Musical Review: My Fair Lady

So this musical has been around for many years, and yet, I've grown quite fond of the music. The story's main characters are Eliza Doolittle and Professor Henry Higgins, and their relationship slowly builds after an bet is made that Higgins can turn Eliza from a poor flower girl into a lady who can speak proper English.

The supporting roles in this movie musical are Alfred P. Doolittle (Eliza's father), Colonel Hugh Pickering, Henry's mother Mrs. Higgins, Freddy Ensford-Hill, Mrs. Pearce (Henry's secretary) and Zoltan Kaparthy. And while all of the songs are catchy and easy to sing along to, I find that the songs from the supporting roles (especially Freddy's On the Street Where You Live and both of Mr. Doolittle's numbers [With a Little Bit of Luck and Get Me to the Church On Time]) are my favorites.

When I saw this live in Nashville, it was a lot of fun. The setup for Professor Higgins' house was put on a revolver which made getting from one room to the next easy and simple. Of course, all of the cast was talented, but one thing that I noticed with this performance in comparison to the movie is that Freddy's character sang with a bit more expression and not as much bravado. Of course, this certainly makes for a more believable performance as an actor as you can tell that he's in love with Eliza, so I can't complain too much. He brought forth his own unique version of the role and seeing that on stage was honestly amazing.

Another thing I've noticed with Eliza's character in the stage production is that she puts a bit more emphasis in certain syllables when she speaks- especially with the English vowels. Audrey Hepburn, of course, is an icon and her use of southern draw just felt more natural, so this isn't to say that the stage actress didn't do Audrey justice. I guess her southern draw just felt a little more heavy in some places, for lack of better word.

So overall, I think the film version as well as the stage production are both deserving of 5 stars. Prior to seeing this live, I had the songs stuck in my head a lot. I'd also say that this musical can and should be seen by just about anyone young or old. Of course, anyone who saw the movie when it was first released would probably know it better, so I'd say go ahead and share that memory with your grandkids or anyone else in the family.