LONGWOOD: An evening full of music and light

This year's musical by the Brandywiners, "Fiddler on the Roof," was lots of fun. As the lead character, the dairyman Tevye, Bill Fellner was a very likable presence (he played the same role in the Brandywiners' previous production of "Fiddler" back in 1977). It was great to hear songs like "Tradition," "If I Were a Rich Man" and "Sunrise, Sunset." I didn't realize that the charming "Do You Love Me?" was from the musical.
Aside from the songs, my favorite part of the play was the huge puppet of the butcher's deceased first wife. Think Marge Simpson in a bad mood. She appeared to Tevye in a nightmare and made it very clear that she did NOT want Tevye's oldest daughter to become the new Mrs. Wolf. (At least, that's Tevye's story and he's sticking to it.)
Thank you to my generous neighbors for sending tickets our way for the second summer in a row (speaking of "Tradition").
The play was held in the Open Air Theater at Longwood Gardens, and during intermission we walked through part of the new Nightscape exhibit. Frankly I thought it was going to be like those hokey rock-and-roll laser light shows we went to back in the 1970s, but I was so wrong: this was utterly spectacular. The creators use the Longwood landscape as a 3D canvas, projecting colorful moving light patterns across the trees. As we walked down one pathway, it was as if we were being encircled by light and were heading through some kind of a mysterious portal. It was like the best of psychedelia, science fiction and technology combined.
We made it as far as the big lake but had to hurry back to see the second half of the show. We will definitely return because there is quite a lot we didn't get to see.
In addition to all the other attractions, Longwood is always great for people-watching. As we were waiting for the play to start, two sweet older ladies walked down the aisle to their seats, and when they reached their row, one turned to the other and said with surprise, "They're waiting for us!"
And one man a few rows in front of us found his seat, only to realize that it was #13. Apparently a superstitious fellow, he made a dramatic show of refusing to sit down. Fortunately his companion had no problem with it.