I don't have the genealogical charts handy, but isn't it possible that Edna Turnblad is a direct descendant of Tevye? Both the hero of Fiddler on the Roof and the heroine of Hairspray are doting parents, protective of their adolescent daughters and suspicious of outside forces -- be they new dances, music, or ideas -- that might shake up the family unit. Tevye and Edna are both in long, solid marriages. They have large appetites for food and for life, and they don't like surprises. When confronted with the unexpected, their core values are tested; they're forced to learn about forces in the world that are bigger than their own small universes, and the audience eats it up.

All of which is to[...]

Jerome Robbins, who originally staged Fiddler on the Roof, was an advocate of telling the audience at the top of a show what it's about to see. This savvy approach draws an audience in, points it in a direction, and avoids confusion at any later juncture. The way that Robbins, lyricist Sheldon Harnick, composer Jerry Bock, and the first Fiddler cast put the well-considered dictum into practice stands now as one of musical comedy's genuinely magnificent opening numbers, "Tradition."

The sweeping introduction remains extremely moving in the current revival, which is directed by David Leveaux and for which Jonathan Butterell has overseen the musical staging with obvious attention to Robbins's [...]