A bit of advice if you are attending Fiddler on the Roof, running this weekend in Calgary and next week in Edmonton. Invest in a bottle of water at concession and prepare yourself to be sitting for a long time.

Especially the first act is incredibly long, and in total we spent nearly three hours at the Jubilee Auditorium on opening night. Since the Jubilee was renovated only four years ago you'd think they would have taken into consideration that their patrons would be sitting for hours at concerts and events, and make the seats comfortable. Sadly this is not the case, and the numbness and pain by the end of the first act made watching the show a less than pleasant experience.

This is a shame, because Fiddler on the Roof is quite a beautiful show. With moving sets, incredible choreography restored from the original production, and a powerful cast, it's what an epic classic Broadway production should be in the eyes of many theatre-goers.

85 year old Academy Award nominee Theodore Bikel leads the cast through the classic tale about a poor family in a small Jewish town in Russia. It is interesting to see situations from 1905 like marrying against one’s race, being disowned, and realizing that these things still happen today under a variety of circumstances. The more things change, the more they stay the same.

I do have to comment on Sean Patrick Doyle, who was interviewed in the January issue of GayCalgary and Edmonton Magazine. His portrayal of female character Fruma-Sarah is a show-stealer - my jaw was on the floor. He was so convincing, I had to confirm that he had not been replaced for the evenings show with a real woman.

While many shows are more flash than substance, Fiddler on the Roof is a story with a great deal of depth, which is why it has been so successful for so many years. It's not for everyone, small children may get bored and you really have to be in the mood to sit through it. If you love classical musicals, then this will be a good fit.

Now if only we could do something about the chairs.