Last weekend I had the magical experience of seeing the revival of My Fair Lady in New York City. From the time we bought tickets at the box office (the online service charge was disgracefully expensive - when did that happen?!), until the end of the performance, I was humming, singing and dancing to the music.
The show transported me to a cherished memory from childhood when my father took my sister and me into New York City to see the show. I think my younger brother stayed at home with my mom. Besides enjoying live theater, my folks also collected the show records that were played on our family stereo while mom made dinner. So, we learned the delightful lyrics and danced and sang along at home.
My family was not wealthy and theater tickets in those days were probably far more affordable and then again, as memory from years back fades, we may not have gone into New York as frequently as I remember; but shows like Fiddler on the Roof (with Zero Mostel), Annie Get Your Gun (with Ethel Merman no less), Oliver and the works of Gilbert and Sullivan created glorious memories for me.
In a home with post depression parents and an overlay of frugality, theater was pure luxury in my book. So, imagine my delight when Pop took us to Horn and Hartant's automat first to have anything we wanted! Usually it was a chicken pot pie with a chocolate milk and jello with whipped cream for dessert. What a treat! What a day! What a town!
There is something wondrously unique about retirement that has allowed many memories to unlock. In this case, it started with show tickets I may not have ordinarily gotten. Together with Mom's famous meatloaf, those experiences created the comfort food of my childhood and a lifelong love of the theater.
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