HAMILTON Director to Helm New "Fiddler on the Roof" Film

MGM will turn the iconic stage musical Fiddler On The Roof into a feature film adaptation that will be directed by Hamilton director Thomas Kail, who’ll produce with Dan Jinks and Aaron Harnick. Steven Levenson will write it, based on the musical that opened on Broadway in 1964 and won nine Tony Awards.

The musical features music by Jerry Bock, lyrics by Sheldon Harnick and book by Joseph Stein, and the original was directed and choreographed by Jerome Robbins. Its Tony haul included Best Musical, Best Book and Best Score of a Musical, Best Director and Best Choreographer and it played more than 3000 performances.

The production has been revived on Broadway multiple times and continues to be performed around the globe. The musical was turned into a 1971 Norman Jewison-directed film by United Artists with Topol playing Tevye. The film won three Oscars for “Best Original Score”, “Best Cinematography”, and “Best Sound Mixing”. (You can hear OnStage Blog Editor in-Chief Chris Peterson break down the movie here).

Said MGM Film Group Chairman Michael De Luca: “MGM’s nearly centuries-long legacy of great film musicals continues with the great Tommy Kail’s new feature adaptation of one of Broadway’s most enduring classics. Along with the formidable team of Dan, Aaron, and Steven, we are thrilled they have come aboard to steward one of the great musicals to the big screen. Added MGM Film Group President Pam Abdy: “All of us at MGM look forward to sharing this timeless cultural milestone with moviegoing audiences of every generation.”

Said Kail, who won a Tony for his work on the Lin-Manuel Miranda megahit, “It has been a life-long dream of mine to direct Fiddler, though I always imagined I would do it on stage. I am over-joyed to have the opportunity to make a new film version of my favorite show with Mike DeLuca at MGM, where so many transcendent musical movies have been made. I’m proud to partner with Dan Jinks, Aaron Harnick and my great pal, Steven Levenson, to honor this work that has profoundly inspired me and millions of others.”

This comes off the heels of another classic movie musical being remade with Steven Speilberg’s West Side Story arriving in theaters later this year.

OnStage Blog’s Ethan Child also ranked Fiddler on the Roof as the greatest musical of all-time. You can watch his essay on that below.