Monday, February 21, 2011

Champagne Tuesday Girls Give "Fiddler" Four Flutes Up!

We mixed a little culture with our champagne this week! The CT girls got all fancied up, shared a toast at Palomino's and went to see "Fiddler on the Roof" together. It was so nice to break from the norm - although I did miss the hours of convo and catching up we usually do at CT - but it was a fab show we all enjoyed!

Each CT gal gave her mini-review on the show below, and also shared her fav scene. Enjoy! We recommend you see it! "Matchmaker, matchmaker, [we found you] a match!" :)

MONIKA
This week's Champagne Tuesday outing was of the more cultural variety -- my fave girls and I got our theatre on by attending "Fiddler on the Roof" at the Aronoff. Having grown up hearing songs from this musical (nothing compares to watching my cousins do a beachside rendition of "Matchmaker, Matchmaker"), I couldn't wait to see this production. No disappointment here...the show was fantastic from start to finish.

My favorite part of the show was more a character than a particular scene. I'm adoring Teyve, because his character reminds me of a historical mash-up of my dad and my grandpa. Watching him try to guide his daughters in their lives, first through tradition, then by viewing their actions through a more modern lens, I'm reminded of several times where my dad and my grandpa had to adjust their view of my world to accommodate my crazy antics. I'm sure it's no surprise that I was always the one to push my luck right to the edge!

Definitely a great eve - culture, champagne (okay, maybe it was wine) and the CT girls.


AYMIE
I always look forward to Champagne Tuesday! But this past CT was even more exciting!  My favorite girlfriends, champagne and the theatre! I grew up in the theatre (on the stage, behind the stage and in the audience), so when Amy told us that we had tickets to see “Fiddler on the Roof” at the Aronoff I couldn’t have been more thrilled.  Although I had seen the play before (15 times actually…only because I was part of a staging of years ago), I couldn’t wait! I love live theatre for so many reasons and one of those is that no performance is ever the same.  So there we sat, the CT girls, in Cincinnati, Ohio at the beautiful Aronoff Center experiencing Broadway.  And then it happened…Tradition!
This performance of the classic Broadway musical did not disappoint. We all left humming the songs and already reminiscing about one of the BEST Champagne Tuesdays EVER!!


LAUREN
Fiddler on the Roof is a gem of a musical.  It illustrates the strong notion of tradition and family with interludes of love, lust and introspective thoughts from the lovable Poppa of five girls, Tevye. 

My favorite part was the wedding scene.  Seeing all the male dancers wooing the ladies with their leg kicks and singing, I couldn't help tap you foot along and celebrate with them.  The fiddler also played a great role in the musical.  He would show up and play in most of the closing scenes.  If he wasn't playing, he would be scene on the roof or sitting on the ground away from the main story.  This portrayed the metaphor for survival in a tangible way, as he would appear and disappear with the scenes and lights.

Overall, you know what you are going to get with this musical and the Aronoff's version was nothing short of that.  

AMY
I didn't get out much as a kid apparently, because I didn't even know the "Fiddler on the Roof" story. So, the entire performance was all new to me. It was new, yet, several quotes and lots of the music I had heard countless times before. My favorite part of the performance was when I realized that Gwen Stefani's "Rich Girl" song was actually sampling a Fiddler on the Roof song! I also enjoyed all the memorable quotes... some of my favorites:

Villager: An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.
Tevye: Very good. That way the whole world will be blind and toothless.


Tevye: [to Lazar Wolf] "I always wanted a son, but I wanted one a little younger than myself."

Mordcha: "If the rich could hire others to die for them we, the poor, would all make a nice living."

"…if our good fortune never comes, here's to whatever comes."

"Sunrise, sunset - sunrise, sunset - swiftly fly the years... one season following another, laden with happiness and tears."