History of Great White Way illuminated in photo book

Israeli actor Chaim Topol has the role of Tevye this week, as the touring company of Fiddler on the Roof performs at the Orpheum Theatre in downtown Minneapolis. On the cover of Historic Photos of Broadway: New York Theater, 1850-1970 (Turner), the late Zero Mostel is shown in the famed musical role on Broadway in 1964. Fiddler represented the “high-water mark” for lyricist Sheldon Harnick and composer Jerry Bock, according to Leonard Jacobs, who wrote the text and captions for this enjoyable large-format photo volume. There are other photos of Jewish performers — the Marx Brothers, Eddie Cantor, Ethel Merman, et al. — drawn from the New York Public Library’s Billy Rose Theatre Division’s voluminous archives. — Mordecai Specktor