Sunrise, Sunset

Clara’s eyes grew wide with shock when I described the concept of a “matchmaker” before taking her to see “Fiddler on the Roof” at Beef and Boards Dinner Theatre last night. It was hard for my modern girl to imagine that there could be any time or place on earth when a young lady didn’t get to choose her own spouse.

As the lights dimmed and Clara and I, along with her little sister Daisy, started watching Doug Stark bring the proud, traditional papa “Tevye” to life, I found myself thinking like both a daughter and a mother.

I wondered how my parents felt the first time I told them, “I met this great guy – he’s a musician!” (It’s been 13 years since that musician and I said our vows, and still, Ian and I wonder how we’ll feel when one of our kids inevitably delivers that same news.)

I wondered who my kids’ future “matches” will be. I wondered how I would react if they chose someone who radically challenged our own beliefs. I wondered what qualities I would look for in spouses for my children if I had “matchmaking” power.

The girls especially enjoyed seeing our young friends, Mallory and Lucy Neal, playing Tevye’s youngest daughters and sharing the stage with their mother, Carrie Neal. They were adorable!

I was surprised by the moment that got to me most in the show. It was when Tevye asked his wife Golde (played beautifully by my friend Lynne Perkins) in song, “Do You Love Me?” That song is such a sweet portrait of the kind of steady, deep love built through years of ups and downs and unshakeable commitment.

It’s the kind of love might appear utilitarian and unromantic on the surface. Somehow, this song and these actors exposed the deep roots that make it so beautiful.

Congratulations to the cast and crew on a sweet, love-filled performance!

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