Every so often a show comes around where you just think ‘wow!’ My Fair Lady is one such show.
This epic musical, on stage at Manchester’s Palace Theatre, is absolutely fabulous.
From the extravagant sets, to the costumes, from the songs to the dance numbers - this is definitely a show which will stay in the memory for a long time.
The musical is adapted from George Bernard Shaw’s play Pygmalion.
It centres around Eliza Dolittle, an impoverished flower girl who manages to scrape a poor living selling her flowers on the streets of London.
While arguing in the street, a professor of linguistics, Henry Higgins, hears her shouting and squealing in her Cockney twang and makes a bet with his companion Colonel Pickering, that he will make her sound like a lady in time for the Embassy Ball.
Eliza shuns this at first, but comes round to the professor’s way of thinking because she wants to run her own flower shop and to do this she believes she needs to be able to talk in a more refined way.
This prompts the professor and the colonel to start a series of exercises to change the way Eliza speaks, as she moves into Higgins’ house.
Alongside this is her wastrel of a father who just wants to sponge off his daughter so he can spend more time down the pub with his friends.
The story is backed up by some of the most memorable tunes in musical theatre.
Even if you don’t know the story of My Fair Lady you will have heard of some of the songs - I Could Have Danced All Night, With A Little Bit Of Luck, The Rain In Spain, Get Me To The Church On Time, On The Street Where You Live, and, of course, Wouldn’t It Be Loverly?
All these, and more, were delivered with aplomb and had the audience singing along.
Charlotte Kennedy played Eliza and didn’t put a foot, or note, wrong all night.
She has an incredible singing voice and belted out her tunes with emotion, resulting in some of the audience even standing up to applaud her after the delivery of her songs.
She also has impeccable comic timing, especially at the beginning of the show when she screeches out her Cockney accent as she tries to change her speaking voice.
Michael D Xavier, as Henry Higgins, was also outstanding as the stuck-up professor. We share his frustration as he tries to teach Eliza - especially as she tries to pronounce her vowels.
Former Emmerdale actor John Middleton (Ashley the vicar in the soap) was a great companion to Higgins and came across as the voice of reason as he tries to keep his friend in check as he pushes Eliza harder and harder - even working into the small hours.
Housekeeper Mrs Pearce, played by soprano Lesley Garrett CBE, also tries to tone down Higgins’ enthusiasm and looks after Eliza like a mum.
The person who stood out for me was Adam Woodyatt (best known for his role as Ian Beale in Eastenders).
He was the typical cheeky Cockney chappie - just think of Dick Van Dyke in Mary Poppins (but with a much more realistic Cockney accent).
He danced, sang and strutted his way around the stage like he owned it. The rendition of Get Me To The Church On Time, as he reluctantly decides to marry Eliza’s stepmother, is a feast for the eyes as the ensemble dance and throw themselves around the stage.
One of the stand-out scenes of the show is most definitely when Higgins takes Eliza to Ascot, to ‘try her out’.
Here, Eliza, complete with her new accent, gets to meet high society, including Higgins’ mother, played by Heather Jackson. The chat between Eliza and the ‘ladies’ sparkles as Eliza tries to remember how to speak.
From the murky streets of London’s Covent Garden and Tottenham Court Road, to the sumptuous surroundings of Higgins’ house, complete with spiral staircase and the ballroom of the embassy, the whole set design by Michael Yeargan, is elegant and classy and you can tell that no expense has been spared.
Unfortunately, on the night I attended, the set did stick for around 15 minutes and we had to have a short break, but this is understandable due the sheer scale of the design, which also revolved to show the different rooms in Higgins’ house.
My Fair Lady is a joy from start to finish - a whole three hours of fun, classic songs and dance routines. It is the ultimate family show and one to catch if you can - you won’t be disappointed.
It runs at the Palace until Saturday.
