page 13
arts and culture
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ing several asides in which Tevye speaks to
an unseen G-d, asking why the chosen people
couldn’t sometimes be chosen for something
better. As his family trudges out of Anatevka
in the cold, Tevye speculates that the repeated
deportation of Jews is “why we always wear our
hats.”
Second, Fiddler debuted in 1964, which means
that any audience who has ever seen the play
knows how the story really ends. Indeed, Tevye
and his family are fortunate in a way. Leaving
the Russian Empire at the turn of the century
meant that the protagonists avoided the Russian
Revolution and ensuing Civil War, the Holodomor, and the Holocaust, which claimed the
lives of hundreds of thousands of Jews living in
German-occupied Ukraine during the Second
World War. Tevye’s children would grow up in
a prosperous era, and his grandchildren would
either become part of the first truly affluent
Jewish generation in American history, or travel
to settle in a new Jewish homeland.
It was a remarkable performance. Scott Wentworth was stellar as the archetypal Jewish hero
Tevye, a performance perhaps informed by his
simultaneous portrayal of Jewish anti-hero Shylock in The Merchant of Venice. I certainly felt
sheepish about my earlier assumptions about
the Festival. The production was world-class,
certainly on par with, if not surpassing, the Festival’s Shakespearean efforts. I later discovered
that Wentworth has previously been nominated
for a Tony Award and this production, had it
taken place in New York, may have earned him
a second.
The best part: through a program that allows
people under age 29 to purchase affordable tickets for certain performances, we were able to
obtain our tickets for Musketeers and Fiddler for
$25 each.
hotels, or run-down motels. Even the motels
were relatively expensive, so we splurged, stayed
in a hotel, and chalked it up as a necessary evil.
We also spent the day in Stratford on Sunday,
which gave us a chance to have brunch and a
beer at Mercer Hall, another reasonably priced
purveyor of delicious things. After the meal, we
perused the wares at independent bookstores
and chocolate shops, both of which were also
surprisingly affordable (in fact, I purchased
a hardcover book by Malcolm Gladwell that
explained why Tevye’s grandchildren would
have been so lucky to live in the United States
in the 1930s for $6.99, which is better than the
Amazon price).
The one sticking point about visiting Stratford
is accommodation. The municipality has written its zoning bylaw to deliberately exclude tall
buildings, including hotel chains. This leaves
few options: expensive B&Bs, awkward morning meal included; overpriced (but clean) small
I could have spent a great deal more money to
have a less relaxing experience here in Toronto.
Two days of top-notch entertainment, food,
accommodation, shopping, and transportation
came in at under $170 per person. It’s not free,
but the value is incredible, and I no longer feel
like a poor pretender to the posh. If I were a rich
man, I would have had exactly the same weekend.
than the other. Loved ‘em both.
passed on would have blown your mind.
Luke: The soup I chose (germophobia prevented sharing here) was very good, but not
spectacular. Like the wraps, the soup had just
the right amount of heat. Also, I really appreciated the freshness of the porcinis and the way
they were chopped – a coarse shred, not too
chunky. Still, it was somewhat on the salty side
and could have been served at a hotter temperature. Next time I would definitely go with
what you ordered or maybe the chowder.
Amenities & Service:
Jurisfoodence
» continued from page 8
and the chicken were slow-roasted and expertlyspiced. I love Indian cooking generally, but
finding the right heat-level can be difficult. This
place nails it: the wraps are just hot enough to
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