MY FAIR LADY Tou to 12 August.
Tour.
MY FAIR LADY
book and lyrics, Alan Jay Lerner music Frederick Loewe adapted from the play by George Bernard Shaw and Gabriel Pascal's motion picture Pygmalion.'
Birmingham Hippodrome till 3 December, on tour till 12 August 2006.
Runs: 3hr 5min one interval.
Booking and Tour details: www.myfairladythemusical.com
Review: Rod Dungate, November 15 2005, Birmingham Hippodrome.
Magic.
It's a marvellous revival. Everything you want from a great musical; strong casting, terrific singing, pace, vigour, humour . . . I could go on.
It really is the pace of the narrative that grabs you about this musical. In the first half, scene comes tight on the tail of the previous one and hurls you into the next. The second half, admittedly, moves more slowly, but here you have the emotional pull of Eliza and Higgins. Add to this potent mixture the vigorous, often witty, choreography of Matthew Bourne and you have a whirlwind of a production.
Impressive casting in the production means that everyone brings something special to the table. Amy Nuttall is charming as flower-girl Eliza, she's stunning as aristocrat Eliza. Her slim statuesque figure lends her a vulnerability; the story seems all the more real and the tugs on our heartstrings all the more painful. Christopher Cazenove creates an unsentimentalised Higgins, even at times cruel; the central tension between him and Eliza is tautly dramatic. Because we believe in his bullying manner we are 100 per cent (and more) with Eliza. When Eliza, tired, worn out, eventually begins to repeat 'The rain in Spain . . .' there are tingles up and down your spine. Thrilling.
Russ Abbot is a charming and roguish Alfred Doolittle. His early WITH A LITTLE BIT OF LUCK is an absolute show stopper � vigorous backing from the chorus and staging (Bourne) that is staggering. Abbot's much extended GET ME TO THE CHURCH somewhat elongates the show, but, what the hell!, he's such good value. Honor Blackman makes welcome appearances as Mrs Higgins with an accent that would make a formidable weapon. And Stephen Moore's Colonel Pickering is a revelation � gentle, firm and deliciously funny.
Returning to the Higgins/ Doolittle axis . . . this Cazenove-Nuttall partnership ensures that Shaw's original intentions are never lost. Higgins does indeed prove Shaw's theory that the way we speak reveals our class and keeps us there (well he would wouldn't he?); but Higgins also creates a person who no longer belongs anywhere � and we feel this with Eliza. It's Eliza who must save herself from this � with her personal strength. For this important and careful balance much praise must go to Trevor Nunn, who directs.
Eliza Doolittle: Amy Nuttall.
Freddie Eynsford-Hill: Stephen Carlile.
Mrs Eynsford-Hill: Judith Paris.
Clara Eynsford-Hill: Jaime Farr.
Colonel Hugh Pickering: Stephen Moore.
A Bystander: Mark Christopher.
A Hoxton Man: Ian Caddick.
A Selsley Man: Careth Williams.
Professor Henry Higgins: Christopher Cazenove.
First Costermonger: Gareth Williams.
Second Costermonger: Stephen McCarthy.
Third Costermonger: Michael Cotton.
Fourth Costermonger: Ben Fleetwood-Smyth.
George: Ian Caddick.
Alfred Doolittle: Russ Abbot.
Jamie: Carl Sanderson.
Harry: Tim Laurenti.
Mrs Pearce: Romy Baskerville.
Mrs Hopkins: Myra Sands.
Butler: Steve Watts.
Servants: Shirley Jameson, Jaime Farr, Nicola Filshie, Stephen McCarthy, Michael Cotton, Natalie Williams.
Mrs Higgins: Honor Blackman.
Lady Boxington: Shirley Jameson.
Lord Boxington: Gareth Williams.
Sir Reginald Tarrington: Steve Watts.
Flower Girl: Danielle Young.
Footman: Stephen McCarthy.
Zoltan Karparthy: Tim Laurenti.
Queen of Transylvania: Brenda Martindale.
Prince of Transylvania: Jon Tsouras.
Mrs Higgins' Maid: Charlie Bull.
with: Chris Gardner, Nicolas Pinto-Sander, Craig Turner, Sarah Thornton.
Swings: Kate Coysten, Sally Whitehead, Anthony Whiteman, Matt Harrop.
Director: Trevor Nunn.
Designer: Anthony Ward.
Lighting: Oliver Fenwick, Rob Hallday adapted from the original design by David Hersey.
Sound: Paul Groothuis.
Choreographer/Musical Staging: Matthew Bourne.
2005-11-16 16:40:25