My Fair Lady

It was a pleasure to attend PMOS’s production of My Fair lady, a show the society has performed twice before in its history.  As many reading the report will know, the license to perform for My Fair Lady had been removed for many years, meaning there was a lot of anticipation and pressure for this show’s return to the amateur scene and PMOS did not disappoint with their production.  The production team’s interpretation was a breath of fresh-air.  Special mentions should be made to; Blair for his take on the dramatic scenes and character developments, Sean for the stunning harmony ensemble singing and impressive principal vocals, Greg for the energetic and intricate choreography and Valerie for her meticulous handling of the production.  Bringing the production to life were a principal cast and ensemble who were all giving dedicated performances throughout the show.  The ensemble in particular all committed to each character they performed and the energy in the cockney scenes and musical numbers was particularly infectious.  No matter where you looked on the stage there was characterisation and individual stories being performed.  The style change in character, movement and vocal control from the rowdy cockney scenes to the meticulous “Ascot Gavot” should be commended.  Leading this slick ensemble were a tremendously talented principal line up.  From the second Lisa Dutch stepped onto stage as leading lady Eliza Doolittle she owned it.  Her warmth, likability, infectious comedic moments and animated fascial expressions were magnificent.  She held the audience in the palm of her hand taking them on her journey and stayed in character during every moment of the show with her powerhouse, triple threat performance.  Just exceptional.  The strength of vocals in “I Could Have Danced All Night” was exquisite, and the comedy within the marble and candle diction lessons left me with tears running down my cheeks with laughter.  Playing opposite Lisa was Jim McPhee as Professor Henry Higgins.  Jim gave a flawless performance throughout the show and presented so many varying character traits during his Higgins development.  He brought fantastic humour to the part, along with impressive vocals, and in the end a vulnerability which eluded to the blossoming relationship and love story between Higgins and Eliza.  Jonathan Proctor completed the three central characters with is portrayal of Colonel Pickering.  Jonathan’s humour in this role was exceptional.  He mastered good balance within his gentle character to contrast Jim’s harsher side of Higgins, as well as complimenting him within the comedy scenes.  Both Jim and Jonathan gave well-rounded performances.  The other man in Eliza’s story is her dad Alfred P Doolittle, played by Iain Bell.  Iain gave a very strong performance as the drunken cockney brining humour, confidence and strong vocals especially in leading “With a little bit of luck” and “Get me to the church on time”.  Supporting Iain in his antics were Jim Munro as Jamie and Craig Ledgerwood-Cruikshank as Harry.  Other standout performances in the principal cast were; Christine McCormick as the witty and entertaining Mrs Higgins, Calum MacDonald as the charming Freddy Eynsford-Hill, Carolyn Lowry as the warm housekeeper Mrs Pearce, Valerie Goff as the elegant Mrs Eynsford Hill, Scott McCulloch as the crazy Zoltan Karpathy, and Vickie Moulds as the hilarious Mrs Hopkins and Angry Woman.  Some of my favourite scenes and musical numbers within the show were; the diction lessons Higgins gave Eliza, the amusing conversation scene in Mrs Higgin’s Ascot Box, Eliza and Freddy in “Show Me”, Higgins “I’ve grown accustomed to her face”, the use of the purple flowers throughout the show to connect Eliza’s progression, and the poignant finale scene which was performed so beautifully by Lisa and Jim to end a truly magical show.  I would like to make special mention to the striking costumes, slick scene changes and the warm reception which the PMOS team extended to myself and Daniel.  Also a huge shout out to their publicity, marketing and photography team for a well-executed promotional campaign which built up so much hype prior to, and during the show run.  Well I think I have ran out of positive words to describe this show, which seems to be an appropriate point to tie the report up.  Huge congrats to the entire club for a truly tremendous production and re-establishing My Fair Lady as a modern day classic.   

© NODA CIO. All rights reserved.