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Samantha Bruce and Andrew Fehrenbacher in The American Theater Group’s production of “My Fair Lady.”
The musical “My Fair Lady” premiered in 1956, and though it is a quintessentially mainstream work of art, it also offered a subversive message, suitable for the Women’s Right Movement that would blossom in the ’60s.
As you probably remember, the story — based on George Bernard Shaw’s 1913 play “Pygmalion” — is mainly about Prof. Henry Higgins, a phonetics expert, teaching Eliza Doolittle, an uneducated, lower-class “flower girl” with a strong Cockney accent, how to speak proper English and act like an upper-class lady. The differences between the classes are ultimately seen as superficial, but Eliza goes further, standing up for herself at the play’s climax.
“I know that I am just a common, ignorant girl, and you, a book-learned gentlemen,” she tells Higgins. “But I am not dirt under your feet.”
In the song “Without You,” she asserts her independence even further. And Higgins accepts it. “I said I’d make a woman and indeed I did!” he sings.
The American Theater Group is presenting “My Fair Lady” at three New Jersey venues this month. The production was at The Sieminski Theater in Basking Ridge, Feb. 26 to March 1 (I saw it on Feb. 28), and will be at The Union Arts Center, March 5-8; and The Hamilton Stage at The Union County Performing Arts Center in Rahway, March 13-15.
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From left, Samantha Bruce, Andrew Fehrenbacher, Michelle Jennings, Lawrence E. Street and Xavier Turner in “My Fair Lady.”
It is well worth seeing, and not just for its uplifting message. Lyricist Alan Jay Lerner (who also wrote the book) and composer Frederick Loewe created a score full of memorable songs (“I Could Have Danced All Night,” “Get Me to the Church on Time,” “I’ve Grown Accustomed to Her Face,” “The Rain in Spain,” “On the Street Where You Live,” “Wouldn’t It Be Loverly?”), and the cast here — including Samantha Bruce as Eliza, and Andrew Fehrenbacher as Prof. Higgins — delivers them flawlessly.
Director Jim Vagias (who is also American Theater Group’s producing artistic director) takes a minimal approach, using just two keyboardists instead of a full orchestra, and evoking each scene’s setting mainly through projections at the back of the stage, rather than elaborate sets. But with songs this strong to work with, and a first-rate cast, the approach makes perfect sense. (It will undoubtedly also help the show move to three different venues in such a short period of time.)
Bruce is appropriately feisty (at times) and vulnerable (at other times) as Eliza, though it is hard to see how Higgins can dismiss her as a “draggle-tailed guttersnipe” and many similar derogatory terms. (This has probably been an issue for every actress who has ever played this character, including Julie Andrews, who starred in the original Broadway production, and Audrey Hepburn, who took on the role in the 1964 film.)
Fehrenbacher makes for a young-looking Higgins, though he still does a good job at conveying the confirmed bachelor’s middle-aged stodginess and superciliousness.
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Tom Souhrada, far right, and others in “My Fair Lady.”
As Alfie — Eliza’s irresponsible, incorrigible, hard-drinking father — Tom Souhrada has a mischievous twinkle in his eye and leaves no doubt that he is having a great amount of fun as he sings his two big numbers, “With a Little Bit of Luck” and “Get Me to the Church on Time.” These two songs, more than any others in the musical, show Lerner and Loewe (who were both Americans) drawing inspiration from the vaudeville-like British music hall tradition.
Other key contributions are made by Lawrence E. Street as Col. Pickering, Higgins’ friend and work associate, who sees the good in Eliza before Higgins does; Xavier Turner, who delivers a rapturous “On the Street Where You Live” as Freddy, Eliza’s rich, young, lovestruck suitor; and Michelle Jennings, as Higgins’ sensible, eye-rolling mother.
If you are looking to see a classic musical, where virtually every song counts, and sticks in your head — or if you are looking to introduce a young person to the art form — you can’t do much better than “My Fair Lady.” And this production, minimal as it is, conveys all of its charms.
The American Theater Group will present “My Fair Lady” at The DMK Black Box Theater at The Union Arts Center, March 5-8; and The Hamilton Stage at The Union County Performing Arts Center in Rahway, March 13-15. Visit americantheatergroup.org.
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