My Fair Lady by Chatsworth Players - REVIEW
Background
Professor Higgins of Walpole Street, London, teaches phonetics. He claims that he can identify where people are from and where the influences originate in regard to the quirks of speech and language they have adopted. Therefore, when Higgins meets the young, Eliza Doolittle, a flower seller with a strong Cockney accent, he treats her like a social experiment. He believes that he can raise her position in London society if she were to lose the dialect and pronounce her vowels and enunciate her use of English language 'properly'.
My Fair Lady is a hugely popular musical first performed in 1956 with music composition by Loewe and book/lyrics by Lerner (Lerner & Loewe), a long running Broadway show also a famous Warner Bros. film (1964).
This story of Eliza and Professor Higgins however, originates from the play Pygmalion (published 1912) written by playwright George Bernard Shaw. Pygmalion for all intents and purposes is a feminist play and is still performed today. One hundred years or so since it premiered in Vienna it is vital to return to the text and use it as a creative source to continually fulfill Shaw's ambitions of exploring the subject of social inequality.
Comment
Shaw's divisive messages are not lost in My Fair Lady but the music somewhat sugar coats because the performances of the classic songs which includes “Wouldn’t It Be Loverly;” “I Could Have Danced All Night;” “The Rain in Spain” and “On the Street Where You Live.” is just pure entertainment.
Review
The theatre production of My Fair Lady by the Chatsworth Players is directed by Christine Heery and is wonderfully cohesive, one or two moments during the run of play caused slight distraction, otherwise the audiences' enthused engagement was total throughout.
Two pianists: Musical Director, Andrew Marples and Chris Flint play the whole score live and it is evident that the songs are well rehearsed by the musicians and actors alike. Additionally permissions acquired by Music Theatre International (MTI) allows the performance of music material which greatly enhances the show.
Petra Nolan (Eliza) performs her solo pieces with confidence and holds a steady pitch and Tom Sparks (Freddy), sings 'On the Street [...]' clearly and with much sincerity - beautiful!
The Professor Higgins character is given the most wicked and memorable lines and Chris Rooke clearly relished his delivery of them in role. The comedy interjection(s) however are from the Pickering and Doolittle characters in the main, played by the company's long time members Melvyn Osborne and Barrie Goodwin respectively; they prompt warmth and genuine appreciation for the unspoken aspects that one can attach to witnessing good acting skills: "Get me to the Church on Time" performed by Goodwin is a real highlight!
It was amusing for the reviewer (a southerner) to see northern players adopting long vowel sounds for art's sake.
Professor Higgins of Walpole Street, London, teaches phonetics. He claims that he can identify where people are from and where the influences originate in regard to the quirks of speech and language they have adopted. Therefore, when Higgins meets the young, Eliza Doolittle, a flower seller with a strong Cockney accent, he treats her like a social experiment. He believes that he can raise her position in London society if she were to lose the dialect and pronounce her vowels and enunciate her use of English language 'properly'.
My Fair Lady is a hugely popular musical first performed in 1956 with music composition by Loewe and book/lyrics by Lerner (Lerner & Loewe), a long running Broadway show also a famous Warner Bros. film (1964).
This story of Eliza and Professor Higgins however, originates from the play Pygmalion (published 1912) written by playwright George Bernard Shaw. Pygmalion for all intents and purposes is a feminist play and is still performed today. One hundred years or so since it premiered in Vienna it is vital to return to the text and use it as a creative source to continually fulfill Shaw's ambitions of exploring the subject of social inequality.
Comment
Shaw's divisive messages are not lost in My Fair Lady but the music somewhat sugar coats because the performances of the classic songs which includes “Wouldn’t It Be Loverly;” “I Could Have Danced All Night;” “The Rain in Spain” and “On the Street Where You Live.” is just pure entertainment.
Review
The theatre production of My Fair Lady by the Chatsworth Players is directed by Christine Heery and is wonderfully cohesive, one or two moments during the run of play caused slight distraction, otherwise the audiences' enthused engagement was total throughout.
Two pianists: Musical Director, Andrew Marples and Chris Flint play the whole score live and it is evident that the songs are well rehearsed by the musicians and actors alike. Additionally permissions acquired by Music Theatre International (MTI) allows the performance of music material which greatly enhances the show.
Petra Nolan (Eliza) performs her solo pieces with confidence and holds a steady pitch and Tom Sparks (Freddy), sings 'On the Street [...]' clearly and with much sincerity - beautiful!
The Professor Higgins character is given the most wicked and memorable lines and Chris Rooke clearly relished his delivery of them in role. The comedy interjection(s) however are from the Pickering and Doolittle characters in the main, played by the company's long time members Melvyn Osborne and Barrie Goodwin respectively; they prompt warmth and genuine appreciation for the unspoken aspects that one can attach to witnessing good acting skills: "Get me to the Church on Time" performed by Goodwin is a real highlight!
It was amusing for the reviewer (a southerner) to see northern players adopting long vowel sounds for art's sake.
A thoroughly enjoyable show so go see it if you can.
My Fair Lady at The Theatre at Chatsworth House this April.
Review by Theatre Critic Debra Hall who attended My Fair Lady at The Theatre at Chatsworth House on Thursday 11 April at 7.00pm
My Fair Lady at The Theatre at Chatsworth House this April.
**ENDS**
REFERENCES
Chatsworth Players programme My Fair Lady
Chatsworth Players My Fair Lady https://www.chatsworthplayers.com/myfairlady
What's On https://www.chatsworthplayers.com/whats-on
Google.com
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/debrahallcreative/
The Playbill Post https://playbill.com/production/my-fair-lady-touring
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