Theater review part deux: My Fair Lady

by John Garcia of John Garcia's The Column

NOTE: This production was reviewed last month by an associate theater critic of THE COLUMN. Normally as Senior Editor I would not write a review on a show that was already reviewed, but once you read this you'll see why.

If you are an avid reader of THE COLUMN you are then keenly aware of my lack of enthusiasm for the old war horse musicals.

I also am fully aware that without them we would have no history of musical theater or growth within the art as well. I am quite grateful for what they achieved and brought to the art of musical theater. But jeez Louise, when you've seen so many productions of these old stand-bys, after a while your interest subsides.

I've been an actor since I was five years old, so trust me - I've seen (and performed) my share of those history making musicals.

I have a thirst that cannot be quenched when it comes to the classics. That thirst demands a completely new vision, creation, and approach to the decaying material. My creative juices will die of thirst if I see a typical, "been there, done that" musical production. In fact my brain tells me after the first scene, "Sorry! I'm leaving you and going home to watch Dancing with the Stars."

It actually has to now be a Broadway revival that will make me sit through the classics. I'm not saying I have to see tons of bells and whistles or big budgeted revivals either -- what I'm saying is that Broadway will take the artistic risk to completely attack the material with a fresh new pair of eyes.

I just cannot sit through another "paint by number" mounting of the same ole version when it comes to the old musicals that are classics. Sorry to be blunt, but it's the truth.

But there I was, sitting at Artisan Center Theater waiting for their production of Lerner & Lowe's classic musical, My Fair Lady to begin. One of the major reasons for attending was because the directors happen to have Broadway credits, which meant they just might have the creativity to wash the dust off the material to give it new life. And guess what? They did!

Director John Wilkerson and Co-Director Margaret Shafer do a superb job in actually bringing new colors and dynamic subtext to this tale of a poor flower girl who is taught to speak correctly by a stuffy professor of linguistics.

Their major challenge was to stage and block in the round, which is not an easy task. But their staging here is marvelous from start to finish. There are some key moments within the production that are staged beautifully to give the emotion some sublime subtext. I was truly impressed with their staging.

A second challenge was having to work with tracks and not a live orchestra, which is something I'm so not a fan of whatsoever. I always say that with taped music it forces the actor to stick to the tape, not allowing a special, live "in the moment" to continue. Or it causes the actor having to deal with keeping up with the tape, or play catch up to the taped score. This was the case a couple of times Saturday night. In one song, the actor had to simply sit and wait until the actual song started because the crew set up the set earlier than expected. Thus leaving the poor actor to just sit and wait until his musical cue came up.

Having said that, Wilkerson & Shafer fashion the emotion and staging to cover the errors of taped music gracefully.

The scenic design by Wilkerson and Jason Leyva was quite impressive. In particular were the murals painted to reflect a dreamy night in London. Also the design of Higgins' library with its forest green paint and assorted props and furniture (by Nancy Waak & Patricia White) combined, resulted in a really lovely set.

The majority of the cast does a lovely job, although several cast members did speak without any British or Cockney accents. Thus there were times when a Texan twang would pop out. However, their pizazz energy overrode that error. This company sang with appealing and full choral voices that achieved success in the ensemble numbers as well.

Within the large cast there were some smashing jolly good performances that include: Alan Earl ("Jamie"); Jacob Matheny (who possesses a lovely tenor voice); and Judy Keller (who created a scene-stealing performance as "Mrs. Pierce"-loved the Irish accent!).

Michael Rains as "Col. Pickering" hits the right comedic notes within his performance, but I think he watched the film version one too many times. His voice & dialect sounded much too closely to Wilfrid Hyde-White's voice (who originated the role in the George Cukor Oscar-winning film). Nonetheless, he is quite entertaining.

As "Alfred P. Doolittle", John Blount did some very funny physical comedy that gave the character some new angles. I so wanted to really enjoy Mr. Blount's performance. But the actor fought and struggled throughout the evening for lines, including his songs. He kept going up or would simply trip over his dialogue, causing him to get flustered and lost. Alas this major distraction did hinder his performance greatly.

Drew Davis delivers a charismatic performance as "Freddy Eynsford-Hill", the handsome young man who falls under Eliza's spell at the Ascot races. Davis sings with an enticing tenor voice the classic ballad, "On the street where you live". I also enjoyed how he added a terrific layer of energy to the characterization, making him more alive than the usual cookie cutter love interest performance I've seen from other actors in this role.

As "Eliza Doolittle", Christine Atwell's performance is like a sweet smelling bouquet of bright spring flowers that perfume the theater, making you fall under her spell. She does a really good job with the difficult cockney accent transforming into proper British. But physically is where she truly does succeed. Both her body and face transform from a poor English girl to proper princess right before your eyes.

When she appears on stage late in the first act to attend the Ball, she looks positively exquisite in her white gown, make up, and wig. I even heard a few audience members gasp. Ms. Atwell tops off her characterization with a winsome soprano voice that succeeds for the majority of the evening. There were a couple of times she did struggle to hit the high A in the score, but those were far and few. Her best solos came in the second act with "Show me" and "Without you", both numbers admirably displayed her talents.

Some of the greatest roles in musical theater have certain actors whose performances are forever ingrained in our brains. Their work is so special and unique, it becomes an iconic performance. Like Carol Channing in Hello Dolly, Barbra Streisand in Funny Girl, Yul Brynner in The King and I, and of course Rex Harrison in My Fair Lady. So whoever plays "Professor Henry Higgins" is fully aware he will be compared to Harrison's Oscar-winning performance.

At ATC, it is Stan Graner who is tackling the role of "Professor Higgins", the single bachelor who loves his books and the study of the English language. Mr. Graner not only avoids Harrison's shadow, he never once even got near it. The tall, handsome actor creates a completely new "Higgins" that is exceedingly unique, fresh, and deeply moving.

He creates and generates new laughs in the antediluvian book. He doesn't fall into Harrison's rhythm for the jokes, but instead actually creates his own comedic rhythm. Observe his hilarious scene work involving teaching Eliza the English language. He also has some swell physical comedy in the Ascot scene. I've never seen Mr. Graner really use his body and face like this to achieve comedy gold, but he did so much that I swore I saw a Fort Knox security guard by the stage.

Vocally he does a marvelous job with the armful of solos that character has. Such as "I'm An Ordinary Man" and "Hymn to Him". But his emotional subtext to "I've grown accustomed to her face" is sublime. He actually brings an anomalous approach to the lyrics that tug at the heart.

There are some very key moments that seals in Graner's performance that makes it so special. For example, take the scene in which he delivers a monologue to Eliza about how beautiful it will be for her to speak correctly (it is right before "Rain in Spain"). Graner takes a subtle pause and simply looks at her. It is right then and there you see him fall for her. It is a beautiful moment - one I've never seen before in an actor portraying this role.

But then view that final scene, when Eliza returns to Higgins. When she speaks her final line of "I washed my face & hands before I came", look at the reaction on Graner's face. You see subtext overflowing. Graner's eyes fill with tears as he says, "Eliza, where the devil is my slippers". Graner completely reinvents that final moment to create a whole new Higgins I've never seen. Suffice to say, this is Mr. Graner's finest performance I've ever seen him deliver.

Finally, the chemistry between Graner and Atwell was perfection. Both were committed to the same journey within their characterizations, and played off each other as equals, never once dropping the "ball of energy" between them.

So sure, there are some problems within the production. But I have to confess, this was unequivocally one of the best productions of this classic Lerner & Lowe musical that I have seen in a very long time.

The directors coated the piece with dazzling new colors with its staging and approach to the acting. Then add the high energy of its cast. Well, you have a winner already. But it is the performances of Mr. Graner, Ms. Atwell and several others that really made this musical glisten and sparkle.

GRADE: B+

My Fair Lady runs through April 11. Call 817-284-1200 for tickets.