You’ve heard that old song “Tea for Two.” It was written for the 1925 musical “No, No, Nanette.” If you want to be technical, it contains abrupt key changes between A-flat major and C major and consists mostly of dotted eighth notes and quarter notes. It has morphed into a jazz standard over the years as well as a cha-cha and a ballet.
Today a friend and I provided Tea for Twelve, and it had nothing to do with music. Well, just a little to do with music. We hosted our monthly book club and invited members to read Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland written by Lewis Carroll in 1862. Then we plied our guests with an honest-to-goodness tea party complete with finger sandwiches and tarts worthy of the famous Queen of Hearts who loved to threaten to lop off peoples’ heads at the slightest offense.
We encouraged members to dress in costume; and I, being more flamboyant than my friend, attempted to re-enact the White Rabbit and his pocket watch. The Cheshire Cat, the March Hare, the Mad Hatter, and other various characters made appearances; and I was thrilled that this group got into the spirit as eagerly as it did. For a group of retired women, we’re pretty cutting edge.
And the music . . . we did play Jefferson Airplane’s rendition of “White Rabbit” from the sixties and the score from Tim Burton’s “Alice in Wonderland” starring Johnny Depp. I think we slipped The Beatles’ “I Am the Walrus” in there too. It might not have been as sentimental as “Tea for Two,” but it sufficed.
Leave a Reply