Tevye We Hardly Knew Ye

When I was maybe 13 my mother took me to see Fiddler on the Roof in Los Angeles. Now, this was a big, big deal. We lived in Orange County and we NEVER went to Los Angeles; all I knew was that L.A. was "dangerous", it was unlikely I'd ever lay eyes on Dodger Stadium (certainly not for a night game!), and you had to be EXTREMELY careful and always alert if and when you got anywhere near the place (this from my father who, to be fair, lived in Los Angeles for years and years). At any rate, my mom and I got in the car late morning one Sunday, drove to Los Angeles from La Habra (about 45 minutes), had lunch someplace and then went to the theater for the matinee (and I know it wasn't the Pantages, but I'm not sure which theater it was; I just ran a cursory Google search and didn't find anything - Dave Stein? Garth?).

As it turned out, NOT ONLY was there no matinee that day (the box office was closed, no people around at all), but the marquee was ignorant of the antics of Tevye and his family - Fiddler on the Roof wasn't even PLAYING; instead, the current production was Your Arms to Short to Box With God, an all-Black musical that imdb describes as "a soaring celebration in song and dance". Which it may well be, but I never saw it.

We drove back to the safety of Orange County, my mother and I did, and if you've noticed this thing about me, that I often call ahead even if we are meeting at a bar that we ARE ABSOLUTELY DEAD CERTAIN WILL BE OPEN; or if I'm running down to get something at the pet store or whatever - well, impetus thine name is Mrs. Murray.

IBL:mm