Review: Make a date with My Fair Lady before it’s too late

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Henry Higgins teaches Eliza Doolittle as Colonel Pickering looks on and the household staff looks down.

The music from this all-time wonderful show must be encoded into our DNA by now, so whenever you have an opportunity to see it in its original form with a Broadway quality cast, you should take it. And if you haven’t seen Riverside Theatre’s Broadway quality production of My Fair Lady by now, you have another week or so to catch it.

The outstanding cast and superb musicians make this a ‘must see,’ not only for this season, but for ever! You know the songs, all standards since its first run on Broadway back in 1956: “Wouldn’t It Be Loverly,” “With a Little Bit of Luck,” “The Rain in Spain,” “I Could Have Danced All Night,” “On the Street Where You Live,” must I go on?

You know the story based on George Bernard Shaw’s play, Pygmalion. It is the Edwardian era and a Cockney girl, Eliza Doolittle (Kristen Beth Williams), tries to sell flowers to upper class patrons outside London’s Royal Opera House. Professor Henry Higgins (James Ludwig), bets Colonel Pickering (Ed Dixon) he can teach her the King’s English in six months so she could fit in to high society. Higgins invites Pickering to stay with him and witness the transformation. Needless to say, Eliza is eventually transformed into a debutante. The cast of characters includes a neglectful father, his beer loving pub rat friends, a prim and proper house staff, and of course a love interest. You probably know the rest, but if you don’t, that would be another reason to see My Fair Lady. Be sure to bring the family!

The show ends on March 31 with performances almost every day, so “with a little bit of luck” you can still buy tickets. Call the Box Office at 772-231-6990 or online at www.riversidetheatre.com.