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A truly "loverly" production of the stage and screen classic, My Fair Lady, is running through June 9, 1996 at Toby's Dinner Theatre in Columbia, MD. Eileen Ward is enchanting as Eliza Doolittle, the poor flower girl who learns how to be a proper English lady from Professor Henry Higgins
My Fair Lady is based on George Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion. It first appeared on Broadway in the 1950's with the wonderful Lerner and Lowe music. The story was made into a screen classic in the 1960's.
The story begins when Professor Higgins is approached on the street by a flower girl with a cockney accent so thick that her speech offends his proper English ears. The Professor bets his friend Col. Pickering that he can teach anyone, even the flower girl, to speak and behave in a proper manner. So Professor Higgins arranges for the flower girl, Eliza, to live at his home during the duration of this instruction.
What Professor Higgins does not count on is how much he will become "accustomed to her [Eliza] face." He has convinced himself that he's just proving a point to his friend, Col. Pickering, but Eliza actually has quite an affect on him.
Professor Higgins is portrayed by Arthur Lapus. Lapus makes Higgins' relationship with Col. Pickering, as portrayed by Irv Friedman, completely believable. Because Lapus makes Professor Higgins completely believable, when Eliza leaves, Higgins mood shows his realization that he misses Eliza. You can feel Higgins' loneliness.
The stand-out performance of the production though, is put in by Eileen Ward as the flower girl who becomes a lady. She has a beautiful voice that gives poignancy to the songs--"Wouldn't It Be Loverly," "Just You Wait," "Show Me," and "Without You,"-- that she sings. Her portrayal is very reminiscent of the grace of the late Audrey Hepburn.
The costumes design by Jane Shafer and set design by Tony Mileto enhance without overpowering the story. The sets are simple, as they need to be at a dinner theatre. The period costumes appeared to be well done, but were not a distraction from the story.
Toby's production of My Fair Lady was directed and produced by Toby Orenstein. She has yet another show to be proud of here. "My Fair Lady" runs through June 9, 1996, at Toby's Dinner Theatre of Columbia. Call the box office at (410)730-8311 (Columbia), (301)596-6161 (Washington) (410) 995-1969 (Baltimore) and 1-800-88-TOBYS (all other areas.