My Fair Lady Treats San Diego with Gorgeous Production

The Nostalgic Revival Piece is Currently Running Until Sunday, December 5th at The San Diego Civic Theatre

A Blog View by Alejandra Enciso-Dardashti

My Fair Lady - Photo Credit: Joan Marcus

Sometimes as audience members we do not quite grasp how lucky we are to get these types of productions in San Diego. Productions that scream BROADWAY! And in this particular case of  Lerner & Loewe’s My Fair Lady, a wink to old school cinema and musical theatre. Part of Broadway San Diego's 44 th Season, this piece is an adaptation of George Bernard Shaw’s play and Gabriel Pascal’s motion picture Pygmalion. The set design by Michael Yeargan definitely has a stellar role having spaces that rotate -with actors- that make the show dynamic with stunning views. Audiences from the first rows all the way to the mezzanine can enjoy that amazing scenery. Fans will enjoy the iconic songs like “I Could Have Danced All Night,” and“The Rain in Spain,” amongst other favorites.

Laird Mackintosh in My Fair Lady - Photo Credit: Joan Marcus
Shereen Ahmed as Eliza Doolittle has a potent voice hitting high notes beautifully. Mostly during the beginning of the first act, the character's accent is so thick and the sound at the Civic Theatre was particularly hollow that evening, so it made it difficult to understand what she was saying. Yet with that presence, set design, charisma, and the beautiful costumes by Catherine Zuber, it is manageable. Ahmed is also hilarious as Eliza is trying to learn proper English and diction. She delivers very enjoyable scenes.

Laird Mackintosh is delightful as Professor Henry Higgins and his resemblance to actor Leslie Howard is a nice added value. Gayton Scott as Mrs. Pearce is engaging and compliments her fellow actors gracefully as does Leslie Alexander in the role of Mrs. Higgings. The whole company does a great job and there are a couple of ensemble scenes that are so well choreographed that the frames look like Manet paintings.  

Even though the running time is 2 hours and 55 minutes including intermission, it goes by pretty quickly. The second act is definitely better than the first with a very original ending.

Treat yourself to this wonderful production playing until Sunday, December 5. For more information click here

Shameless plug: listen to our latest podcast episode where we talk to two wonderful cast members of She The People with The Second City HERE

 


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