The cinema that helps you avoid Christmas
SO WHAT is an American Jew to do over Christmas? One well-worn answer is that he, she and the family go to a Chinese restaurant when other eating establishments are closed for the holiday.
But now there is a more stimulating option, invented in Los Angeles, where old traditions spring up overnight. It is to celebrate the life and times of the Fiddler on the Roof.
Based on the hardscrabble life of Tevye the milkman and his five daughters in the fictitious shtetl of Anatevka, Fiddler is generally proclaimed as the most beloved and durable of stage musicals — and complemented by an Oscar-winning film.
The ingenious mind that linked the joys and miseries of a poor Jew in Tsarist Russia to the celebration of the most popular Christian holiday belongs to Gregory Laemmle, the proprietor of an eponymous chain of movie theatres throughout Los Angeles.
On Christmas Eve, some 1,800 Jews — and, increasingly, gentiles — who were far-sighted enough to order tickets in time to the sold-out extravaganzas flock to the cinemas, with many wearing the shtetl attire of the early 20th century.
The evening begins with a screening of Hollywood’s version of Fiddler and Mr Laemmle urges the audience not to hold back.
“Here is your once-a-year chance to be the star of the shtetl,” he proclaims. “Sing your heart out alongside (Israeli actor Chaim) Topol and other screen legends. “And it’s okay if you haven’t memorised all the songs. We provide the lyrics.”
After the film is over, a host or hostess at each of the eight venues, many with a show business background, is tasked with keeping the action going by leading more singing, quizzing patrons on Fiddler history and lore, and passing out prizes.
This Christmas marks the 11th celebration of the Fiddler-themed show and Mr Laemmle recalled in an interview that the idea came to him while
attending a live outdoor performance of The Sound of Music, with the audience singing along lustily.
The success of the Los Angeles format is spurring other cities to imitation.
This year, there will be performances in Chicago and Seattle — in the latter, artistic director Beth Barrett is combining old and new traditions by serving patrons complimentary kosher Chinese dishes. Naomi Ackerman, a hostess at one of the Laemmle theatres a few years ago, described the atmosphere during the programme.
“What I found most extraordinary was how people knew every word of every song in the movie,” she said. “Not to mention that people were fighting over who would answer the trivia questions. How amazing that people knew so many little tidbits and information about this production. “It was a warm and haimish evening and we felt like we recreated Anatevka, with all its goodness, at the Laemmle theatre.”
For older, immigrant Jews, the Christmas season often has a special meaning, depending on their backgrounds and historical memories. “My grandmother was born in Tsarist Russia and even after she came to America she used to tense up and become fearful with the approach of Christmas — that usually was when the pogroms swept across the old country,” Mr Laemmle recalled. A noticeable phenomenon over the past few years is the rising number of Christians and other gentiles, in some instances representing half of the audience. “We make sure that our Christmas show ends well before 12 o’clock,” said Mr Laemmle, tongue in cheek.
“This way, the patrons who wish to do so can walk to a nearby church and attend Midnight Mass.” As they say: only in America.