“My Fair Lady” Opens to Generally Positive Reviews

Lauren Ambrose and Harry Hadden-Paton Star

On April 19, 2018, My Fair Lady opened at the Vivian Beaumont Theatre at Lincoln Center, where it had been running in previews since March 15. This revival (by Lerner and Loewe), is directed by Bartlett Sher( Oslo, Fiddler on the Roof, The King and I, The Light in the Piazza. The show is choreographed by Christopher Gattelli, whose Broadway choreography credits include the upcoming The Cher Show, as well as SpongeBob SquarePants, War Paint, The King and I, Newsies, Godspell, and South Pacific.

The show stars Lauren Ambrose as Eliza Doolittle (Awake and Sing!, Exit the King) whose screen credits include the television show Six Feet Under, and films such as Can’t Hardly Wait, Where the Wild Things Are, and Psycho Beach Party. Starring opposite Ambrose as Professor Henry Higgins is Harry Hadden-Paton, making his Broadway debut, following his turn on the television show Downton Abbey, as well as London stage credits such as Romeo and Juliet at the Battersea Arts Centre and Posh at the Royal Court.

Generally Positive Reviews from the Major Critics

The New York Times called the revival “plush and thrilling,” enjoying how it reveals the character of Eliza to be a “hero” rather than a “puppet,” and the musical as “an ur-text of the #MeToo moment.” Variety called the revival “jubilant” as well as “meticulously mounted and entirely welcome,” but also deemed the casting choice of Lauren Ambrose to be “eccentric.” To clarify, “It’s a triumph of acting that this non-singer manages to sing like a trouper. But the strain shows.” Deadline was also on the fence, stating that “Ambrose’s Eliza is welcome ballast, even even if Henry’s crueler bons mot still sting of patriarchy and classism.”

Entertainment Weekly confirmed that the show is “a masterful piece of entertainment,” and deems Ambrose “a bold and electrifying actress.” He went on to say that “her Eliza is more human than any Eliza we’ve seen before — a woman scarred by life but intent on finding joy.” The Hollywood Reporter praised Sher as “a director who has proved to be among the very best at chiseling surprising nuance out of vintage musicals,” but also stated that he “never felt fully invested in [the two leads] as characters, coming back repeatedly to the nagging suspicion that neither performer has the star charisma to carry this show.”

Strong But Not Excellent Box Office

In the last week of reported box office figures, the week ending April 15, 2018, My Fair Lady brought in a weekly gross of $947,803, which represents 72.32% of its gross potential. With a top ticket price of $297.00, the average paid admission was $110.83, and the audience was filled up to 100.0% of its capacity. Over the course of the run so far, the average percentage reached of gross potential has been 76.00%.

Therefore, the show does have room for growth, and these mixed to positive reviews may make a slight impact due to increased word of mouth. Still, the revival will need to perform well at the Tony Awards for the box office to rise closer to its full potential.