Skip to main content

Cranky Complaints Lady takes on… Tevye!

You tell me.  Maybe I’m just especially tired, but I’m not sure if I was right to complain or if I should just drop this.  Read on and let me know.

I got an email the other day from the Stratford Festival, which is a Big Deal here.  Toronto has plays and culture and whatnot, but Stratford, an hour and a half away, is one of Canada’s premier cultural festivals (with such a long season - from April to November – that it feels more like a permanent fixture).  Anyhoo.

Last year, I took Elisheva to see Much Ado About Nothing there, because I got a notice of $10 school and homeschool performances.  $10!  It was fun.  The drive was long, yes, but my mother stayed with the little kids and we had a decent time.

So yesterday, I got an email from them and noticed that one of the $10 shows was Fiddler on the Roof

Well, yay!  Right?  I emailed my family right away asking who wanted to come with us.  A Thursday in May, easy!  I even checked to make sure it was after Lag b’Omer so we could listen to live music.  (Yes, I realize there are many aspects of the play that are not entirely appropriate, on several levels.  Its rosy portrayal of the shtetl – well, things were never like that.  And the daughters rebelling, even intermarrying – not sure I wanted the kids to see that but decided the younger ones probably wouldn’t know what was going on anyway.  And (note to Tevye) I want my kids to know that you don’t have to dance with your wife to show her you love her!)

But then my mother emailed me back to say that the date was NOT fine… it was Shavuos.  Oy.  So naturally, I emailed to kvetch.

You probably didn't realize when you made this offer, but the date of the Fiddler on the Roof performance, May 16, is actually one of 3 major Jewish festivals throughout the year.

Since the play itself is of such great interest to a Jewish audience, and since (as homeschoolers on a single income!) I'm wondering if it might be possible to extend this offer to another date which does not conflict with Jewish observance so I could share this wonderful play with my kids.

(we did attend a Shakespeare performance last year and loved it!)

Nice, polite, not really all that worked up… until I got their reply (emphasis mine):

Thank you for your email.

The Stratford Festival is aware of all major Jewish Festivals and we can appreciate that May 16 is a date that will not work for you and your family. We will continue to email you Home School ticket offers which may include other performances of Fiddler on the Roof throughout the season. All weekday matinees of Fiddler in April, May and June are priced at only $29 for students and for all other performances children under 18 are priced at $36.

In the meantime, please continue to check your inbox for future Home School offers.

After a few deep breaths, here’s what I sent back:

Thanks so much for getting back to me quickly.
I'm sure no offense was meant, but I was nevertheless taken aback that you referred to the entire spectrum of observant Jews - millions of Orthodox, Conservative and Reform Jews worldwide who observe this day as sacred - as "you and your family."  Jews are indeed a family, but it is one I felt was also an important part of Canada's cultural milieu.
(Also, I suppose I was giving you the benefit of the doubt in suggesting, initially, that you were not aware that the date of this offer coincided with a Jewish holiday.  Your response suggests that it was intentional - or at least, that this fact was considered and ultimately disregarded.)
I did already know that we could spend three times the price for each person and come see the show on another day.  We are a homeschooling family of six, getting by on a single income, and that will not be an option for us.  That's why I emailed asking for special consideration, given the nature of this particular play.
Thank you anyway,

I guess you could say I’m in a huff.  But be honest… would this have offended you? 

Was I right to take offense, or should I have dropped it???

Comments

  1. You're a customer and you have a right to complain. As you may know, Shavuot is a holiday that pretty much doesn't exist for many Jews.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

I love your comments!

Popular posts from this blog

לימודי קודש/Limudei Kodesh Copywork & Activity Printables

Welcome to my Limudei Kodesh / Jewish Studies copywork and activity printables page.  As of June 2013, I am slowly but surely moving all my printables over to 4shared because Google Docs / Drive is just too flaky for me. What you’ll find here: Weekly Parsha Copywork More Parsha Activities More Chumash / Tanach Activities Yom Tov Copywork & Activities Tefillah Copywork Pirkei Avos / Pirkei Avot Jewish Preschool Resources Other printables! For General Studies printables and activities, including Hebrew-English science resources and more, click here . For Miscellaneous homeschool helps and printables, click here . If you use any of my worksheets, activities or printables, please leave a comment or email me at Jay3fer “at” gmail “dot” com, to link to your blog, to tell me what you’re doing with it, or just to say hi!  If you want to use them in a school, camp or co-op setting, please email me (remove the X’s) for rates. If you just want to say Thank You, here’s a

Hebrew/ עברית & English General Studies Printables

For Jewish Studies, including weekly parsha resources and copywork, click here . If you use any of my worksheets, activities or printables, please leave a comment or email me at Jay3fer “at” gmail “dot” com, to link to your blog, to tell me what you’re doing with it, or just to say hi!  If you want to use them in a school, camp or co-op setting, please email me (remove the X’s) for rates. If you enjoy these resources, please consider buying my weekly parsha book, The Family Torah :  the story of the Torah, written to be read aloud – or any of my other wonderful Jewish books for kids and families . English Worksheets & Printables: (For Hebrew, click here ) Science :  Plants, Animals, Human Body Math   Ambleside :  Composers, Artists History Geography Language & Literature     Science General Poems for Elemental Science .  Original Poems written by ME, because the ones that came with Elemental Science were so awful.  Three pages are included:  one page with two po

It's Heart Month: 3 days left to save lives!

Dear Friends & Family: Hi, everybody! Sorry I can’t stop by in person... you're a bit out of my area.  :-) We’re out walking up and down on our street on this beautiful afternoon to raise money for Heart & Stroke.  This cause is important to me (I won't say it's close to my heart , because that would be tacky!).  I hope you'll join me by donating online. Growing up, I watched as every single one of my grandparents' lives were shortened by heart disease and strokes, and my father had a defibrillator that saved his life on more than one occasion.  Heart disease and stroke kill 1 in 3 Canadians and are the #1 killer of women. Please click this link to be redirected to my main page at the Heart & Stroke website: http://tinyurl.com/AtlasHeart Thus ends my personal appeal.  Official information follows.  :-))) ----- Heart disease and stroke is the #1 killer of women - taking more women's lives than all forms of cancer combined. But no one is immune. Th