Review: MY FAIR LADY at Clackamas Repertory Theatre

Whether you already know and love MY FAIR LADY or are seeing it for the first time, the production now running at Clackamas Repertory Theatre shows exactly why this Golden Age classic continues to be one of the best-loved musicals of all time. The show, with book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe, has endured for nearly seven decades thanks to its gorgeous score (even if you haven’t seen it before, I bet you know some of the music), memorable characters, and insights into the flimsy foundation of social class.

The 1956 musical, which won six Tony Awards including Best Musical, is an adaptation of George Bernard Shaw’s 1913 play Pygmalion. In it, Eliza Doolittle, a Cockney flower girl, takes English lessons from Henry Higgins, an egotistical, self-centered, raging misogynist. Eliza sees a chance to transform her life – by learning to speak properly, she might be able to move from selling flowers on the street to selling them in a shop. For Higgins, it’s all fun and games – he places a bet with fellow linguist Colonel Pickering that with 6 months of lessons Eliza will be able to pass as a lady at the Embassy Ball.

Eliza may be the pupil, but Higgins is the one with the most learning to do. He’s insulting and mean, yet somehow completely astonished when Eliza doesn’t like how he treats her. Eliza excels at her lessons; whether Higgins learns anything is up for debate (there are two endings to this show – I won’t tell you which one is used here).

Clackamas Rep has gone all out with the talent. Voni Kengla is fabulous as Eliza – the right mix of vulnerability and strength, with a gorgeous voice to match. Leif Norby plays Higgins with more of a twinkle in his eye than I’ve seen before, but it makes it easier to believe the brief moments when he seems to experience a sense of human compassion. Todd Hermanson is charming as Eliza’s drunkard father, and Mike Dederian superb as Colonel Pickering, the only real gentleman in the show. The main characters are supported by an excellent ensemble that feels bigger than it is.

That’s also true of the orchestra. The orchestra on Broadway had almost 30 people. Here, we have just nine, yet the music soars just as high.

MY FAIR LADY runs at Clackamas Repertory Theatre through August 25. I recommend you get your bloomin’ arse out there to see it. Details and tickets here.

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