The Americanization of Tevye or Boarding the Jewish "Mayflower" Author(s): Seth L. Wolitz Source: American Quarterly, Vol. 40, No. 4 (Dec., 1988), pp. 514-536 Published by: The Johns Hopkins University Press Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2713000 . Accessed: 10/01/2014 17:27 Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at . http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp . JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact
[email protected]. The Johns Hopkins University Press is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to American Quarterly. http://www.jstor.org This content downloaded from 150.210.226.99 on Fri, 10 Jan 2014 17:27:11 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions The Americanizationof Tevye or Boarding the Jewish Mayflower SETH L. WOLITZ University of Texas, Austin WHEN THE MUSICAL, FIDDLER ON THE ROOF, OPENED ON BROADWAYIN 1964, Zero Mostel in the characterof Tevye introduceda new archetypeinto Amer- ican culturalhistory: the "old country"immigrant. The success of the musical and its film sequel (1971) startledthe producersand creatorsof the musical as much as it delighted audiences of Broadway, the United States, and later the world. Tevye encapsulatedthe world of traditioncoming to terms with modernization,and in particularAmericanization. Tevye was not a new figure for Jewish-Americanaudiences.