★★★★★
Whichever you pronounce it, this My Fair Lady is a masterpiece.
Photo by Marc Brenner
Lerner and Loewe’s classic musical is Curve’s Christmas offering and dare I declare, it’s Nikolai Foster’s best in years. And that’s saying something in itself.
Street seller Eliza Doolittle (Molly Lynch) flowers into a passable princess with the help of phonetic professor Henry Higgins (David Seadon-Young) and his house guest Colonel Pickering (Minal Patel). But it’s not so much what she gains in the elocution lessons but what she stands to lose at the end of the bet.
The training plays out in a dollhouse-esque emporium: shelves filled with books, knickknacks in every crevice, and framed art lining the walls. We’re owed the time to soak in Higgins’ carefully curated mess of a study as Seadon-Young giddily scales the stairs and gleefully plays piano—a wordy wunderkind in his playground, lonely with his intelligence.
Lynch does do a lot with her Doolittle. Her Eliza is young and feisty, and we meet her as an unkempt tornado trickster in Covent Garden (Michael Taylor’s sets are almost cinematic in their authenticity; iron wrought gates and great pillars create quite the spectacle), streetwise to ensure her survival. But one thing that never needs polishing is her glistening operatic voice. Lynch is crystalline, her “I Could’ve Danced All Night” a masterclass. But most importantly, she’s loving every moment and that’s infectious.
The blooming big band is led by George Dyer and enjoys their moment in the spotlight at the top of Act Two, as Eliza is tested at an embassy ball. It’s a beautiful, inviting touch that plays with Foster’s and Taylor’s ingenious choice to expand the set - rickety windows climb the height of the stage while the blue door of 27A curves into the wings, and washing lines hang.
A whopping big ensemble vogue at Ascot, waltz in ballrooms and pour out of London’s boozers into the streets in Jo Goodwin’s choreography. Steve Hurst’s cocky cockney Alfred P. Doolittle threatens to steal the show with his hysterical knees-up “Get Me To The Church On Time” that has the cast leaving exhausted via the aisles. It’s the most fun you could wish for in the theatre.
Patel’s Colonel is a charming presence, dressed spectacularly in traditional Indian finery matching his rich nature. Djavan van de Fliert’s Freddy steals your heart for a shilling with his rendition of “Street Where You Live”, a heartthrob under the golden hour glow (lighting by Mark Henderson) of London. They both leave you wondering about Eliza's final decision.
With a little bit of luck, this won’t be the last we see of this My Fair Lady.
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