My Fair Lady Reviews

Alex Martel from Los Angeles, California

GOOD-ISH... BUT NOT GREAT...

The production was ok in a general sense, but it wasn’t outstanding. There were no sour notes and yet no soaring moments that a legendary show deserves. The best thing I can say about this production is that the set was amazing. It was inventive and flexible and memorable in a way that moved the story forward. I wish that I could say the same for the cast. Laird Mackintosh (Professor Higgins) was too young and too brittle for the role. He came off as mean and unreal in a fake way, not funny and self-absorbed and NOT underneath-it-all lovable as the character requires. Shereen Ahmed (Eliza) was slightly better. She has a great voice, but her cockney accent was awful. The directing was uninspired and flaccid. The choreography was flat. And the entire production was bathed in a mist that I suppose was intended to mimic London fog. But the mist ran through the ENTIRE PRODUCTION even during the interior scenes. Why? It was obvious that the production was funded well, great set and costumes, but the casting was weak, and everything else about the show (except the vocal power) put it in the category of dinner theater. Yes, the show is ok, but if you knew what it could have been, then this production is a profound disappointment.

Kim Ryan from San Francisco, California

A DISAPPOINTMENT

As much as this remake was meant to lift up women the subtext was contradictory. If this is the point, why have the sordid “Get me to the church” scene - that was by far the scene with the most rollicking energy - depicting unabashed drunken sex with women/men/other The scene was lurid, and didn’t fit the tenor of the rest of the musical. The characters were too angry most of the time for me to be able to connect with and care about. The ambiguous ending was frustrating and again the subtext contradictory. If it is saying that Eliza can stand on her own two feet without Henry Higgins in her life okay, but she has been created by him and leaves without an identity of her own in the clothes he has provided her. I found the remake self consciously politically correct - like the suffragette signs suddenly appearing in your face - lacking the subtlety and innuendo that makes one think deeply about social change, meaning and purpose. Do not bring kids.

Cecilia G. Delemos from San Diego, California

SDCC: YOU MUST RE-CLASSIFY THIS BROADWAY MUSICAL!! THIS IS NOT A G-RATED FAMILY PLAY.

Music, scenario settings, stage lighting: BRILLIANT! Singing voices: ELIZA's role was splendid, although at a times I could not fully understand some words she said/sang. About coreography: Perhaps the intention of the producer was to adapt the reality of a classical story our times. However, I did not expect to see men dressed as women or vice versa. From my perspective, you don't re-write a classic. You may adapt it but you must honor the author's story. The drag queens in the second act of the song/scene "Get me to the Church on Time", the sexual acts of laying on each other and spreading legs, pushing and dancing IS NOT WHAT I CAME TO SEE! Very poor taste, which is why I give this musical 3 stars. It could have been 5 stars.

Jocelyn Oldham von Klein from Richmond, Virginia

COULDN'T UNDERSTAND DIALOGUE

To be fair, I've never seen my fair lady but I love most musicals and I'm a professional singer, performer and all around musician myself. The only song I knew was I could have danced all night. The set was great. The orchestra was amazing. The singing was in tune, though I'm not a fan of so much vibrato personally. But there were no bad notes. I really enjoyed the quartet of men. My biggest complaint is that I missed 60% of all the words spoken or sang. It was so hard to understand everyone. Especially the father character, his speech was so muddy. It was very hard to follow the plot because of this, but alas the plot is also really quite dull in my opinion. (I'm a 45 yo woman). It's a LONG musical and ultimately I was very bored. There were a lot of empty seats Tuesday night.

Cherie Hall from Richmond, Virginia

LAIRD MACINTOSH IS OUTSTANDING

Perhaps it was 1st night jitters. Vocals and the orchestra were not in sync several times. The presentation overall was done well for a road company. Laird Macintosh and Shereen Ahmed are excellent, the costumes and sets present well.

R Merrow from Detroit, Michigan

MY FAIR LADY

A beautiful classic we were so looking forward to seeing. The theater and the set were beautiful! The dialogue was quite often difficult to understand. Eliza and Mr. Higgins were fantastic as was Freddy - spectacular voices. Mr. Doolittle not so much. Changing Get Me To The Church to a drag scene was incredibly disappointing. And the end was sad. Again, why change it? No need. Also, don’t sit in the box seats if you want to be comfortable. Chairs are horribly uncomfortable for a 3 hour performance.

John Kelly from Parker, Colorado

PERHAPS USE SUBTITLES

We worked closely & socialized with the Brits for over 30 years. We've spent time in some of their homes and they've spent time in our home. We have a son living in the UK as well. So we know the culture and we understand the accents better than most Americans. Despite this we understood about half of the dialog. Otherwise we thought it was a fine performance.

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