My Fair Lady Review (Boston Opera House)--2/6/08

If there was ever a show that deserved to fill the large Opera House its My Fair Lady....I was blown away to put it quite simply. The talent [for the most part] was immaculate and I am going back again next week, taking even more friends! I did student rush with 4 of my friends and we got 3rd row Dress Circle seats that gave us a gorgeous view of the stage. The sets were very intricate and many in number (from the ballroom to Higgins's house), everything was spot on and worked with the show. The costumes were out of this world (I am especially referring to the ones that Eliza wears at race track in Act 1 and the Ballgown at the end of act 1/beginning of act 2) The gowns were gorgeously crafted and flowed like a dream onstage...Breakdown by character

Lisa O'Hare as Eliza Doolittle--transferred over from London, so I had VERY high expectations...that she fufilled beyond my wildest dream. As the flower girl, her accent was horrednously well done and just enough that you could understand her without listening too closely. The transformation was very apparent with her character and every number she sang and danced too was just so well articuled in the Eliza-way. Highlight was "Without You" at the end of Act 2...she is spectacular when she stands up to Higgins and takes a stance, it is an empowering scene that she handles with such control and poise...just AMAZING.

Christopher Cazenove--Henry Higgins....simply underwhelming. He was also a transfer from London, but he was flat. He didnt sing a word...it was all talked and quite annoying...especially the heart wrenching "I've Grown Accustomed to her Face", was just painful and dreadfully boring. His dialogue picked up however, he embodied the asshole that Higgin's is and really has good expression onstage.

Walter Charles--Pickering....fun part to play, and he did a very good job acting it...stood out more than Cazenove did in the scenes and overshadowed him at times.

Bill Dietrich--Alfred P. Doolittle. AMAZING. highlight of the show for me...even though hes barely in the show, his 2 songs ("With a Little Bit of Luck" and "Get Me to the Church on Time") were so well played and just out of this world funny. His acting stood out the most to me and whenever he was onstage he was just in the character and didnt stop until he left. Great singer and dancer too!

Justin Bohon--Freddy...not much of a part in the show as I recalled. But he does have the famous "On the Street Where You Live" which he hit out of the park...I was swooning for at least 20 minutes after that...he hit the notes marvelously and acted so perfectly and cute!! LOVE HIM!

Marni Nixon--Mrs. Higgins...hysterical...no singing, but her acting was just incredible, very convincing as the mother in the show, and had a beautiful scene at the end of the show with Eliza.

Overall, this very long show that has the potential to drag on and on, did nothing of the sort. Beautifully crafted in every way and a joy to sit thru....Seats were plentiful tonight, so please if your here go get your tickets! Its only here for a little while longer

--Matt

Thanks a lot! I'm going to see this weekend and can't wait. That's too bad about Cazenove's sing/talking, à la Rex Harrison. I was really hoping for an actual singer to, well, sing the songs.

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Student rush is available an hour before the performance at the box office...you need to have a valid student ID and 25 CASH. REMEMBER THOSE TWO THINGS! haha very important. The seats vary...I had 4th row for Mamma Mia and they are mostly available on weeknights...weekends are harder, but if your close to the theater then go check it out!

hope that helped :)

Does anyone know the alternating Eliza schedule? I really want to see Lisa O'Hare, but I don't know which days/nights she performs.

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Matt, dead on review! I agree with you almost on every point except Justin Bohon's "On the street where you live" which I don't like that much. And I think he looked way too young and his weird acceccent borthered me a lot.

Thanks for your review.. I will definitely try to catch this probbably next week during the weekdays...

J*

"he isn't even THERE in the original"

I believe he was in the 1938 PYGMALION movie, which MY FAIR LADY is based on, more so than the actual play. I've seen clips of the "Show Me" scene and, frankly, the suffragettes are a nice touch, IMO. Thus, the song also serves as a commentary: "Men, don't tell us you love us, show us (by giving us the vote and equal rights)."


jay, I expect a full detailed analysis and pics!

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Glad you enjoyed the show!

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millie,

I didn't do rush. I went with a friend who had center orchestra seats, just under the front edge of the overhang. I've found that if you get too far under the mezzanine, the sound is terrible. The Opera House is such a barn. They have to crank up the volume on the body mikes really high to let the actors be heard, and then the sound becomes a bit distorted, almost as if they are shouting into a cave. There's always a bit of an echo. That's the big drawback with the OH. But once your ear adjusts, it's okay.

And one correction: I credited Matthew Bourne with the direction in my earlier post. I meant choreography and musical staging. My apologies to Trevor Nunn.

lc

I saw this show twice when it was in Chicago. The first time Lisa O'Hare was out and the woman who played Eliza was lifeless and shrill. At that point, I was not looking forward to seeing it a second time. However, the second time Lisa O'Hare was in and she brought the show up several notches. I liked Cazenove and thought Marni Nixon was excellent.

I just got back from the show, and it was phenomenal.
As I previously posted, I've always wanted to see this live as I adore the movie and connect with it personally. It was probably one of the most fulfilling evenings of theatre of my life. My only problem was with my seat- they weren't selling rush, so I bought an obstructed view ticket for $35. And it was OBSTRUCTED. My seat was in the front row on the side in what was basically a box that was only raised about a foot. In other words, my seat was past where the regular seats end, and it was probably built just so that cheapskates would only see half the stage. Thankfully, I moved to a real seat for the second act. Anyway, on to the actual show...

The cast was incredible. There weren't any understudies on, and there was not a single weak link. Lisa O'Hare more than met my very high expectations, and the rest of the cast supported her brilliantly. As another poster said, every ensemble member was in character and engaged the entire time, which is a rarity these days. My only concern was with Justin Bohon's singing, which was placed in the back of his throat and because of that was occasionally breathy and lacked power. However, his scene-stealing acting and the beauty of his voice itself more than made up for it.

The production was wonderful. I enjoyed the fluidity and detail of the sets (they actually reminded me of Piazza's) and the elaborate, period costumes. I enjoyed the addition of the Suffragettes to "Show Me," which even got a laugh from the audience. I also liked the Stomp-like choreography in "With A Little Bit of Luck." I found the direction to be very fast-paced, and the show didn't drag a bit. The Ascot scene was one of the funniest scenes I have ever seen, and was even more hilarious than it was in the film.

The house was packed, and the cast got a well-deserved standing ovation. My companions, one of whom was very familiar with the show, and the other whom was not familiar at all, loved it, too. Honestly, I enjoyed this show leagues more than most I have seen on Broadway, and I think a transfer to Broadway would not only be wonderful, but quite successful both financially and artistically. In other words, anyone near Boston (or even far) should run to the beautiful barn that is the Boston Opera House to see a glorious production of a fantastic classic.

~edited for spelling~

Updated On: 2/13/08 at 01:20 AM

Is Bill Dietrich the full-time Alfred Doolittle? Has Tim Jerome left the tour? He and Walter Charles are my favorite actors in the show. I saw Dana DeLisa as Eliza and thought she did a great job but a lttle hard to understand. Same thing for Chris Cazenove.

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It runs around 3 hours if I remember correctly from last week.