Review: Cockney flower girl blossoms again on Naples Dinner Theatre stage By MAXINE GINSBERG
The public's fascination with makeovers is as old as the Cinderella tale and as new as television's "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy" and "Extreme Makeover."
But the flower girl from Convent Garden who is the subject of "My Fair Lady" is the grandmother of them all, sprouting from Ovid's "Metamorphoses."
In that ancient collection of transformation myths written in AD 1, Pygmalion carves an ivory statue to represent ideal womanhood and is so smitten with his Galatea that the goddess Aphrodite gives her life.
Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw was so smitten with that concept that he penned a play about an English language expert who takes a bet to transform a Cockney flower seller into a well-spoken, well-mannered English lady.
The metamorphosis of Shaw's Eliza Doolittle has been charming audiences since 1905, first in "Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion," in the 1938 movie, "Pygmalion," as a Broadway musical called "My Fair Lady" in 1956 and as an eight-Oscar winning, same-named film in 1964.
Now the nearly centenarian Eliza comes to life once again in the Naples Dinner Theatre production of "My Fair Lady" that opened to previews on Oct. 29 and continues through Dec. 11.
And blossom she does in the form of Pamela Brumley. Her Eliza is believable every inch of the way from the flower stalls through the classroom to her triumphant arrival at a society ball.
Brumley's appealing delineation of the character is matched by a sweet, powerhouse voice that more than meets the semi-operatic challenges of the score. When she sang "I Could Have Danced All Night," some in the audience were wishing she would sing all night. But that's not to say she shone alone.
Barry Marcus has taken on the arduous role of Prof. Henry Higgins, the maddening dialectician and grammarian with an ear for accents and a cold shoulder for his fellow creatures' sensitivities.
Can a boy from Brooklyn who played Nathan Detroit and Tevye morph into an elegant English gentleman?
Yes he can.
While Rex Harrison need not relinquish his ownership of the role just yet, Marcus does an exceptional job of delivering all the endearing eccentricities of the Wimpole Street pedagogue.
It's a tough role in many ways. Much of the work's wit resides in the songs, so Marcus must articulate carefully and stress the humor in these "talk-songs." He succeeds in a way that would make his fictional character proud.
No musical would succeed however, relying exclusively on words, word, words.
A hit has to have great music, and that is supplied in abundance though the mastery of Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe. While "I Could have danced All Night" is classic romance, "Hymn to Him" (why can't a woman be more like a man) is right in sync with Dr. John Gray's current Venus-Mars theory.
And it has to have visual pizzazz, which the Naples Dinner Theatre delivers.
Jason Bolen's sets were imaginative. Susie Hartman's costumes were delightful, especially in the Ascot scene, which won a well-deserved round of applause on Thursday night.
Choreographer Christopher Noffke's dancers were spirited and nimble. The modern twist in the "With a Little Bit of Luck" number was a genuine crowd pleaser.
And stars don't shine in a vacuum. The ability of the theater's management to draw talented professionals from all over the country results in a splendid supporting cast. While Robert D'Amato seemed a tad tentative early on in the show, he later seemed more comfortable in his role as the courtly Col. Pickering. Sheila Allen was perfect as the long-suffering housekeeper, Mrs. Pierce, and Kevin P. Daniels was adorable as Eliza's rascal father, Alfred P. Doolittle. Joe Spieledenner and Kay Francis made the most of their parts as Freddy Eynsford-Hill and Mrs. Higgins, respectively.
One carp: The musical accompaniment seemed thin and below the caliber of this otherwise excellent production directed by Michael Wainstein.
So the question is: Can audiences numbed by stupid sitcoms, trashy movies and boring novels turn themselves into happy theatergoers by a literate, tuneful, well-executed show fueled by a delicious pre-show dinner buffet?
You betcha.
Review: MY FAIR LADY, NAPLES DAILY NEWS
'My Fair Lady' an enjoyable show
By DREW STERWALD, dsterwald@news-press.com
Published by news-press.com on November 15, 2003
Director Michael Wainstein found a doozy of an Eliza Doolittle for the Naples Dinner Theatre's production of "My Fair Lady."
New York actress Pamela Brumley boasts a Broadway-caliber voice and enough versatility to metamorphose from cockney guttersnipe to proper lady.
She's the sparkling centerpiece of a show buoyed by enthusiastic singing and energetic dancing — a lifesaver in the face of its daunting length. Abbreviating intermission could help shorten the 2 3?4-hour showtime.
Still, there's no shortage of enjoyable production numbers in Lemer and Loewe's classic, from "Wouldn't it be Loverly" and "With a Little Bit of Luck" in the first act to "Get Me to the Church on Time" in the second.
The Pygmalion tale of a British linguist transforming an ugly duckling into a swan is simple and engaging. (I've always thought it ends abruptly and unconvincingly, though.)
The theater's associate artistic director, Barry Marcus, plays Henry Higgins, the pompous prof who bets a friend he can overcome Eliza's awful accent and low-class behavior. He plays the character as cold and clinical, as called for, until the academic realizes his love for Eliza. Marcus gives a sensitive reading to the show-closing ballad, "I've Grown Accustomed to Her Face."
He and Brumley are ably supported by a large cast.
Sheila Allen does some funny bits as Higgins' housekeeper, and Kevin Daniels stands out as Eliza's soused and saucy father. His role doesn't offer much — and his character just disappears in Lemer's book — but Joe Spieldenner makes quite an impression with his soulful rendition of "On the Street Where You Live."
The ensemble does justice to Christopher Noffke's well-conceived choreography, and Susie Hartman's costumes are elegant.
But Brumley's the real star of the show. Just as Eliza could have danced all night, I could have listened to Brumley sing all night.
The public's fascination with makeovers is as old as the Cinderella tale and as new as television's "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy" and "Extreme Makeover."
But the flower girl from Convent Garden who is the subject of "My Fair Lady" is the grandmother of them all, sprouting from Ovid's "Metamorphoses."
In that ancient collection of transformation myths written in AD 1, Pygmalion carves an ivory statue to represent ideal womanhood and is so smitten with his Galatea that the goddess Aphrodite gives her life.
Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw was so smitten with that concept that he penned a play about an English language expert who takes a bet to transform a Cockney flower seller into a well-spoken, well-mannered English lady.
The metamorphosis of Shaw's Eliza Doolittle has been charming audiences since 1905, first in "Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion," in the 1938 movie, "Pygmalion," as a Broadway musical called "My Fair Lady" in 1956 and as an eight-Oscar winning, same-named film in 1964.
Now the nearly centenarian Eliza comes to life once again in the Naples Dinner Theatre production of "My Fair Lady" that opened to previews on Oct. 29 and continues through Dec. 11.
And blossom she does in the form of Pamela Brumley. Her Eliza is believable every inch of the way from the flower stalls through the classroom to her triumphant arrival at a society ball.
Brumley's appealing delineation of the character is matched by a sweet, powerhouse voice that more than meets the semi-operatic challenges of the score. When she sang "I Could Have Danced All Night," some in the audience were wishing she would sing all night. But that's not to say she shone alone.
Barry Marcus has taken on the arduous role of Prof. Henry Higgins, the maddening dialectician and grammarian with an ear for accents and a cold shoulder for his fellow creatures' sensitivities.
Can a boy from Brooklyn who played Nathan Detroit and Tevye morph into an elegant English gentleman?
Yes he can.
While Rex Harrison need not relinquish his ownership of the role just yet, Marcus does an exceptional job of delivering all the endearing eccentricities of the Wimpole Street pedagogue.
It's a tough role in many ways. Much of the work's wit resides in the songs, so Marcus must articulate carefully and stress the humor in these "talk-songs." He succeeds in a way that would make his fictional character proud.
No musical would succeed however, relying exclusively on words, word, words.
A hit has to have great music, and that is supplied in abundance though the mastery of Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe. While "I Could have danced All Night" is classic romance, "Hymn to Him" (why can't a woman be more like a man) is right in sync with Dr. John Gray's current Venus-Mars theory.
And it has to have visual pizzazz, which the Naples Dinner Theatre delivers.
Jason Bolen's sets were imaginative. Susie Hartman's costumes were delightful, especially in the Ascot scene, which won a well-deserved round of applause on Thursday night.
Choreographer Christopher Noffke's dancers were spirited and nimble. The modern twist in the "With a Little Bit of Luck" number was a genuine crowd pleaser.
And stars don't shine in a vacuum. The ability of the theater's management to draw talented professionals from all over the country results in a splendid supporting cast. While Robert D'Amato seemed a tad tentative early on in the show, he later seemed more comfortable in his role as the courtly Col. Pickering. Sheila Allen was perfect as the long-suffering housekeeper, Mrs. Pierce, and Kevin P. Daniels was adorable as Eliza's rascal father, Alfred P. Doolittle. Joe Spieledenner and Kay Francis made the most of their parts as Freddy Eynsford-Hill and Mrs. Higgins, respectively.
One carp: The musical accompaniment seemed thin and below the caliber of this otherwise excellent production directed by Michael Wainstein.
So the question is: Can audiences numbed by stupid sitcoms, trashy movies and boring novels turn themselves into happy theatergoers by a literate, tuneful, well-executed show fueled by a delicious pre-show dinner buffet?
You betcha.
Review: MY FAIR LADY, NAPLES DAILY NEWS
'My Fair Lady' an enjoyable show
By DREW STERWALD, dsterwald@news-press.com
Published by news-press.com on November 15, 2003
Director Michael Wainstein found a doozy of an Eliza Doolittle for the Naples Dinner Theatre's production of "My Fair Lady."
New York actress Pamela Brumley boasts a Broadway-caliber voice and enough versatility to metamorphose from cockney guttersnipe to proper lady.
She's the sparkling centerpiece of a show buoyed by enthusiastic singing and energetic dancing — a lifesaver in the face of its daunting length. Abbreviating intermission could help shorten the 2 3?4-hour showtime.
Still, there's no shortage of enjoyable production numbers in Lemer and Loewe's classic, from "Wouldn't it be Loverly" and "With a Little Bit of Luck" in the first act to "Get Me to the Church on Time" in the second.
The Pygmalion tale of a British linguist transforming an ugly duckling into a swan is simple and engaging. (I've always thought it ends abruptly and unconvincingly, though.)
The theater's associate artistic director, Barry Marcus, plays Henry Higgins, the pompous prof who bets a friend he can overcome Eliza's awful accent and low-class behavior. He plays the character as cold and clinical, as called for, until the academic realizes his love for Eliza. Marcus gives a sensitive reading to the show-closing ballad, "I've Grown Accustomed to Her Face."
He and Brumley are ably supported by a large cast.
Sheila Allen does some funny bits as Higgins' housekeeper, and Kevin Daniels stands out as Eliza's soused and saucy father. His role doesn't offer much — and his character just disappears in Lemer's book — but Joe Spieldenner makes quite an impression with his soulful rendition of "On the Street Where You Live."
The ensemble does justice to Christopher Noffke's well-conceived choreography, and Susie Hartman's costumes are elegant.
But Brumley's the real star of the show. Just as Eliza could have danced all night, I could have listened to Brumley sing all night.
