My Fair Lady Review

Like many classic musicals, my first encounter with My Fair Lady was through the film version. Beloved and rewatched many a time, I was excited to finally see it live.

Either I am misremembering the film, or it took some liberties with the stage version by condensing it. I say this because I found the show long-winded and repetitive: every song had a reprise, scenes were drawn out, three verses sung without any new emotion… The second act, in particular, dragged on endlessly, with a too-long “I’m Getting Married in the Morning” number full of show girls (and boys) that seemed rather irrelevant to the story exhibiting uninteresting choreography. There also seems to be an imbalance between the acts, with the second having far fewer songs to buoy it along amidst dialogue after dialogue; the pacing wasn’t brilliant and I found myself thoroughly bored until the end of the ball. I will, however, say that, not knowing any other versions of the stage show, I am inclined to think this is a structural issue rather than one specific to this production.

Another issue I had, probably due to the many years since last watching the film, is that it came across more sexist than I remembered. Yes, Higgins is a misogynist and a bully, but I didn’t remember him quite this bad and I certainly didn’t have Pickering down as barely any better! Whether this is my memory playing tricks on me, differences in text between versions, or a matter of direction, I cannot know. But it made the viewing experience a little less pleasurable, a tiny bit harder to stomach in 2022.

The good news is, unlike the structure, practically everything else was stellar. As I have come to expect from productions at the ENO, the orchestra was superb, the ensemble singing impeccable, and the sound balance faultless; no voices being drowned out nor any need for ear covering here! Regarding the sets and especially the costumes, the word that kept repeatedly coming to mind was luscious: sets were intricate and intimate, and each piece of clothing detailed and gorgeous. My only nitpick - and it really is that tiny a niggle - was Higgins showing up in what seemed to be a 1930s gangster outfit at the horse races; quite incongruous!

The show I watched had a couple of understudies performing, namely as Mrs Higgins and Freddy; unfortunately, I was unable to find a list of the evening’s performers so can’t refer to them by name. Mrs Higgins was perfectly serviceable but I do wonder what added fire Vanessa Redgrave might bring to the role. As for Freddy, he didn’t quite have the range to fill out the low notes of “On the Street Where You Live”, though hats off for attacking everything else with gusto. However, I found his take on the character far too wimpy and pathetic, not at all the heartthrob I grew up with thanks to Jeremy Brett. Whether this was the actor’s choice or a director call, I can’t say, but it didn’t quite work for me. Malcolm Sinclair’s Pickering was fine if a tad forgettable - though I thoroughly enjoyed the slight gay overtones he brought to the Colonel. Stephen K Amos was an interesting choice to play Alfred P. Doolittle and, while I appreciate the idea behind picking a comedian, I found he didn’t quite bring the larger-than-life quality that makes the character a loveable rogue; instead, he just came across as uninterested and mean. Professor Higgins is always a challenging part as the actor has to balance being an absolute brute whilst hilariously dependent, not to mention the half-sung/half-spoken aspect of the numbers; Harry Hadden-Paton pulled it off exquisitely (singing more of the role than Rex Harrison) and made for many of the show’s laugh-out-loud moments.

But the star of the evening was unequivocally Amara Okereke. She effortlessly commanded the stage and shone at every moment. The horse race scene had me in stitches thanks to her vocal humour and she was all fire and passion, not for a single moment cowed by Higgins. Perhaps the fact that she was absent from considerable portions of the second act is why I found it less engaging; when she was onstage, the energy sparked. Her voice is gorgeous, perfect for the more classical sound the musical requires, and her comedic timing excellent. For all that I was bored, it was certainly worth it just to see her inhabit the role.

TEENY TINY SPOILERS AHEAD
One detail in this version delighted me. I have always hated that, in the film, she comes back to Higgins, seemingly in love with him. I always thought Eliza should end up with Freddy instead and indeed, my edition of Pygmalion has an epilogue of sorts written years later by Bernard Shaw where he expresses confusion at anyone having thought Higgins and Eliza would end up as a romantic couple and positing that she might have married Freddy and opened a calligraphy shop. So seeing her return, hear him ask for his slippers, tenderly touch his face then leave left me elated. Yeah, go girl!


All in all, while a little underwhelming, I’m very glad I got to see it.

Conclusion: Solid [what's this?]

My Fair Lady opened at the London Coliseum in May 2022.