Review: Musical Theater West's "My Fair Lady" is an Enthralling and Enjoyable Adaptation of a Beloved Classic

Left to right: Martin Kildare and Katharine McDonough

For close to 60 years, the story of the intellectually superior Professor Henry Higgins and Cockney shop girl Eliza Doolittle has delighted audiences in the Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Lowe classic My Fair Lady. With iconic songs including "On the Street Where You Live," the stage musical has told the story of how language both connects and alienates people in ways that range from comical to downright tragic. On October 23, Musical Theater West opened up their adaptation of the musical at Long Beach, CA's Carpenter Center as the start of their 2015-2016 season. With a charismatic cast singing and dancing through memorable moment after memorable moment, the group brought the production to life with one of the most colorful and lively takes imaginable. 

Prior to the musical's beginning, the executive director came to the stage and asked the audience if they had seen a stage production of My Fair Lady. With an overwhelming amount raising their hands, he smiled and promised something unique. Nowadays, more audiences are familiar with the Academy Award winning film starring Audrey Hepburn and Rex Harrison in the lead roles, which has also been doing special screenings nationwide over the past month. In a time strangely saturated with the Lerner and Lowe standard, promising something unique is a daunting task. However, it didn't take long for the production to come to life vibrantly through the excellent orchestration playing medleys of the various song numbers. By the time that the curtain was up from a drape lit with flowered patterns, the magic was already in play. 

The story begins as all versions do with a hustle and bustle of street merchants selling their goods. While those unfamiliar with Eliza Doolittle's (Katharine McDonough) outfit may take some time to find her, Henry Higgins (Martin Kildare) immediately stands out. He is pompously critiquing everyone's speech pattern, claiming to know people's point of origin down to within six blocks. He is the pompous blowhard who prides himself on being superior. As he sings "Why Can't the English?," the juxtaposition to reality kicks in. We've found Eliza selling flowers and talking in a jarring accent. Thankfully, McDonough has a grasp on finding the pitch that is jarring, but endearing enough for her character. 

It's the perfect set-up, introducing us to the characters and their ideals. It's also an immediate establishment of greater themes involving class systems (of which Eliza's father Alfie (Matthew Henerson) doesn't wish to be involved with) and the overall importance of language. As the story progresses, language comes both the emotional crux and the source for most of the comedy. From the famous "The Rain in Spain" number to Eliza recounting her mother's death to the horrified upper class, there's comedy to be found in the hierarchy in ways that are surprisingly still relevant. Meanwhile, Henry is played for laughs as he ignorantly wonders why women can't be more like men while treating Eliza more like an experiment than a person. Henry is void of emotional understanding. It's what makes his character so fascinating, so comical, and so tragic. By the end, Henry has driven himself into isolation, but it's hard to fully dislike him for it.

It helps that the cast is strong in this production. McDonough is great as Eliza. Her loud and boisterous beginning transitions beautifully into the iconic style that populates the back half. She is both poised and a live wire, capable of being funny and tragic. She gives a performance that is as much about what she says as she does. There's a physicality to it that keeps the show balanced perfectly as the refined Kildare speaks in great deadpan. It's because Kildare adds a reservation to his character that Henry inevitably works as something more than farce. True, his misogyny is played for laughs, but not to a degradation. Each character is allowed to have dignity, using language as their weapon of survival. It's fascinating to notice how each actor uses it differently to get concepts both explicit and implicit across to the audience. Among the supporting cast is Henry's assistant Colonel Pickering (Richard Gould), who is one of the great bystanders - adding comedy just by having to deal with Henry's nonsense. He's even allowed to have a dance number, full of small comical moments.

Enough can't be said about the production as a whole, which is a wonderful, mesmerizing experience in which the music is lively and the performances are enthralling. The ensemble cast does an excellent job performing various choreographed numbers, especially in "Get Me to the Church on Time," where supporting players are required to spin and cartwheel ad nauseum. As much as My Fair Lady works because of its story and characters, it's also about the spectacle that Lerner and Lowe instilled in it. Every song has at least one memorable moment, rich with personality and capable of keeping attention. It's a production that does the work justice and in some ways elevates it into something more awe-inspiring.

So, was he right to claim that this would be unique? Speaking as this is my first exposure to My Fair Lady on stage, I would say that it's a very strong version to see. The costumes are beautiful, the acting is superb, and the music is harmonious. It's everything that good theater should be. Thanks to great lead performances by McDonough and Kildare, the whole production hinges together in ways that keep your attention. If the story of language and its impact on culture and humanity interests you, it would be smart to give My Fair Lady a chance. 

*NOTE: The musical will also be playing on Saturday, Nov. 7 and Sunday Nov. 8 at The Carpenter Center in Long Beach, CA. For tickets and information, please visit the Musical Theater West's website.