Casting perfection
Good acting, dancing in “My Fair Lady”
Story by Steven Baker • Photos by Jennifer Klein
I have always had a certain amount of disdain for professor Henry Higgins, the British linguist and one of the leads in the musical “My Fair Lady.” But in the TCU Theatre Department’s production of this musical, I almost began to feel sorry for the old chap.
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From left, right; Jamie, played
by sophomore theater major John de los Santos; Alfred Doolittle,
played by sophomore theater performance major Matthew Moore; and
Harry, played by senior theater major John Patrick, act out one
of their drunken scenes together.
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Kirk Holland plays the crotchety professor Higgins, who tries to transform the cockney flower girl Eliza Doolittle (Lena Hill) into a proper English woman. On a bet with his friend and contemporary Colonel Pickering (David Fluitt), Higgins agrees to attempt to change the way Eliza speaks, looks and thinks so that she will be presentable to society. Holland uses his comic talents wonderfully here, especially in the scenes where Higgins is in denial of his true feelings for Eliza.
I always found it hard to see the humanity in Rex Harrison’s performance of professor Higgins in the film version. Holland is a much jollier and more verbose, yet still dignified, Higgins than Harrison was. You can see how someone might fall in love with Holland’s portrayal of Higgins.
Don’t expect the chemistry between Holland and Hill to be immediate. The first time it is obvious is in the song, “The Rain in Spain,” where Eliza finally begins to speak proper English. Hill literally looks like she is going to burst out laughing at Holland’s gleeful facial expressions when he realizes that Eliza is pronouncing her vowels correctly.
Holland’s face changes from glowering to elated faster than a cartoon character.
Hill is also very strong. Her transformation from the ill-mannered cockney to a “proper” woman is smooth and flawless. She has chemistry with just about every actor she encounters in the musical. Her rendition of “I Could Have Danced All Night,” is the second best in the musical.
The best rendition is her performance of “On the Street Where You Live.” Freddy Eynsford-Hill (Ben Thompson) has just met Eliza at a horse race, and decides to pay her a visit. Thompson’s tenor voice is not straining here at all. Even on the lowest notes of the song, his voice remains consistently strong.
But what keeps the musical moving at such a brisk pace is the choreography by associate theater professor Belinda Boyd. For example, in Alfred Doolittle’s (Matthew Moore) first number “With a Little Bit of Luck,” he and his two drinking buddies Harry (John Patrick) and Jamie (John de los Santos) take swigs from a bottle as they lazily prance on the stage. However drunk as they appear to be, their synchronized moves match the whimsical mood of the song without making the whole thing too silly.
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Eliza Doolittle, played by senior
theater major Lena Hill, and Freddy Eynsford-Hill, played by junior
theater major Ben Thompson, argue in a scene from “My Fair
Lady.”
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Santos stands out whenever this trio performs. His athleticism allows his kicks to fly over his head, while most of his cast members look like they might rip their pants if they even tried to match him.
Boyd also directed the musical, and her stage experience is obvious. Most productions of “My Fair Lady,” seem to drag when the song “Get Me to the Church on Time,” plays, but not in this version. It is not a significant part of the musical, and Boyd treats it accordingly. The cast puts so much effort into this song, if you only look at one person the whole time, you can still enjoy the song.
The sets are realistic enough (scenic design by associate theater professor Nancy McCauley), to where, as an audience member it is easy to imagine they are real. The costume design by associate theater professor LaLonnie Lehman is also fitting in every detail to early 20th century London. The buildings in the poorer areas of London are colored in somber tones of brown, gray and black, while bright greens and blue skies dominate in upper class sections of the city.
Sure, this is a college musical and most of the voices are not Broadway quality, although some are quite good. But the combination of good acting, nice sets and wonderful music provide solid entertainment.
Steven Baker
lastevas@aol.com
Sparks’ new novel captures human soul, courage
‘The Rescue’ blends characters, picturesque scenery in story of finding forgotten love
By Christina Hager
skiff staff
Although it may have seemed impossible, Nicholas Sparks has created another masterpiece to rival his other bestsellers, “A Walk to Remember” and “The Notebook.”
“The Rescue” is a breathtaking story about Denise Holton, a young mother struggling to support herself and her 4-year-old son, Kyle. From the beginning of the story, we can feel the love she has for her son and the struggles she faces as a single mother. On top of these challenges, she is also dealing with her son’s linguistic handicap — he only has the speech capabilities of a 2-year-old.
After seeing an array of specialists and doctors, her son is diagnosed with everything from autism to retardation. The only thing that increases his skills is for his mother to work with him every day on her own, while still making ends meet at the local diner.
Holton is leading her routine life when suddenly it spins out of control one night as a storm crashes down on her small town. She crashes her car and she awakens to find herself bleeding and confused and her son missing. Barely conscious, she sees the man who saved her and begs for him to help her find her young son. Lifting her bruised and bleeding body out of the car, Holton screams his name again and again until she blacks out.
As the search for her son continues, Holton is taken to a hospital where she is alone and frightened for her son’s life. A stranger comes to visit her in the hospital, holding her hand and helping to calm her, just like Holton’s own mother might have done. She introduces herself as Judy McAden, an old friend of Holton’s mother and coincidentally, is the mother of the man who rescued her. As Judy McAden searches for information about the 4 year old’s whereabouts, her own adult son, a volunteer fireman named Taylor McAden, is leading a search party for the boy, risking his own life in the storm.
The author’s imagery and descriptive language allows the reader to be completely pulled into his story and feel kindred with both the young Holton and Taylor McAden. Each character is described in detail, along with the setting of the picturesque southern town they live in.
A beautifully written and compelling story, “The Rescue” is a tale of courage, hardships and finding forgotten love. It leaves the audience completely satisfied, while reminding them that it is never too late for the human soul to be rescued.
Christina Hager
ctinasing2000@aol.com