REVIEW: My Fair Lady on Broadway

photo by Joan Marcus

As soon as I caught my first glimpse of the neon signs hanging above the entrance of the Vivian Beaumont Theatre, my face broke into a huge grin. I had been there just two months prior to see My Fair Lady on Broadway, and I was so excited that I was back for a second round. I power-walked to the box office to pick up my ticket. On my way, I snuck a glance at the understudy board. It was completely empty. This was a good thing for me because the first time I saw the show, there were several fabulous understudies on and this time I got to see different actors in those roles.

After getting my ticket I bid goodbye to my parents, whose seats were in the balcony, and I made my way to my seat in the third row of the orchestra. I sat impatiently for the next twenty minutes, flipping through my Playbill and eavesdropping on the group behind me trying to guess the synopsis of Come From Away ("It's probably about a couple who goes to a Sandals resort in the Caribbean and revives their marriage!" "No you dummy, it's about 9/11!" "...oh."). Finally the lights dimmed, the audience fell silent, and the orchestra began playing the overture. As the curtain rose, the silhouette of Eliza Doolittle (played by the sublime Laura Benanti) appeared and my eyes immediately filled with tears. For the next three hours, I was completely captivated. Across the board, this production is one of the most perfect pieces of theatre I've seen.

Firstly, the design elements are top-knotch. The Tony-Award winning costumes were absolutely beautiful. Every single dress Eliza wears in particular is stunning. I equally love the scenic elements, especially the rotating Higgins house. When the scrim lifted to reveal the house for the first time, it quite literally took my breath away and garnered deserving applause from the audience. The use of a turntable on the stage was excellent, whether it was allowing better movement of the ensemble during a street scene or rotating the massive Higgins set. I also very much appreciated that the orchestra got their own moment in the spotlight at the top of Act 2. The conductor and musicians doubled as the band playing at the elegant ball taking place at that point in the show. It was wonderful to hear the thunderous applause from the audience as the curtain rose and the orchestra was revealed in full view. Finally, I thought the lighting design was particularly gorgeous. My favorite lighting moment of the show was during the iconic horse race scene. The stage was backed by a bright lavender light as the posh ensemble strutted onstage in complete silhouette.

My Fair Lady's beauty doesn't stop there. The show is stacked with a group of unbelievably talented actors. The ensemble is excellently engaged and play a wide variety of characters. I especially enjoyed watching ensemble members Samantha Sturm and Cameron Adams. I have seen each of them in several Broadway shows and they both command the stage with such poise. Ms. Adams is one of the most engaging members of the ensemble, especially when she plays one of the maids in the Higgins household. Ms. Sturm was particularly excellent in the horse race scene; I couldn't keep my eyes off of her. My favorite supporting actors were Rosemary Harris as a precious and witty Mrs. Higgins and Christian Dante White as a hilariously endearing Freddie. Mr. White's rendition of "On The Street Where You Live," one of my favorite songs in the show, gave me chills. His lower register was particularly astounding.

I did enjoy Allan Corduner's sweet and charming portrayal of Colonel Pickering; however, I saw his understudy, Michael X. Martin, when I saw the show in January and I far preferred Mr. Martin's more cheeky and heartfelt performance. Because of this, I found Corduner's performance a bit underwhelming. I felt similarly about Danny Burstein's portrayal of Alfred P. Doolittle. Mr. Burstein replaced original cast member Norbert Leo Butz (who was Tony nominated for the role) shortly after I saw the show the first time, so I was extremely excited to see Danny Burstein perform. He was excellent in the role, don't get me wrong; "Take Me to the Church On Time" was a show-stopper and had the audience clapping along with glee. However, Norbert Leo Butz's energy and stage presence was on another level, and I couldn't stop wishing that Norbert would magically appear onstage again.

In the iconic role of Henry Higgins, Harry Hadden-Paton was as close to perfection as you could get. He exuded fragile masculinity and his aggressively pompous nature was infuriating to watch. At the same time, he was oddly charming in a way that made Higgins a character you loved to hate. He displayed Higgins' cluelessness about women so well that I could visibly see my fellow audience members shaking their heads while laughing incredulously. Mr. Hadden-Paton also had brilliant chemistry with all of his co-stars which allowed his performance to seem all the more effortless. His Tony nomination for the role was well deserved.

Last but most certainly not least, I must spend some time talking about Laura Benanti in the starring role of Eliza Doolittle. Ms. Benanti replaced original cast member Lauren Ambrose last fall, but I can no longer imagine any actress other than Ms. Benanti in the role. I fell in love with her Eliza from the very first "Buy a flowah, Cap'n?" Laura's transition from a Cockney flower girl into a fine lady was seamless. I thought her acting in the iconic "The Rain in Spain" scene in particular was excellent. I've never particularly liked that scene because it has never been believable to me that one moment Eliza could not properly speak the phrase "the rain in Spain stays mainly in the plains" yet seconds later could miraculously recite it perfectly. Laura took her time with that transition and made the normally unreasonable scene justifiable. My other favorite scene of hers was at the horse race. Laura Benanti is an excellent comedic actress and she put those chops to good use in her awkward conversations with Mrs. Higgins. I laughed so hard my sides hurt through the whole scene, especially at the famous line, "C'mon Dover, MOVE YOUR BLOOMIN' ARSE!"

In Act 2, Laura Benanti broke my heart. During Higgins' and Pickering's song "You Did It," I could only watch Eliza's silent frustration as she watched the household celebrate without giving her a second glance. Her scene with Higgins following that same song was equally aggravating because all Eliza wanted was to be seen and respected, something Higgins was unable to do for her. What I found so brilliant about Eliza's character development in Act 2 was that once Eliza realized she was being treated more as an objectified figurehead by Higgins, she discovered that she didn't need his respect in order to love and respect herself, a lesson that I feel remains all-too relevant to women today. I had never really recognized that in Eliza prior to seeing Laura Benanti's performance. As the show reached its final moments, the minute changes made with this revival allow this classic musical to become all the more empowering to women everywhere.

Everything about My Fair Lady made my heart sing. It reminded me of the magic live theatre can create. It restored my faith in Broadway, and reminded me that classic musicals don't have to remain outdated. I could go see this stunning production over and over again and walk out unequivocally happy. I truly think every theatre fan should make it a priority to see this revival of My Fair Lady. I promise you it's worth your time and money.

My Fair Lady is currently running at the Lincoln Center's Vivian Beaumont Theatre on Broadway in New York City and has no closing date set at this time. Laura Benanti is currently scheduled to play the starring role of Eliza Doolittle until July 7th, 2019. You can get tickets to the Broadway production at Telecharge.com, on the TodayTix app, or frequently at the TKTS booth in Times Square, Lincoln Center, or South Street Seaport. Additionally, the show holds a digital lottery to win $39 tickets for same-day performances, offers $32 advance tickets to anyone between the ages of 21-35 through Lincoln Center's LincTix program, and sells $32 student rush tickets beginning two hours prior to the performance to anyone with a valid student ID. Finally, My Fair Lady is launching a national tour in Fall 2019. Click here for locations, dates and ticket information.

Run Time: 2hrs 55mins with one 15min intermission

My Fair Lady rating: G

Hillary's Score: 9.5/10
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