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<p class="MsoNormal"><b style><span style="font-family:Palatino;color:black">A satisfying “My Fair Lady” opens the
Porthouse 2014 season</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Palatino;color:black"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Palatino;color:black">Roy Berko</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Palatino;color:black">(Member, American Theatre Critics Association, Cleveland Critics
Circle)</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Palatino;color:black"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Palatino;color:black">Last year’s
Porthouse production of “South Pacific” joined the beautiful and gifted Kayce
Cummings (Green) as Nellie Forbush with suave and talented Greg Violand as
Emile DeBecque, with Terri Kent, the theatre’s artistic director.<span style> </span>The result was “an evening of fine
entertainment.”<span style> </span>This year the trio
joined forces for a pleasing “My Fair Lady.”<span style> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Palatino;color:black"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Palatino;color:black">Kent knows
her Porthouse audience well, and as with “South Pacific,” “My Fair Lady” is
definitely their kind of show.<span style> </span>She
directs for audience enjoyment, creating a show filled with joy, sprinkled with
pathos.<span style> </span>She succeeds well.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Palatino;color:black"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Palatino;color:black">“My Fair
Lady” has been termed “the perfect musical” and appears on most lists of the
ten greatest musicals.<span style> </span>It combines
a nicely developed story line, based on George Bernard Shaw’s “Pygmalion,” with
meaningful lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and a memorable score by Frederick Loewe. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Palatino;color:black"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Palatino;color:black">The story centers
on Eliza Doolittle, a Cockney flower girl, who is brought from her life as a
poor uneducated waif to being a “lady” through the training of phoneticist
Henry Higgins.<span style> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Palatino;color:black"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Palatino;color:black">The tale
contains many of Shaw’s causes:<span style>
</span>the poor educational system of the<span style>
</span>British, the class structure, the superficiality of the upper classes
and the negative way in which women are perceived.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style><span style="font-family:Palatino;color:black"><span style> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Palatino;color:black">The musical
score includes such classics as:<span style>
</span>“I Could Have Danced All Night,” “Why Can’t The English,” “The Rain in
Spain,” “You Did It,” and “I’ve Grown Accustomed to<span style> </span>Her Face.”<span style> </span>As
in any well conceived musicals, they all move the plot along and/or etch a
character’s personality and intentions.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Palatino;color:black"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Palatino;color:black">The Porthouse
production generally works well.<span style>
</span>Kent and company take some curves off the usual course.<span style> </span>The music is played by two pianos,
rather than the traditional large orchestra.<span style> </span>For most of the score, which are small ballads, Jonathan
Swoboda and Melissa Fiucci’s fine musicianship worked well.<span style> </span>In fact, it enhanced the intimacy of
such songs as “Wouldn’t It Be Loverly: and “On the Street Where you Live.”<span style> </span>However, “Get Me to the Church on Time”
and “With a Little Bit of Luck,” could have used the oomph provided by the
missing louder orchestra instruments.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Palatino;color:black"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Palatino;color:black">Though the
set was very attractive, with some fine artistic touches, Porthouse’s small
stage was even more confined due to the stage design.<span style> </span>Large wagons, which carried the settings onto the stage,
often made for some awkward levels, causing dancers and actors to straddle
different stage level surfaces.<span style>
</span>This also seemed to restrict the choreography.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Palatino;color:black"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Palatino;color:black">S. Q.
Campbell’s costumes were well designed and era correct.<span style> </span>Especially beautiful were Eliza’s
dresses and the black and white women’s gowns and hats in the “Ascot Gavotte.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Palatino;color:black"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Palatino;color:black">The cast was
excellent.<span style> </span>Cummings nicely
transitioned from the dirt-smudged flower girl to the lady-like Eliza.<span style> </span>Her accent changes were distinct and
consistent.<span style> </span>Her “Rain in Spain”
brought spontaneous applause from the audience.<span style> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Palatino;color:black"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Palatino;color:black">Greg Violand,
who has a big voice, nicely pulled in his volume to develop the talk-sing
pattern developed by the late Rex Harrison, who created the role.<span style> </span>His ability to listen and react, rather
than forcibly act, worked extremely well.<span style>
</span>His was a fine, fine performance.<br style>
<br style>
</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Palatino;color:black">Lissy Gulick,
who plays “cute old lady” so well, again pulled off her character development
as Mrs. Pearce, Higgins’ housekeeper.<span style>
</span>Geoff Stephenson made for a compassionate Colonel Pickering.<span style> </span>Elliott Litherland did a nice job 0f creating
the love-struck Freddy.<span style> </span>His “On
the Street Where You Lived” was well sung.<span style> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Palatino;color:black"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Palatino;color:black">Though he was
quite acceptable, Rohn Thomas could have been a little more out of control as
the drunken moralist, Alfred P. Doolittle, Eliza’s father.<span style> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Palatino;color:black"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Palatino;color:black">Daniel
Lindenberger, Dylan Ratell, Connor Simpson and Christopher Tuck had nice
blending as the Quartet which joined Eliza in “Wouldn’t It Be Loverly.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Palatino;color:black"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Palatino;color:black">I’m not sure
why Kent decided to play the role of Mrs. Higgins in drag.<span style> </span>That device is so overdone that it has
lost it’s kitchiness.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Palatino;color:black"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Palatino;color:black">The duo of
Cummings and Violand deserves another reprise.<span style> </span>How about casting them in such a show as “Man of LaMancha,”
or “Evita”?</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Palatino;color:black"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i style><span style="font-family:Palatino">CAPSULE JUDGMENT:</span></i><i style><span style="font-family:Palatino;color:rgb(26,26,26)"> </span></i><i style><span style="font-family:Palatino">Under the directing
awareness of Terri Kent, and the outstanding performances by Kayce Cummings and
Greg Violand, the Porthouse production of "My Fair Lady,"was a fine
evening of summer entertainment.</span></i><i style><span style="font-family:Palatino;color:rgb(26,26,26)"></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Palatino"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Palatino">“My Fair Lady” ran from
June 12-28, 2014 at Porthouse Theatre, on the grounds of Blossom Music Center. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Palatino"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-autospace:none"><span style="font-family:Palatino">NEXT UP AT
PORTHOUSE:<span style> </span>“Starmites,” which runs
from July 3-19, followed </span><span style="font-family:Palatino">by </span><span style="font-family:Palatino">“Oliver,” July<span style> </span>24-August 10.<span style> </span><span style>Curtain time is</span> 8 PM Tuesdays through
Saturdays and 2 PM Sundays. The picnic grounds at Blossom open 90 minutes prior
to curtain time.<span style> </span>For tickets </span><span style="font-family:Palatino"><a href="http://www.porthousetheatre.com/"><span style="color:windowtext">http://www.porthousetheatre.com</span></a></span><span style="font-family:"Helvetica Neue""></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-autospace:none"><span style> </span>or
330-929-4416 or 330-672-3884</p>
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