mspt@goldfishpublishers.com
Reviewed 2/6/04
This was a first time for me. No, not seeing Lerner and Loewe's delightfully sublime musicalization of G.B. Shaw's clever Pygmalion, My Fair Lady. That I've done at least a dozen times. However, until now, I've never seen a musical in the round. Sure, I'd seen comedies and dramas performed in the round in places like Circle in the Square, but I'd never seen how producers handle choreography and episodic set changes when you're sitting directly across and less than twenty-five feet from fellow audience members. My feelings on the subject are quite concise now that I've lived through it once: for those wonderful intimate moments of the interaction between Pickering, the stuffy Colonel from a British regiment in India, Eliza, the flower girl in search of correct speech and a position in a legitimate flower shop, and the difficult Professor Higgins, the setting can be a rousing success; however, when more than five people are onstage, as is wont to happen during those big showstoppers such as "Wouldn't it Be Loverly," the "Ascot Gavotte," and "Get Me to the Church On Time," the evening becomes a muddled mess of blurred images that is not at all helped by Hale Centre Theatre's surprisingly mediocre dance ensemble. Intimacy flies and ceremonious slumps, a surprising turn of events in this production.
For a good part of the evening, Allan Dietlein successfully presents this musical comedy classic, but only the parts that make this so similar to a chamber musical (which are surprisingly many). However, when the ensemble gathers to sing about a cozy room somewhere or the doom of an impending marriage, Brent Mills' square dance-like choreography Allemande-Lefts one too many times and seems to overwhelm the chorus boys and chorines, who are all excellent singers, but spend an unfortunate amount of the time looking at their or their partner's feet and colliding gracelessly into each other. Despite this and the many comedic set changes that left parts of one scene sitting jarringly in the next, such as the sudden, surprising appearance of a park bench in Professor Higgin's well-appointed study, the evening is bolstered by the interaction of the three leads and several of the supporting cast who carry the more intimate moments and raise the show beyond mediocrity and into the realm of the enjoyable.
Top of this list are Athena Reiss and Jack Pauly as Eliza and Henry. It's uncomfortable for me to point out that Reiss is a bit too old for the role, but that doesn't stop her from grabbing hold of it and making it her own. She has a splendid voice and real spirit that shines. Pauly is an enjoyably pompous Higgins. He sings well and has the carriage of a man enamored with his classic wit. He and Reiss have a good chemistry between them that adds to the evening's enjoyment. Dorman Smith's Pickering is not quite as strong. He seemed on opening night to be unsure of his lines, and didn't quite pull off the pomposity of his role. Curt Wooley is a mixed bag as Eliza's hilarious dad Alfred Doolittle. There is no doubt that Wooley is a comedic gem, acting the role with the bravura needed, but he is a disappointingly tentative singer and an awkward dancer. Better are Jeffery Walker as the love-struck Freddy and Alice Bjorklund's prim housekeeper Mrs. Pearce. Walker is of tall leading man stock, and has a strong voice that he uses to excellent results when crooning "On the Street Where You Live." Finally, Andrea Pruseau is excellent as Henry's sardonic mother. Her bearing balances the teeth and fangs of a successful society matron.
Though unwieldy in changes, the set is effective, as is Jason Rowley's colorful lighting. While Sandy Dietlein and Cindy Smith's costumes are exemplary, the same cannot be said of Randy Walker's sound mixing, which often left the leads' microphones sounding like they were speaking in the loo. Michael E. Bryce's musical direction definitely helped in trying to find a balance to the many negatives of the group numbers.
In the end, the many good qualities of HCT's musical offering outweigh the unsuccessful elements. I'm certain that with a few more runs under their belt, the set changes will no longer yield so many unintended surprises and the choreography will look less like amateurs tripping in time to the music. As for the overwhelming nature of the big numbers, this is one of those rare times that I suspect people in seats further from the stage may have gotten a better show. As the rough edges are polished, there should be even more to recommend this show as an enjoyable evening with Eliza and Henry.
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