Sometimes it's so nice to break out of the regular routine, and go do something fun. I had not been to a play in about 5 years, but I took Michael to a play tonight at the fabulous Fox Theatre, and we had a great time.
The play was Fiddler On The Roof. It was wonderful. I wasn't expecting it to be so good, but it was excellent. I am going to write a review of it for an online magazine. No pay, but free tickets.
The seats were wonderful, orchestra seats about 14 rows from the stage. The Fox is a HUGE theatre. I love to read about its colorful history.
Michael had been to a couple of plays at the Fox with school groups, but this was his first time there with me, seeing a grownup show. It was so nice for me, because I remember going to the Fox throughout my childhood, mainly with my grandparents. It was a regular movie theatre in the 60's and early 70's. Now it shows movies, but more often there are stage plays and concerts.
When we got to our seats, Michael looked up at the beautiful dark blue ceiling with tiny twinkling lights and said "Are we outside?" I had to chuckle. The ceiling is purposely crafted to resemble the night sky.
The bathrooms are down a huge carpeted staircase and they are vast areas - the lounges with chairs and sofas, bigger than most apartments, done in an opulent rococo style popular 100 years ago. I tried to get Mike to walk downstairs and see them, but he said he didn't have to go, thank you very much. He is too young to appreciate it.
I had forgotten that Fiddler has so many funny lines, and there is a lot of dancing. The production did a great job of seamlessly blending all those elements. The backdrops were even beautiful, resembling paintings by Marc Chagall.
Fiddler On the Roof holds a special place in my heart. When I was a freshman in college, I was in Fiddler. My character had about 3 lines, so not really memorable. I was in all the chorus scenes, though. I was the only Drama major in the cast - the rest were music majors and didn't know stagecraft - so I was drafted to be the Stage Manager. By the end of the production, everyone hated me. I had to run around hissing at people to be quiet backstage, get their costume changes done on time, hurry! etc. It was a real bummer.
I'll never forget the guy who played Tevye sitting backstage during a matinee, when he had a break, and saying "Oy! I shouldn't have eaten such a big lunch! I have to fart like a big dog!"
I can't remember a thing about his performance, but that fart line has stuck in my head for 30 years! LOL
Here is a view of one small part of the wonderful interior of the Fox:
If you ever have a chance to go to the Fox, go.
