Review: 'My Fair Lady'

"The noblest sentiments that ever flowed in the hearts of men are contained in its extraordinary, imaginative and musical mixture of sounds."

 That is how professor Henry Higgins describes the English Language to Eliza Doolittle. That same description applies to My Fair Lady,  Lerner and Loewe's classic musical play adapted from Shaw's Pygmalion.

 When the original production premiered in 1956, the New York critics showered it with rave reviews.  For those of us who were not around when that first production became a pop culture phenomenon, the excitement it generated can be recaptured by taking in this stellar touring production that just opened a limited engagement at the Toronto Center for the Arts.

 Lovingly brought to the stage by producer Cameron MacIntosh, directror Trevor Nunn and choreographer Matthew Bourne, this new production sparkles as if newly minted. This is no by-the-book, hand me down revival. Every line, every song, every dance has been approached anew in this production, which comes to us from The National Theatre of Great Britain.

 The opening scenes are a bit rushed and sometimes the wordy speeches are taken as suck a clip as to make them difficult to decipher. Soon, however, the pace settles down and our ears adjust to the collage of accents.

 Lisa O'Hare's cockney cockney flower girl instantly wins our approval with her dreams of a better life. O'Hare makes Eliza's gradual transformation relevatory, and her singing is glorious. She makes "I Could Have Dance All Night" into a moment of sheer magic.

 Her professor, played by Christopher Cazenove, brings the proper crisp articulation to Higgins' speeches. He also gives full value to Frederick Loewe's music without over singing. He can bellow with rage when things go wrong as in the biting "Hymn to Him."

 Tim Jerome as Eliza's father captures Alfred P. Doolittle's dusty bluster, enliving the first half with the noisly percusive routine set to "With a Little Bit of Luck."  Justin Bohon is sweetly innocent as her suitor, Freddy Eynsford-Hill.. Bohon's singing of "On the Street Where You Live " – arguably the  best known of the score's many hits -  was a real crowd-pleaser.

 My Fair Lady is a long show and theatre-goers are advised that performances begin promptly.  The second act does tend to lose a bit of momentum but Mathew Bourne's inventively staged "Get me to the Church on Time" gives the action a much-needed booth.

 The show itself remains a near-perfect marriage of words and music, but it's deserved reputation as one of the great Broadway musicals is only enhanced by this dazzling new production.

 Dancap Productions presents My Fair Lady in the Mainstage theatreat the Toronto Centre for the Arts, 5040 Yonge St., until May 31. Tickets range from$60 to $100 and may be ordered online at www.dancaptickets.com or by calling (416) 872-1111.

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