Springtime on the Prairie!

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Luke’s 12th Birthday

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One More Humorous Entry about Fiddler on the Roof

As I have said in my earlier entries, being involved in this year’s musical production of Fiddler on the Roof was an amazing and unforgettable experience.  It will also be something that we look back on with a lot of humor.  The show has so many funny parts, and, of course, there were many funny moments as we went through the rehearsals and performances.  Just for our own family’s memories, I want to share a few things that have really made us laugh!

The first humorous thing that we will never live down is in this picture of one page of the program:

 

Did you notice that Dan is listed as a choreographer??  He definitely has never thought of himself as a choreographer before!  I guess he did sort of function as one, however, in this show, although that is not how we saw it at the time!  He did help figure out some dance moves for the “To Life” scene–mostly out of necessity just so our own boys would know what to do to give energy to and fill the scene.  And, I must admit that his ideas worked out pretty well, so maybe he has a hidden talent!  🙂  Anyway, he’s never going to live this one down!  When the barbershop director saw his name listed like this in the program, she said she definitely took note as a source for next year’s barbershop program choreography!  LOL!

Here’s another funny thing that happened just today:

 

What’s this? Well, today after church, we did what we usually do: go out to eat lunch. Today we stopped at Arbys, and Dan and the person at the cashier were having quite a conversation at the counter. There were certainly a lot of smirks going on at that register! We went on to get our drinks and condiments while the workers put together our order, and when it was ready, instead of calling for Dan to get the food like they usually do, they called for Lazar Wolf! I guess the guy taking the order had been to the show and had really enjoyed it! Too funny! The picture is scanned from the paper that lined our tray.  As you can see, they really did identify our order as belonging to Lazar Wolf!

And here is one last thing that I just have to share!  There are a lot of wonderful, witty, and even touching lines in Fiddler on the Roof.  Some of our favorite lines, though, are not exactly the most famous ones.  Here is a video of Lazar Wolf (Dan), Avram (Brock), and Mendel (Luke) saying their “best” lines.  I could watch this a million times and not get tired of it! 🙂

 

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Musicals: Why do we do them??

The question at the top of this entry is a good question:  why do we get involved with these musicals?  Well, there are lots of reasons, and our reasons have changed since we first began this “hobby.”  Participating in these productions is definitely a way to grow–musically as well as personally.  The kids have gained a lot of confidence as they have learned to take on the role of a different person and portray that person on stage.  It’s also a good way to be involved in the community and support our college’s music department.  Doing shows like Fiddler on the Roof are amazing opportunities to dig in to learn classic scripts and beautiful songs.  All of these are good reasons to consider investing time into a musical.

After this year, though, I must say that our biggest reason for doing these shows is for the people.  Yes, that is right:  for the people.  The people that make up these casts and crews are tremendous people that we are so blessed to know.  Performing these shows takes a lot of intense work, and because of that, the cast really gets to know each other and to appreciate all of the diverse talents of the group.  Every single person–from the director, to the pianist, to the lead characters, support characters, chorus, and stage crew personnel are wonderful people.  I can’t say enough about the college students–they are simply amazing people, and I can’t wait to see what they go on to do in the future!  The Prairie Family circle of friends has gotten much larger and richer as we have been involved in these special activities, and I wouldn’t trade that for anything.

So, I would definitely encourage people to get involved–not necessarily just in musical productions, but to get involved with PEOPLE.  That’s one of the greatest blessings that life has to offer!

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Fiddler on the Roof: Performance Slideshow

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Fiddler on the Roof: Behind the Scenes of the Sunday Matinee

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Fiddler on the Roof: Behind-the-Scenes of Opening Night

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Final Rehearsals

The final week of musical rehearsals is stressful, but full of wonderful memories.  The intense practice schedule really gives the cast a chance to bond and make lasting friendships–and this year that was particularly true for the Prairie Family.

It’s amazing how shows pull the pieces together in that last week. Lines are cemented (hopefully!), scenes become tighter, and the show starts resembling a real musical.  It’s an amazing transformation to observe!  There are lots of funny moments as well when props malfunction, people miss entrances, lines are ad libbed, etc., but those moments turn into precious memories.

Once that last rehearsal is finished, it’s time to give the performances to the Lord, and ask for His blessing on them.  And He did bless!  More to come…..

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Coming This Weekend!

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2014 Fiddler on the Roof: Week 2 on Stage Collage

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