Broadway classic 'throbs with life'

By Jean Compton
The Chronicle, June 6, 2006

My Fair Lady is such a familiar classic that any theatre company mounting a new production of it is challenged to keep it fresh.

The Chemainus Theatre Festival has created an energetic and effervescent production that throbs with life and fun.

Based on George Bernard Shaw's play Pygmalion (which was based on a Greek myth) and Gabrial Pascal's film by the same name, the musical stage play My Fair Lady was created by Lerner and Loewe 50 years ago, while a film version was made 42 years ago. The lasting appeal of this play is a well-written story with great music.

Starting with such a solid foundation, director Jeremy Tow has put together an exceptional ensemble of actors, musicians and designers to create theatre magic. With a strong emphasis on humour, the three-hour production gallops along from start to finish.

Tow has chosen to have all the instrumental music performed lived and woven into the action of the play. The actors are all multi-talented - they sing, dance, play musical instruments and perform acrobatics.

Meghan Gardiner as Eliza Doolittle puts in an exceptional performance as she morphs from the squawking Cockney flower-seller into a self-possessed young woman. Her acting and singing inspired the audience to erupt into applause several times on opening night.

Paul Terry plays Henry Higgins, the linguistics professor who wagers that he can teach Eliza proper speech and manners, is well matched in the role. He puts out a highly energetic performance, which includes signing and playing the cello.

The rest of the cast plays multiple roles. Norma Bowen is notable as Mrs. Pearce, as is Gordon Roberts as Eliza's father, and William Groth as Col. Pickering.

From the raucous slum dwellers rollicking in the London streets to the stiff upper class toffs watching the races at Ascot, the ensemble plays the may parts admirably.

Costume designer Maury Drummond exudes creativity in her interpretations. The hats in the Ascot scene are particularly memorable.

Musical director Heather Burns, whose contribution was pivotal, played keyboard onstage throughout the show.

Todd Talbot's choreography added to the exciting pace of the play.

The set, designed by Sam Whittingham, was ingenious in its multiple uses and ease of transformation.

Shannon Frederickson's lighting design and Robin Boxwell's sound design both enhanced the production.

The collaboration that must have been necessary for all of these creative designers to weave together their contribution is a testimony to Tow.

Chemainus Theatre puts on consistently high quality productions. My Fair Lady is another one of their triumphs. The show runs until Sept. 3.

Audience roots for Henry and Eliza in classic musical

By Andrea Rondeau & Lexi Bainas
The Citizen, June 14, 2006

With a Little Bit of Luck you'll get tickets to the Chemainus Theatre's summer production of musical My Fair Lady, which hits all the right notes both musically and on the funny bone.

Based on George Bernard Shaw's classic play Pygmalion, My Fair Lady adds iconic songs to the well-known story of poor flower-seller Eliza Doolittle getting the ultimate makeover from the wealthy Professor Higgins. In true musical comedy fashion, the two fall in love during the transformation which sees not only Eliza become fit for high society, but Higgins changing from confirmed bachelor to lover.

Meghan Gardiner and Paul Terry, as Eliza and Higgins, manage to bring a truly human quality to their characters between musical numbers, a feat not always accomplished in musical theatre, which tends to be crammed with stock characters and archetypes.

But the reason My Fair Lady's continued place in the firmament of musicals, and in the Chemainus Theatre's production, the audience is really rooting for the two starts when the lights come up on the final scene.

Gardiner glows in the signature solo I Could Have Danced All Night, and leave the audience appropriately heartbroken in sympathy after her confrontation with Higgins on the night of the great success of their experiment.

Following in the daunting footsteps of Julie Andrews and Audrey Hepburn, she manages to bring her own personality to the tole.

Terry plays Higgins as a man who fights his heart every step of the way, but his cocky manner is fraying at the edges by the end as he faces losing Eliza for good and Terry shines in the final scene as Higgins realizes his mistake and turns on his phonograph just to hear his former pupil's voice.

The two leads of the show are surrounded by a sparkling cast that includes Pam Hyatt as Professor Higgins wonderfully dry-witted, high-society mother, Lindsay Sterk as Eliza's would-be-suitor Freddy and Gordon Roberts as Eliza's disreputable father.

It is with Robert's opening number, With A Little Bit of Luck, that the show gathers speed and the audience settleds infor a hig-energy romp.

Sterk provides one of the best singing voices in the show for classic On the Street Where You Live and his dancing adds a romantic touch to this audience-pleasing scene.

The Ascot Gavotte is another gem, with some of the original Shaw social commentary coming through in the adapted musical, as bored aristocrats show their social faces. Their ironically blank demeanors invite the audience to guffaw.

Late in the show the Stomp-inspired version of Get Me to the Church on Time is a riot of sound and energy as the ensemble cast members play a variety of 'found' ordinary objects.

Roberts, who again leads the number, brings boundless energy every time he takes the stage. Even his eyebrows seem to dance to the music.

It is in these ensemble numbers that the choreography of the show shines, from the highly stylized Ascot scene to the leaping and rolling of the street class.

The show continues until Sept. 3 but as the sign outside the theatre proudly announces tickets are going quickly. Call the box office at 246-9820 to find out what's available - and don't forget dinner at the Playbill Dining Room.

Small-scale Fair Lady's loverly

By Adrian Chamberlain
Times Colonist, June 03, 2006

It's worth the trip to see Chemainus Theatre Festival's pocket-sized My Fair Lady. Mounting a splashy musical on a small stage is no easy task, yet this production works well, thanks to astute direction and a spirited cast.

Everyone knows My Fair Lady. Even if you think you don't, you have certainly heard such Lerner and Loewe classics as Wouldn't it be Luverly, With a Little Bit of Luck and the lovely On the Street Where You Live. The original musical was a Broadway hit in the '50s and '60s, but what most of us remember is the popular 1964 film adaptation with Rex Harrison and Audrey Hepburn.

Among the great musicals, My Fair Lady casts a long shadow. In this version, director Jeremy Tow has wisely chosen a distinct interpretation, while remaining true to the show's spirit. The tone is set from the beginning. We're greeted by a gaggle of Londoners who juggle and frolic about in circus-like style. When the music starts, the actors play penny-whistles, accordions, pianos, trombones, cellos, mandolins, violins and percussion. This not only works well, it provides a jolly, Brechtian atmosphere that makes the small theatre an asset rather than a liability. It's like watching a Broadway musical in some cozy European nightspot.

The show is replete with clever flourishes -- each performer, whether in a lead role or in the chorus, is kept occupied with his or her own stage business. Nowhere is Tow's touch more apparent than during Get Me to the Church on Time, in which Eliza's reprobate father contemplates matrimony. The choreography is downright ebullient, with characters leap-frogging over one another and high-stepping through a can-can. There's a mid-song percussion break in which everyone grabs an "instrument" -- some play spoons, one guy bangs on a barbecue grill. There's a joie de vivre here that is impossible to resist.

Victoria's Paul Terry is well-cast as the misanthropic Henry Higgins. As an actor, Terry has always displayed a melodious knack for bringing out the rhythm and music of words. Given that Higgins is a speech expert fascinated by language, the role's a natural for him. Meghan Gardiner is a strong presence as Eliza, in some sequences opting for dramatic depth rather than Hepburn-like cutesiness.

Neither performer is an outstanding singer, however. And on Thursday night the chemistry between the two -- who ostensibly fall deeply in love -- was not particularly strong.

In the final scenes Terry did convey Higgins's misty-eyed vulnerability very effectively. It makes the character more sympathetic. And this is important, given that his initial women-hating stance (at the outset he declares the English-language-mangling Eliza has "no right to live") is tough to swallow these days. Having Higgins play the cello when he's melancholy is a nice touch.

William Groth displayed enviable comic smarts as Colonel Pickering -- even threatening to steal the show on occasion. At times, Groth seems a disciple of the Rip Taylor school of acting. His outrageous stuck-on mustache and broad lisp make him a ringer for the old Ripper.

Another comic standout was Gordon Roberts, who as Eliza's Fagin-like dad brought a brash energy to the stage unmatched by anyone. Sometimes the musicians and singers slipped slightly out of synch. It's a minor quibble, however, and this will improve as My Fair Lady continues its summer-long run.

Music director Heather Burns is an excellent pianist who holds everything together. Sam Whittingham's topsy-turvy set of the streets of London is funky and functional. A mini-London bridge easily transmogrifies into Higgins' library. Meanwhile, a pair of staircases is shifted around to become a variety of settings.