From left: Kristen Beth Williams, Ed Dixon and James Ludwig in Riverside Theatre’s production of MY FAIR LADY.
By PAM HARBAUGH
Yes, you can head to New York City to see Broadway’s “My Fair Lady.” But you’ll be hard pressed to find a more energetic, more beautiful and exquisitely directed production than that in your own backyard at Riverside Theatre.
Directed and choreographed by James Brennan, this professional production of Lerner and Loewe’s 1956 award winning classic is a theatrical feast serving up humor, strong performances, lusty choreography, impeccable elegance and music that tests the audience’s will to behave. (Yes, please saving your singing in a Cockney accent for the ride home.)
The musical is based on George Bernard Shaw’s play “Pygmalion,” which itself was named after a mythological Greek sculptor who falls in love with his own ivory sculpture of a woman. Although the musical’s happy ending is different than the play’s cynical ending, much remains the same.
Set in 1912, it strides between two worlds – the rarefied environs of London’s one-percenters and the lowly tenements of East London.
Inspired by hubris, famed phonetician Prof. Henry Higgins bets his colleague, Col. Pickering, that he can turn a poor Cockney flower girl, Eliza, into a lady who can turn heads at a high society ball. He wins the bet, but it leaves Eliza caught in the middle of the two worlds.
She had wanted only to be cultivated enough to work at a flower shop. But now, she’s too good for even that. Not fitting in anywhere, her only hope is to marry. At the same time, Prof. Higgins’ heart has thawed, but he denies his feelings for her.
From left: Ronald Brown, Kathleen Huber, Kristen Beth Williams, John Donovan Wilson and Robin Lounsbury in Riverside Theatre’s production of MY FAIR LADY. Costumes by Kurt Alger.
Within this simple set up are progressive themes espoused frequently by Shaw, a politically energized Irish playwright. Those themes still, alas, ring true today — the gnawing injustices of class distinction, privilege, the hypocrisy of the upper classes and the mistreatment of women.
Brennan’s skilled direction amplifies those themes. Indeed, “woke” audience members will get a #MeToo kick out of his emphasis on an otherwise throw-away line said by Col. Pickering on this brief bit of dialogue:
Higgins says “Have you ever met a man of good character where women were concerned?” Beat. Pickering answers, “Yes. Very Frequently.”
But those are the deeper currents, there if you want to swim in them. Riverside’s production has so much entertainment you won’t notice the lesson at all.
Brennan’s direction and choreography of this show is bold and big, filled with satisfying performances and a snappy pace. It is what we have come to expect from Brennan, who has directed and/or choreographed 10 shows at Riverside, including “Miss Saigon,” “Crazy for You,” “Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike” and “Hello, Dolly!” If vivid action is what you thirst for, then Brennan is your director. But he also takes a big chance with stillness and silence, like the witty timing in the resplendent Ascot Gavotte number where the ultra-bored high society gather to watch a horse race.
His choreography, which includes a can-can, gobbles up the entire stage in the vivacious musical number “Get Me to the Church on Time.” There were audible cheers after that thrilling number on opening night.
The can-can number in “Get Me to the Church on Time” n Riverside Theatre’s production of MY FAIR LADY. Directed and choreographed by James Brennan.
But no matter how gifted Brennan is, he can’t deliver without his talented cast, especially its quartet of remarkable performers who take the stage like the pros they are.
An energetic ball of total delight, Kristen Beth Williams gives flesh and fury to Eliza Doolittle. And, like Williams did in her role of Sibella in the first national tour of “A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder,” she sings like a dream while exuding character. Her “Wouldn’t It Be Loverly” and “Show Me” are filled with verve. She is also drop dead hysterical when, at the Ascot races, she uses perfect elocution to describe an experience worthy of a “Penny Dreadful.”
As Henry Higgins, James Ludwig, who was in the original Broadway cast of “Spamalot,” displays comic befuddlement over the aggravation Eliza causes him. We see Higgins’ duality, the war in him between rational thought and human heart, especially in “I’m an Ordinary Man.” And despite his dastardly actions, your own heart will break in his mournful “I’ve Grown Accustomed to her Face.” He’ll also make you forget (almost) the first moment we see him in an overlarge Inverness coat which swallows up any sense of his being an imposing character.
From left: Kristen Beth Williams, James Ludwig and Kathleen Huber n Riverside Theatre’s production of MY FAIR LADY.
As Alfred Doolittle, Eliza’s drinking and womanizing father, Tom Souhrada is nothing short of perfect. Like many of his castmates, he has a wealth of credits and it shows in his confident, infectious fun. When this role is done right, like it is here, Alfred Doolittle would come close to stealing the big musical numbers like “With a Little Bit of Luck,” it weren’t for the overall strength of the standout ensemble.
A Drama Desk Award winner and Broadway veteran with credits as long as your arm, Ed Dixon gives warm lovability to his character of Colonel Pickering, the ideal foil to Higgins. The trio’s “The Rain in Spain” is winning.
Other standouts include Kathleen Huber as the stately Mrs. Higgins and John Donovan Wilson who, as Freddy Eynsford-Hill, sings an exquisite “On the Street Where You Live.”
Music director Anne Shuttlesworth gets such rich sound from her nine pit musicians you’ll come close to believing a full orchestra has snuck in.
Scenic designer Paul Tate dePoo III does some splendid work here, although it’s a bit perplexing why Higgins’ grand London home would not have a separate room for Eliza. Instead she’s forced to sleep on the couch in the study, and she’s a good girl she is, so she deserves a proper room with a bed. Nevertheless, his multitude of drops and gorgeous study for Higgins are winning.
From left: James Ludwig and Ed Dixon in Riverside Theatre’s production of MY FAIR LADY. Scenic design by Paul Tate dePoo III.
Kurt Alger continues his superior work designing this opulent array of costumes and wigs. And lighting designer Julie Duro makes it all shine so pretty.
With a celebrated production of “My Fair Lady” on Broadway right now at Lincoln Center, area audiences are lucky that Riverside secured the rights long ago.
And, yes, Lincoln Center has its Bartlett Sher and its team of professionals. But Riverside Theatre has its James Brennan and its own coterie of top notch artists. Gushing much? Perhaps. But go to Riverside’s production of “My Fair Lady” and see if you don’t agree.
SIDE O’ GRITS: “My Fair Lady” runs through March 31 with evening and matinee performances at Riverside Theatre, 3250 Riverside Park Drive, Vero Beach. Tickets begin at $35. Call 772-231-6990 or visit RiversideTheatre.com.
