Interludes

VIEWPOINTS – An unexpected PYGMALION-fest: A sterling MY FAIR LADY and a penetrating Bedlam treatment

• By drediman
• April 20, 2018
• No Comments

Perhaps inadvertently, New York has been having quite a mini-Pygmalion festival this winter. It started a few weeks ago with two very different one-act operatic adaptations (one by Donizetti, the other by Rameau), courtesy of New York City Opera, of the Greek mythology about an artist who falls in love with his sculpture. We also have two other versions – both quite good – currently on the boards.

Harry Hadden-Paton, Lauren Ambrose and Allan Corduner in Lerner and Loewe’s “My Fair Lady” at the Vivian Beaumont Theatre.

Last night, the sterling revival of Lerner and Loewe’s classic My Fair Lady (RECOMMENDED) opened on Broadway at the Vivian Beaumont Theatre. The much-anticipated revival, directed by Lincoln Center mainstay Bartlett Sher, is a handsome, stately affair. More than any other production of the musical I’ve seen, this My Fair Lady plays very close to the spirit of the Shavian play on which it’s based (Pygmalion). Taken on their own terms, the individual book scenes – many of them lifted straight out of Pygmalion – sparkle with enlightened, at times heated, debate and passionate points of view. However, as is often the case with Shaw, too much of a good thing isn’t necessarily the best thing for the whole. As a result, Mr. Sher’s richly detailed production lacks, to a certain degree, the elegant, almost stylized, simplicity and emotional transparency that have marked his previous musical theater efforts (South Pacific and The Light in the Piazza, first come to mind). Regardless, the cast is superlative, led by an Eliza you can cheer for (Lauren Ambrose, of “Six Feet Under” fame), a Higgins that she could actually fall for (Harry Hadden-Paton), and a scene-stealing Alfred (Tony-winner Norbert Leo Butz).

The company of Bedlam’s production of George Bernard Shaw’s “Pygmalion” at the Sheen Center.

Also playing Off-Broadway at the Sheen Center is Bedlam’s penetrating treatment of Shaw’s Pygmalion (HIGHLY RECOMMENDED). Bedlam has been making a name for itself for their audacious, obviously learned interpretations of classic plays (Hamlet, Saint Joan, The Seagull, Peter Pan, to name a few). With this Pygmalion, the maverick theater company, led by the fiercely intelligent Eric Tucker (who directs and stars as Higgins in this production), has never been better in my opinion. Unlike their previous productions – which were happy to simply bask in their brand of playful, inventive theatrical trickery – this staging is a potent combination of naturalism, well-judged revisionism (no spoilers here, but Eliza – movingly played from the heart by Vaishnavi Sharma – here is given an irresistible new spin that works sensationally), as well as the company’s elaborate flights of fancy. It’s always a great pleasure to see talented theater-makers grow into their potential and beyond. I would encourage you to get your tickets in short order; the production ends its limited run this weekend.

MY FAIR LADY
Broadway, Musical
Vivan Beaumont Theatre
2 hours, 55 minutes (with one intermission)
Open run

PYGMALION
Off-Broadway, Play
Bedlam at the Sheen Center
2 hours (without an intermission)
Through April 22