MY FAIR LADY Revival Back On For Next Spring?

[Kad]

That stage is way too big for Oslo.

[DramaTeach]

Kad said: "That stage is way too big for Oslo."

 

But it's sold out, so they might want a bigger venue.

 

[Kad]

But it doesn't make sense to transfer a show their subscribers have seen to their biggest space as a commercial production.

[bekk99]

Cryptic on purpose, DramaTeach! :) My source is a friend at LCT.

[DramaTeach]

Kad said: "But it doesn't make sense to transfer a show their subscribers have seen to their biggest space as a commercial production."

 

So then I look forward to hearing what it could be.

 

[Esther]

Kad said: "But it doesn't make sense to transfer a show their subscribers have seen to their biggest space as a commercial production.

 

"

 

Why would moving OSLO upstairs be a commercial production? 

They haven't done it in a long time, but both Some Americans Abroad & Six Degrees followed the same trajectory. 

 

 

[jayinchelsea]

Kelli was great in the concert version of MFL several years ago with Kelsey Grammer, but LB is probably a better choice now, and is a much better comic actress. Just saw Elizabeth Stanley in the tour of  BRIDGES and she found far more humor than Kelli did (of course, Kelli sang it like a dream).

[neonlightsxo]

Kad said: "But it doesn't make sense to transfer a show their subscribers have seen to their biggest space as a commercial production."

 

Agreed.

It wouldn't be a commercial production, but I knew what you meant.

[SomeOtherMe]

If they insist on going with a "name" for Eliza, how about Anne Hathaway? She's got the star power and could probably sing the role well. Besides, her and Colin Firth would make this the hottest ticket in town.

[FiddleMeThis]

Anne could do it. Laura FAR too old- everyone needs to get over this. The youth is quite important to this role. 

[icecreambenjamin]

Wasn't Audrey Hepburn like 34 when she played Eliza.  Isn't that how most people know Eliza to look?

[Stage Door Sally]

Colin Firth is a huge draw! I asked my daughter if she wanted to see Colin Firth on broadway in....  and never finished the sentence because she screamed YES!

[CindersGolightly]

FiddleMeThis said: "Anne could do it. Laura FAR too old- everyone needs to get over this. The youth is quite important to this role."

They're literally four years apart in age.

[South Fl Marc]

Shaw wrote the part of Eliza Doolittle for Mrs Patrick Campbell and she was 49 years old when the play premiered. If she looks the part, who cares how old she is?

[belrowley]

I'm a young-ish person and most women my age grew up on the BBC adaptation of Pride & Prejudice. Colin Firth is definitely enough of a draw - I'd love to see a star-making performance from an unknown actress playing Eliza.

[icecreambenjamin]

I feel like the majority of people who are saying that Laura Benanti isn't right for the role, didn't see her in Gypsy or She Loves Me.  She is perfect in every way.

[VintageSnarker]

SomeOtherMe said: "If they insist on going with a "name" for Eliza, how about Anne Hathaway? She's got the star power and could probably sing the role well. Besides, her and Colin Firth would make this the hottest ticket in town."

Could she? Not snark. I don't know her voice well enough but I don't recall her singing anything similar. Also, it would be a slight risk. Interstellar and The Intern didn't do poorly but they weren't exactly assurances of confidence after the post-Les Mis backlash.

[FiddleMeThis]

Laura is older than she says she is.

[CindersGolightly]

[Gorlois]

Laura Benanti is the best "name" actress for the role. She's got the comedic and dramatic chops, and Lord knows she has the voice. Her age is irrelevant-- Julie Andrews originated the role in the musical at the age of 20, but she's the exception to the rule. As others have noted, Shaw's original Eliza and Audrey Hepburn were more than a decade older than the character they played. Plus, a more mature Eliza might help offset the icky factor that is the difference in Doolittle and Higgins' ages.

 

But, personally, I prefer casting a fresh face in the role of Eliza. It's a star making role, and casting Colin Firth as Higgins should be more than enough to encourage box office sales. Why not use the opportunity to introduce a new face to Broadway? And if this proposed revival is meant to a transfer of the Julie Andrews-helmed Sydney production, the involvement of the beloved star of the original should add extra punch to the box office. I must concede, I am an unfailing romantic, and day dream about director Julie Andrews creating a new star in her signature theatre role.

 

For the record, that Sydney production has cast Alex Jennings and Love Never Dies star Anna O'Byrne in the leading roles.

[jv92]

If Benanti thought that SHE LOVES ME was a tough sing, she's not up for a long run doing Eliza. It's not just a tough sing, but with all the Cockney screaming and "Aoow!"-ing, it's brutal on one's voice. 

 

I think the Beaumont (or any thrust) for that matter is the wrong venue for the show. MY FAIR LADY, as glamorous as it is, is a light comedy, and many of its crucial scenes only involve two or three people at a time. 

 

I wish Mike Nichols could have directed this, but alas... 

 

Just my...three? cents. 

[AEA AGMA SM]

VintageSnarker said: "SomeOtherMe said: "If they insist on going with a "name" for Eliza, how about Anne Hathaway? She's got the star power and could probably sing the role well. Besides, her and Colin Firth would make this the hottest ticket in town."

Could she? Not snark. I don't know her voice well enough but I don't recall her singing anything similar. Also, it would be a slight risk. Interstellar and The Intern didn't do poorly but they weren't exactly assurances of confidence after the post-Les Mis backlash."

 

Granted this was now a good number of years ago, but Anne Hathaway received some wonderful reviews playing Lili in Carnival! for Encores, which is a soprano role much in the vein of Eliza.

 

I don't know if she still has this range, but at least back in 2002 I think she would have made a wonderful Eliza.

 

 

[icecreambenjamin]

The Beaumont is somewhat of a thrust, correct?  I'm sure the more intimate scenes will be played,  farther downstage while the large chorus parts could use the full depth of that stage.  Lincoln center is also kind of known for using a pretty lush orchestra too, which will be great for this production.

I really do hope that Sher is involved in this production.  He has found ways to make old material seem fresh and relevant in a way that no one else seems to be able to.

[fashionguru_23]

Does anyone have any audio of the Kelli O'Hara concert version of "My Fair Lady"? I can only seem to find the Rain in Spain on YT.

[broadwayguy91]

Unrelated, but all this talk of Laura Benanti and Amalia and Eliza and Julie Andrews makes me wish that Julie had done  a production / recording of She Loves Me. she would have been a brilliant Amalia.

[Theater_Nerd]

Julie Andrews would have made a luminous Amalia if they had made a movie version. Shirley Jones and Florence Henderson would have also done the role justice as well.

As far as this new revival of MFL is concerned I truly would love Laura Benanti to get this role. She would be phenomenal.