvas was too big, and that the collaborators should look to other Aleichem works. They found their perfect vehicle in the short story, Tevye and His Daughters.

Both Harnick and Prince give enormous credit to Stein and to Jerome Robbins for "unlocking the show" through persistent questioning as to what it truly was about. Candid and fascinating stories abound about casting the show, how many songs were ultimately written, the out-of-town tryouts and challenges in Detroit and Washington, and the show's original reviews. Plans for a major revival in 2015 are also revealed. And, as an added bonus, Harnick sings two of "Fiddler"'s wonderful songs.

*CUNY TV is broadcast over-the-air in the tri-state area on Ch. 25.3, and cablecast in the five boroughs of New York City on Ch. 75 (Time Warner and Optimum), Ch. 77 (RCN) and Ch. 30 (Verizon FiOS).