It's been a long time since I saw My Fair Lady so I had forgotten most of the story and was walking into Chemainus Theatre Festival's production of the well known musical without much anticipation. I was pleasantly surprised.
The play was one of the best I've seen so far at Chemainus since taking over the entertainment beat. The acting was excellent and the singing, especially by Meghan Gardiner playing Eliza Doolittle and Paul Terry as Henry Higgins was great. In the intermission as my friend and I sat in the theatre, groups of people around us were humming Wouldn't it be Loverly and I sang it (poorly) and the other songs for much of the rest of the weekend.
For a small stage, it was amazing how much dancing and movement was done and the stage nicely transformed from a London street scene to Higgin's drawing room to a ballroom quite nicely.
Gardiner was quite charming as Eliza, a Cockney flower girl who wants to be a lady and work in an actual flower store. At the start of the play her voice, shrill and loud with a lot of noises sounds a bit like an English Lucille Ball.
It's fun to see her slowly and with some patience and frustration on the part of Henry Higgins turn into a lady. I had to admit I was reminded of the movie Pretty Woman at parts -- of course without the whole prostitution thing. The costumes are beautiful, especially the ball gowns.
My Fair Lady is a musical that's easy to get into and be would a great date (hint hint boys) or family outing. Check out a matinee though because it does end at almost 11 p.m. It would be nice to see some younger people in the audience and this play is a great introduction to live theatre and worth checking out.
My Fair Lady is on until Sept 3. The performance schedule is varied: matinees at 2 p.m. and evenings at 8 p.m. Check for specific show dates on-line or call the box office at 1-800-565-7738 or (250) 246-9820. www.chemainustheatrefestival.ca for more information.