The Yiddish Book Center's

Wexler Oral History Project

A growing collection of in-depth interviews with people of all ages and backgrounds, whose stories about the legacy and changing nature of Yiddish language and culture offer a rich and complex chronicle of Jewish identity.

“No One’s Going to Be Interested in Tevye and His Five Daughters”: Boris Aronson Sending Scripts to His Son at Camp

Watch now:

Marc Aronson, son of Yiddish theater set designers Boris and Lisa Aronson, shares a story from the summer he went to camp in California, when his father sent him 2 scripts to look over, including one for a play based on Tevye. Marc told his father that no one would be interested in Tevye's story, and luckily Boris disregarded his advice and produced Fiddler on the Roof.

This is an excerpt from an oral history with Marc Aronson.

This excerpt is in English.

This interview is part of the Yiddish and the Arts: musicians, actors, and artists series.

Other video highlights from this oral history

Boris Aronson's Set for Maurice Schwartz's Ten Commandments

2 min 1 sec

Boris Aronson's Involvement in Art and the Kultur Lige in Europe

6 min 34 sec

Boris Aronson’s Funny Stories about Maurice Schwartz and Distance from Yiddish Theater

2 min 4 sec

Boris Aronson's Cane-Carving Job in the Catskills

2 min 29 sec

Boris Aronson's Physical Appearance

7 min 1 sec

Lisa Aronson's Artistic Background and Escape From Austria in 1939

4 min 54 sec

Father's Interest in Japan

2 min 23 sec

Colored Xerox and 3-Dimensional Paintings: Examples of Boris Aronson's Artwork

2 min 51 sec

The Universality of Fiddler on the Roof and Its Revolutionary Impact on Broadway

6 min 29 sec

More information about this oral history excerpt

Themes: