MY FAIR LADY Revival Back On For Next Spring? — Page 12

If anyone checked out that interview that MusicalDude linked, it is right at the end just before the credits when she is talking about what she wants to do next and the interviewer throws out there, My Fair Lady? I thought that she left the door open:

"I think that ship has sailed. I'm sad about that. I feel like, well you know, Mary Martin was playing these things well into her 40s.... I love that role, that show, that score. But if that ship has sailed that's all right, I got to do it once with the Philharmonic. And, uh, I think I'll know it when I see it."

A very cryptic last phrase. Bear in mind that Kelly O'Hara and Bartlett Sher go back a long way, as she describes in the interview. She learned a lot from discussions with him before she was even established on Broadway.

I wonder if Sher would draw criticism if he cast his favorite actress and friend in yet a third of the classic female revival roles in what should be another lush production?

I have a feeling Sher wouldn't care about the criticisms he gets for casting Kelli of all people in the role. Some great suggestions here, but I really am on board with "Benanti or... I'll watch the show anyway".

Mays is a great suggestion too. I don't know abou this box office pull, though. Colin Firth would theoretically be phenomenal, but I haven't been able to find any stage work of his so hard to comment.

^... don't think Gavin Creel would still go for small/supporting roles come 2018. But it's good casting otherwise.

Why is everyone choosing to ignore the whole Kelli-at-the-Met thing…? She is due to sing the role of Despina in Mozart's Cosi Fan Tutte at the Met which opens on 15 March 2018, and finishes its run on 19 April. LCT's My Fair Lady reportedly previews from 22 March 2018 and officially opens on 19 April…

The interview with Kelli was telecast three weeks ago, on February 20th. If taped within a few weeks of the telecast, Ms. O'Hara would have known of the opera and of the revival and of the conflicting dates and when asked about appearing in My Fair Lady she would have said that she could not due to a conflict in schedules.

She did not say this. It looks to me like she has been thinking about playing the role when she brought up how Mary Martin had played younger women into her 40s. Further, and this is just speculation, that final phrase she spoke that on the surface is very hard to decode, "I'll think I'll know it when I see it," suggests to me that she might have the power to claim the role if she desires it.

Given the long and successful collaboration of Sher and O'Hara and Lincoln Center Theater, it is possible that she was offered the role. She makes no secret of how much she enjoys that role. She well might have an "out" clause in her contract with the Met, meant to be invoked if some other project popped up that would conflict with her performance in the opera. She is not much of a draw to the opera elite since there is little crossover of opera fans to musicals.

I enjoyed Kelli very much in South Pacific and The King and I, but I like the thought of a younger woman in the role of Eliza. At least, that's what I think. Not so sure after reading the review of the New York Philharmonic production ten years ago. Not only Brantley had fallen for Kelli, but also Ish:

And confirming her status as the most accomplished Broadway ingénue to emerge in years is Kelli O’Hara, previously seen in “The Light in the Piazza” and “The Pajama Game,” undertaking the role of Eliza Doolittle for the first time — and, if there is a benevolent spirit presiding anywhere in the vicinity of Broadway, please not the last.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/09/theater/reviews/09fair.html?smid=pl-share

One delicious note about that concert presentation. If featured Marni Nixon in a non-singing role.

Musicaldudepeter said: "Why is everyone choosing to ignore the whole Kelli-at-the-Met thing…? She is due to sing the role of Despina in Mozart's Cosi Fan Tutte at the Met which opens on 15 March 2018, and finishes its run on 19 April. LCT's My Fair Lady reportedly previews from 22 March 2018 and officially opens on 19 April… "

To be fair, it's only 11 performances (one of which is on a Monday) over the course of 6 weeks. She could absolutely still do the show and have her understudy go on for the 10 she would miss. Especially if this is known in advance. The can advertise "Kelli O'Hara will not be performing on [these dates]." The only real issue is opening night, which could be moved a day fairly easily.



Again, not saying this is LIKELY. Just that it's possible.

^^ Exactly. She was announced for The King and I from the very start.

A poster on ATC who claims to have heard directly from someone in LCT management that Colin Firth is signed and that an announcement is forthcoming. If that's true, at age 58 Firth will be almost a decade older than Rex Harrison was when he created the part. I'm all for a freshfaced actress to play Eliza, but I'm not sure I'd want to see a 21-year-old opposite him. That might be a little too much of an age difference.

Musicaldudepeter said: "I think given Sher and LCT's history with O'Hara, she would have been announced with the production announcement, so I think it's safe to assume it won't be Kelli. Judging by what she's been saying in recent interviews, it seems she's not content with simply churning out revival after revival. King & I was the culmination of that period for her and she capped it off with a perfect Tony win. I think the next musical she'll do will likely be an original one written for her. I think she's more interested in pursuing other concert-based projects and operatic roles that are suitable for her right now… She's also probably anxious to be with her family, and the thing about opera is the schedule is definitely not as full on as Broadway, so she can afford to do it on her own terms. "

Your thoughts about Kelli's career and the direction that she would like to go in now, as well as concerns about her family, make perfect sense and I would think the same. But if you listen to this interview, it turns out that we are mostly wrong. Original vs. Revival. Makes no difference to her. She approaches the revivals as if they were new productions that she, and Bart, want to make relevant to now. Hard to believe, but she never saw any film or production of The King And I before starring in this production, and never listened to Gertrude Lawrence on the cast album.

She and Bart set out to address "now" with each production. Now that she is older she wants every project she undertakes to have meaning for her. The reason for her commitment to The King and I was to instruct theatergoers on the themes of equality of women in society and the education of women. The main reason for doing a My Fair Lady revival, even more than her love for the score, would be to raise the subjects of the class system in our society and the independence of women in society. This is, of course, what Shaw addressed when writing the play, but they want to be sure that these cultural issues are presented in a way that they are relevant to "now".

Kelli also discusses her need to be there for her young children. Again, it somewhat surprised me to hear her say that she doesn't mind the eight shows a week, that she feels rather grounded in the routine, and that it only takes up three or four hours of her day.

My final impression, for whatever it's worth, is that she should would love to play the part but just assumes that she is too old. (In her favor, perhaps, as I'm sure has already been mentioned, Shaw wrote the play with his soon-to-be good platonic friend Mrs. Patrick Campbell in mind, and she originated the role in 1914 at the age of 49 and performed Eliza in a London revival at age 55.)

I got an email today from LCT asking me to become a member because I aged out of LincTix last year. It had the following message in it:

My Fair Lady returns to Broadway at the Beaumont in spring of 2018! The first Broadway production of the classic musical in 25 years will be directed by Bartlett Sher.

Osnes would be a dream. I've also been thinking....and I know it's not super conventional casting per se, but I can't shake the idea of Krysta Rodriguez as Eliza.

Krysta Rodriguez is a great performer, but she can't even begin to sing the role.