Today, I went with my friend Joylene to see Fiddler on the Roof at the Boulder Dinner Theater. We had a great time.

I was a little worried that I might not be able to get out of my yard, because we’ve had some snow melt, and then the temps have gone to zero and below, and right outside my front door gets quite icy. But Dan drove so Joylene didn’t have to–he works in the area anyway–and he helped me walk over the icy parts.

We got to the theater at around noon, got ushered to our seats. Yes, at this theater, they actually personally usher you to your seats, instead of just telling you where they are. It is a dinner theater, so we sat at tables. The table was raised up on a platform, and I wasn’t sure I’d be able to step up there, but holding onto the table and the chair and Joylene helping me balance, we made it. The tables were elegantly dressed, with linen table cloths and napkins, water glasses and coffee mugs, bread and butter and silverware. The cast members actually wait on and serve the audience.

Joylene and I both ordered a mimosa. My meal was chicken cordon bleu with potatoes and veggies. Joylene ordered a veggie coconut curry. We ordered dessert too, but it isn’t served till intermission.

The show started at around 1:30, and I was spellbound. I’ve watched the movie so many times, and I saw the play once when I was a teenager. At first, I wasn’t sure that the actor playing Tevya was going to be good. He really doesn’t sing well. But oh my, that man acted the part so wonderfully. He had the mannerisms, the emotion, the up and down of that character. And since Tevya is the show, he made it fantastic. All the other actors and singers were great. And when the entire company was on stage for the crowd scenes, oh, I just can’t express how fabulous. I’m running out of superlatives! It’s not a huge theater, so no place is really far from the stage. I could hear every note, all the beautiful harmonies in the music. When they sang the song about their home town, they brought tears to my eyes. There just aren’t enough words to say how good it was.

At intermission, we had our dessert. Joylene had something called orange blossom cake. It had a butter cream frosting without real butter, and she said you couldn’t tell the difference. For Joylene, that’s a big thing, because like me, she likes butter and lots of it. I had a caramel turtle cheese cake. It was quite good, and not as overpoweringly sweet as I expected.

The only problem I had all day was Petunia. Tuney just would not lie down and stay down. She wasn’t doing anything wrong, not begging for food or bothering other people, nothing like that. But I’m used to dogs just lying down under the table and going to sleep. She was up and down and up and down for the whole almost five hours. Ugh. Ah well, she’s young still. Joylene said that during the crowd scenes, the scenes with the whole cast on stage, Tuney would stand and watch them. Silly girl.

Anyway, it was a wonderful day out, and I’m so glad we went. I hope to go again, but next time it will be my treat for Joylene, as this was hers for me. I had almost forgotten how very much I love live theater!