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Pioneer Tunes

A conversation with Alisa Solomon about the first—and last—Zionist musical comedy on Broadway

by
December 12, 2007

Alisa Solomon still remembers performing hit numbers from Milk and Honey with her Hebrew class at Friday night services. Today, the success of the musical seems significant not only because it heralded the arrival on Broadway of composer Jerry Herman (he would go on to write the scores for Hello, Dolly! and La Cage aux Folles), but also because it was such an anomaly—a Zionist musical comedy. Solomon introduces some of her favorite songs from the show, and speculates as to why, three years after Milk and Honey hit the stage, another “Hadassah musical,” Fiddler on the Roof, proved even more appealing to American audiences.

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Sara Ivry is the host of Vox Tablet, Tablet Magazine’s weekly podcast. Follow her on Twitter @saraivry.