My Fair Lady
Proctors Theatre, Schenectady, New York
Book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner, music by Frederick Loewe
Based on the play “Pygmalion” by George Bernard Shaw
Directed by Bartlett Sher
“I’ve grown accustomed to her face…”
It’s hard to believe there is anyone left who hasn’t been exposed “My Fair Lady.” Certainly, many more people have seen it in some form than have ever seen the George Bernard Shaw play on which it is based. Way back in 1956, still learning what musical theater was about, I walked out of it in the middle of Act One during its original Broadaway production, angry at what I considered the abuse of the Shaw original which I had just read. I was 10 years old.
By the time I directed it in 1961 at Camp Silbert in the Catskills, I had seen it again and revised my opinion of the work, realizing its brilliance. It is that excellence — the work itself — that has kept the show alive all these years, and that brings this latest version to vivid life in its national tour, now at Proctors Theatre in Schenectady, New York. The biggest drawback to this presentation is that on opening night, four principal characters were played by understudies: Eliza Doolittle, Henry Higgins, Colonel Pickering and Freddy Eynsford-Hill, the four characters on which the play centers.
This production’s success is principally due to the physical production, and its only real star — the orchestra under the musical supervision of Ted Sperling. What true life, or liveliness, existed came from the orchestra pit, as the show’s eight musicians generated energy, melody and emotion. The only other genuine verve came from the character of Alfred P. Doolittle, Eliza’s father, played with earnestness by Martin Fisher. Sadly, this is the only time I’ve seen this character played with absolutely no charm, which is what is needed to redeem Doolittle, a fairly worthless drunk whose personal philosophy lands him in moneyed trouble. Fisher has a remarkable bass voice, but there was no joy in his character.
The other thing that saves this production is its physical/technical work: brilliant sets by Michael Yeargan, costumes by Catherine Zuber, lights by Donald Holder, sound by Marc Salzberg, and stage management by Donald Dolan. The show runs just under three hours and the work of Dolan and company keeps things interesting and delightful.
Instead of Laird Mackintosh we saw Wade McCollum as Henry; instead of Shereen Ahmed we had Sharon Quinn Taylor as Eliza; instead of Kevin Pariseau we had Patrick Kerr as Pickering and instead of Sam Simahk we had George Psomas as Freddy. These replacements did the work creditably, but they generated little or no excitement. I had heard great things, in advance, about Ahmed and truly regret not seeing her. Taylor did a fine job, but there was more technical delivery than there was real fire or enthusiasm.
For example, “The Rain in Spain” is usually a high-point of the first act and all three replacements seemed to be, or felt like, people who had to get through the number just to get on to the next thing. The next thing is “I Could Have Danced All Night,” which fell flat for me because I saw, heard and felt no exhilaration from Taylor, and all three need to be a part of what is happening to Eliza at that moment. It seemed to be just a transition to another moment to come.
I’ve never seen a show before where the entire principal cast was missing and I wonder if that situation may have been demoralizing for the rest of the company, as well, who worked through their musical numbers and scenes as directed, but who brought little to the stage that could be called memorable. The finest company work came in “Ascot Gavotte,” which surrounded the only scene to get any laughs. “The Embassy Waltz,” which opens the second act, was beautifully done, staged by Christopher Galli. Usually Higgins diction-with-marbles gets a few good laughs but the audience was silent and unresponsive when it played poorly in McCollum’s hands and Taylor’s mouth. Just one more example of how the show suffered on Tuesday night.
Leslie Alexander was an excellent Mrs. Higgins, making the most of her few scenes. Gayton Scott was a colder- than-usual Mrs. Pearce, but the interpretation worked to the character’s advantage. Lee Zarrett did well as Zoltan Karpathy, and the Prince of Transylvania, who is not named in the program, did very nicely in his romantic moments in act two.
The two songs I love best in this score are “Show Me” and “Without You,” which Ms. Taylor sang well, but the fire she showed in those songs and the scenes that followed were ultimately blown away by the most peculiar direction, or acting, of the final moment of the play, where Eliza usually makes up her mind about her future. That never happened in Schenectady. Taylor simply walked downstage and off, leaving McCollum’s Higgins alone without any sense of resolution. I don’t know who was responsible for this, but it certainly seemed to annoy the audience as much as it did me. The act ended unsatisfactorily, with dreadful applause at the blackout that followed. All I can say is “What a pity!” It’s as though my 10-year-old self’s opinion was the right one.
“My Fair Lady” plays at Proctors, 432 State Street, Schenectady, New York, through May 21. For information and tickets, visit the Proctors website or call 518-346-6204.
