Fiddler On the Roof

Marina and I have been avid theater goers for years and now that she is getting older I'm hoping to introduce her to more classic musicals. When one of our favorite dinner theaters announced a production of Fiddler on the Roof, I was excited to take her to see it.

The show has been very successful and I was lucky to get us tickets at all. The theater was a good distance from our house and we had to leave during rush hour. Marina brought her Rapunzel doll with her which kept her attention during the drive. We arrived arrived in plenty of time for dinner and the theater was already very full.

While we ate, I explained the story of the show and some of the cultural and historical background of the time. Once the show started I had plenty more to tell her about. The show incorporated many Jewish dances and traditions which Marina had never been exposed to before.

We also recognized one actress who we've seen in several other productions in the past playing one of the daughters. Marina was thrilled to see her again. 

Marina seemed most interested in the storylines that involved Tevye's daughters and the dance sequences. During some of the more serious scenes, I noticed Marina was playing with her Rapunzel doll and not watching the show. It turned out she was wrapping the doll's hair in her scarf, much like the young women in the cast had theirs.

The show ended late but Marina had enough energy to track down a few members of the cast. She had a chance to talk with the actress we've met before, the fiddler and the actor playing Tevye. All were gracious and posed for a picture with her.

After she met all the performers she wanted to, we headed home. Marina was surprised that she had fallen asleep on the drive. It didn't surprise me at all!

Swan Lake

Normally I don't schedule outings on school nights, but when I learned a Russian ballet troupe was performing Swan Lake at a theater near us, I couldn't resist taking Marina to see it. We've seen many classic ballets(including two others by Tchaikovsky) but never Swan Lake. We've seen an animated version but not the ballet. Marina did a great job getting her homework done before we went to see it.

On the drive to the theater, I told Marina how famous the Russians are for their ballet. Once we arrived we read a synopsis of the story. As it turned out, Swan Lake was much like the other Tchaikovsky ballets we have seen - a simple storyline with many dance solos for the ballet dancers.

Marina followed the story easily and told me afterwards her favorite characters were the White Swan, the Black Swan and the Prince. She was very pleased that the ballet had a happy ending (which was not in the synopsis we read).

We both enjoyed the performance. Once it was over we headed home. We loved seeing the ballet, but we wanted to get home quickly and get some sleep.

Swimming on a Snowy Day

Since Marina got a mermaid fin before Christmas last year, she has wanted to try it out. Since she had the day off today for President’s Day, I decided to take her swimming. We invited Ainsley to join us.

Today was cold and snowy. We decided to try out a new pool with a huge slide and a lazy river. But clearly many other people decided to go swimming today because the pool was much more crowded than we had expected.

The girls immediately started off by taking turns trying out the mermaid fin. The both discovered it was much more difficult than it looked. After the novelty had worn off, they spent quite a while on the lazy river. Near the end of our time there, Ainsley tried the water slide – both had been too scared to try it before then. When Ainsley came down, Marina met her at the bottom and Ainsley gave her a thumbs up. Then they went together to ride it. Clearly they both loved the slide because they went down it again and again.

Neither girl wanted to leave, but Ainsley had a piano lesson. So we headed out into the snow.

Cinderella On Stage

Marina and I have seen quite a lot of theater lately, but it's been a while since we've attended a national touring show. When I saw Cinderella on the schedule, I knew we'd have to see it. We have seen this show at a local theater however, this production was something special. Marina did not want to wear her Cinderella costume but she insisted on a blue dress. Then she wore the cape from her Cinderella ensemble over the dress.

Parking downtown was difficult today and we ended up running late for the show. Once we found a spot and paid for it, we rushed through the snow and busy streets to the theater. We'd barely gotten to our seats when the lights dimmed and the show began. We breathed a sigh of relief and settled in for the show.

The sets and the costumes for Cinderella were beautiful and the performances were amazing. Marina laughed out loud at the stepsisters and gasped at the special effects. It was clear she enjoyed the show. Once it was over, we joined the audience in a standing ovation.

Into the Woods on the Big Screen

After seeing Into the Woods on stage twice in the past year, Marina and I were looking forward to seeing the movie. It's been out for a while but we hadn't had time to see it before today.

Since the movie has been out for a while it was no longer showing at any of our favorite theaters, so we tried out a new one today. It worked out well, the tickets and concessions were significantly lower than what we're used to and Marina declared the popcorn was delicious.

We didn't have much time before the movie began and the popcorn kept us happy until it did. About 10 minutes after it began, Marina said, "This is really good." I agreed, it was a very good adaptation of the stage musical. Although we both noticed some omissions from the original script. Just like the stage show, the second half was a bit more difficult for Marina. Although she did enjoy pointing out when Prince Charming was "busted!"

After the movie, we went home to have a special Valentine's Day dinner. Marina's favorite character in Into the Woods is Red Riding Hood, but she doesn't have a costume for that character, so when we came home she put on an Alice in Wonderland costume with a Cinderella hooded cape. I called her Blue Riding Hood!

Super Sunday Shopping

Today was Super Bowl Sunday, but Marina had no interest in that. She was interested in going to the American Girl store to spend a gift card she got for Christmas. We haven't been to the store in a long time and were interested in checking out Grace, the 2015 Girl of the Year. Marina has been studying the latest catalog and was excited to see the new doll in person.

Marina decided to bring McKenna with her today. They dressed alike in the Saige sweaters. She got lots of compliments on the sweaters even though she noticed the sleeves on the girl and doll versions weren't the same.

When we arrived at the store, Marina made a beeline for the section with Grace and her accessories. She happily posed with a large cut out of Grace and tried on a beret that matched the one on the doll. She really enjoyed playing with Grace's bakery which was on display. She checked out all the baked goods in the set and found the mixer really spins. She loved that!

With her gift card, Marina thought about getting the cheerleader gear, but ultimately decided on Grace's travel set. Then she thought about all the places her dolls could travel with the suitcase.

After we left the American Girl store, we checked out what was new at the Disney Store and Lego store. Naturally, Marina found plenty to love at those stores as well.