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Musical Review:

‘My Fair Lady’: Not Fair, but ‘Great’

By: Eliot John Hagen (December 8, 2004)

Let me just applaud the entire cast and crew of last weekend’s musical "My Fair Lady" for managing to put on such a great performance in such little time. At the beginning of the performance I sat down in admiration as the overture began, the orchestra, under the direction of Ms. Mary Jo Webster, played it crisply and beautifully.

Leading lady Maliha Adams was simply stunning in both her stage presence and her voice. This does not mean, however, that the other cast members fell behind. Chad O’Hara’s humorous and drunken rendition of Alfred P. Doolittle was, by the opening night audience’s reaction, hilarious. Dan Burkey did a very good job, as well, seeing as he had to fill Rex Harrison’s shoes. Harrison played Higgins wonderfully both on stage and in the movie version: not singing but merely speaking with the music, while Dan Burkey sang. Andy Tonken played Colonel Pickering with light-hearted humor, and got a well-deserved reaction.

The extras also did a very good job, and I will quote Bette Davis, "There are no small parts: only small actors." The stunts and sets were superbly planned, and the director added one thing that I was particularly impressed with. In the movie, Eliza sang "Just You Wait" and the "King" appeared.  Doing that would have been a bit harder on stage, but the director made up for it in the final song, "I’ve Grown Accustomed to Her Face," when Professor Higgins is imagining where Eliza will be in a few years, and Maliha appears on the opposite side of the stage in a red light.

 Chad O’Hara, as Alfred P. Dolittle, finds
himself not over, but in a barrel in last
 weekend’s rousing production of "My Fair
 Lady." (Photo by Olivia Farrow)

Such deft touches were no doubt inspired by new director Ms. Pam Ricker who made an auspicious debut at Mason with this complicated and beautiful production. The numerous scene changes were orchestrated by set director Mr. John Ballou and successfully pulled off by his accomplished stage crew.

The costumes, designed and created by Ms. Janice Nette and Ms. Ruth Burkey, were also extremely well done and actually looked like they had been made in the period. I am sure that this year’s spring play will be just as good and I hope that the musical’s cast will audition.

I would also like to commemorate each cast member in his and her singing. Chad O’Hara’s stunts added some playful slapstick and physical comedy, despite the danger he must have endured in doing them. We do not, unfortunately, have any pictures of Chad doing his back flip during his number "Get Me to the Church On on Time," which was quite the spectacle. and We also regret that we don’t have any photographs of Maliha in her beautiful gown at the embassy ball.

 

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