Being a descendant of German Lutheran pioneers, I do know about tradition.
So, I remember being deeply moved by the song, Tradition, when I first heard Fiddler on the Roof. And, as Tevye admits while singing it, we may ask where those traditions came from, but he doesn't know. Neither do I know about some of ours.
But that's only one great song from Fiddler. There are more: Matchmaker, Matchmaker; Sunrise, Sunset, Do You Love Me?, and that one that talks about being far away from home. I have always loved this musical, and so do a lot of other folks.
I have not seen the new West Side Story; in fact, I haven't seen the old one, but I'm convinced that the great musicals from the past will not be replicated; they are only replayed again and again, in high schools and community theaters.
The first time I saw Fiddler was in an Omaha Dinner Theater; the second time, at Wayne High, in 1982. I know that was the year because someone has posted it on YouTube.
Granddaughter, Randa, says she first saw it at Norris High School, back when she was relatively new to the genre. I do know she had a lead in Guys and Dolls when in eighth grade, but my vivid memory of her there was her senior year, when she was Maria, in Sound of Music. I recalled how she watched and re-watched my video of the movie as a little girl.
After high school, she pursued music at Simpson College in Iowa, and it wasn't always convenient to get there to see the productions, but I saw The Beggar's Opera and Carousel, for sure.
Since then, it's been summer theater at an Amish theater in Indiana, where she got to sing the other lead in Guys and Dolls, Adelaide's Lament, which was a hoot! She was also in Footloose in a Kearney summer theater. And she was in Annie in the Lincoln Community Playhouse.
Finally, she moved to the Big Apple to live out her dream, and was cast in the ensemble in Fiddler on the Roof, in 2019. We had tickets to a performance in Kansas City. And then, everything, including touring productions, locked down. Last fall, they picked up again, and we got to see her as Hodel at the Orpheum last week. What fun! Her Dad and Mom, and I, were not too proud!! Her aunts beamed, too, and I'm so grateful to them for getting me there. It was truly an awesome evening, and many of you have already seen the photos on FaceBook. In case you would like to see more, just let me know!! Grin!
And Tradition is still an earworm; that, and the one about miracles! Great music!
