My Fair Lady (Broadway)

“Benanti...is a perfect match...One of today’s best stage actresses gets to tackle one of the greatest roles in the musical theater...Ambrose was radiant...but Benanti has such a command of her vocal and acting abilities that it takes the production to a whole new level. Benanti’s performance is so rich, vigorous and fully developed that she makes virtually every line and every moment count...This production has provided Broadway with a considerable and continuing amount of joy.” Full Review

“’My Fair Lady’ has been boosted with vitamin shots. What kept us dancing all night, back then, now positively soars...The biggest boost comes from Ms. B-12 herself, Benanti...A second B-jolt comes from Burstein...Adding to the high charm of the production is Harris...Sher’s staging and the exquisite production...remain in pristine condition...’My Fair Lady’ is enhanced...and the results are even more exquisite than before.” Full Review

"It is glorious interpretation of the Lerner-Loewe musical, one of the greatest of the genre, on so many counts. It is both an eyeful and an earful, with fabulous sets and costumes and beguiling singing...Sher deserves unstinting praise for his direction...It is an up-to-date example of striving for and achieving perfection in reviving a musical theater classic, or for that matter, the staging of any Broadway show—period." Full Review

“If Ambrose’s turn as Eliza Dolittle was a revelation, Benanti’s is just as thrilling...Her elegance and sharp wit; her willingness to wax goofy, with the adroitness that only the smartest actors and comedians can manage; and of course, that glorious, silvery soprano...Benanti serves Shaw’s original vision, and his wit, with as much zest as her predecessor—and, it must be said, more palpable joy...The production retains the directional and design elements that made it both ravishing and wise.” Full Review

"Sher boldly cast two actors whose names are not instantly recognizable and who had not previously been seen in musicals...Sher’s gamble has paid off handsomely. In addition to her considerable acting chops, Ms. Ambrose turns out to have a lovely voice. Mr. Hadden-Patton is a fine actor who negotiates the transition between speaking and singing with great skill...It’s a near-perfect production of what many have called the perfect musical." Full Review

"One of my immediate thoughts upon leaving Lincoln Center's Vivian Beaumont Theatre last spring, after seeing Sher's splendid revival of the 1956 musical "My Fair Lady," was that great things come to those who wait. But now, I must amend that statement: Really great things come to those who wait. For by changing some of the show's principal cast members, Lerner and Loewe's gorgeous, clever adaptation of Shaw's classic 'Pygmalion' is even more delightful than before." Full Review

"Every so often, a revival comes along that re-invents itself in ways that remind you how truly indispensable great theatre can be...A timely commentary that also happens to be supremely entertaining. And where has Lauren Ambrose been all this time?...So pure and powerful, she is a true star in a performance that will be talked about for years...I can't say enough about Sher's inspired re-imagining of the show. He put a subtle but indelibly relevant stamp on Lerner and Loewe's masterpiece." Full Review

"A glorious production, complete with imaginative sets, gorgeous costumes, and the decisive image of Eliza sweeping off the stage and down the aisle...Ambrose brings a fiery independence to this production...Hadden-Paton is far younger than the original Harrison...Yet their fit is 'loverly' and clearly emotional...Sher gives magical inspiration to his 'My Fair Lady,' directing it to a contemporary audience with his magnificent theatricality and Shaw's ambiguous ending." Full Review

"Inarguably one of the greatest musicals of all time, 'My Fair Lady' is receiving the same luxurious and royal treatment director Bartlett Sher brought to his previous revivals of both 'South Pacific' and 'The King and I,' all at Lincoln Center's Vivian Beaumont Theater. To paraphrase one of Alan Jay Lerner's lyrics from 'Camelot'--another stunning musical he wrote with composer Frederick Loewe--it's nothing less than 'a sumptuous display.'" Full Review

"The phenomenal revival directed by Bartlett Sher puts a new and welcomed spin on the classic Lerner and Loewe musical, and is delivered in a big, lavish production...The entire creative team has forged a seamless new production from start to finish that is smart, intelligent and polished, representing what should be expected on a Broadway stage. There are few words that could aptly describe this cast, but oh what a perfect cast it is." Full Review

"Benanti can really sing and plays the perfect waif with a Cockney accent and chameleon persona. Benanti hits all the right notes in playing Ms. Doolittle...This is a marvelous production with lots of treats and lots of heat. You can't leave the theater without humming any one of the marvelous musical numbers. It's impossible not to be teary eyed at the magical transformations occurring on stage. Sher's flawless direction gives the ideal balance of music & emotional heart." Full Review

"Hadden-Paton and Ambrose are exceptional, both bringing beautiful, nuanced and unexpected touches to their interpretations...The whole production is a tasteful and exquisite reimagining of this old show that is entirely respectful...The comedy elements of the show are all in place too...The directing is revelatory, the acting is top notch, the music is glorious and the visuals are stunning, in fact seeing this production was one of my top 10 best ever theatre going experiences." Full Review

"If you've got a little bit of luck, a wallet full of cash, and are looking for something lavish, luscious, and abso-bloomin-lutely loverly, my advice is to get to Lincoln Center on time to see 'My Fair Lady'…Exquisitely directed, designed, and performed...Stealing both the show and my heart…is the Eliza of redheaded Lauren Ambrose, giving an ambrosiac performance of charm, insight, warmth, defiance, passion, and humor that had me in tears at one moment, bursting with laughter at another." Full Review

"The show of course offers the same sumptuous design, lively choreography, and lush orchestrations. The performances of the original cast members who remain with the show have also deepened with detail...Benanti’s independent Eliza removes the question that I felt looming over this production of 'My Fair Lady' when I saw it last April: Does the story still work if, as the director intends, we see no romantic feelings develop between Eliza and Henry Higgins? Yes, it still works." Full Review

“I mean no disrespect to Ambrose, who originated the role in this revival, to say that Benanti is a more effortless vocalist; she dispatches her very difficult and wide-ranging songs with glee...The show is lighter as a result, which is not to say it’s less compelling...But it is the recasting of the smallest principal role that makes the most touching difference, and like everything connected to Harris’s stage presence, her success as Mrs. Higgins cannot be pinned down.” Full Review

"They haven't reinvented the wheel or excised anything potentially challenging. All they've done, really, is own the material...May not be the best sung, but it's infused with genuine emotion from all parties involved...Where the production really shines is in the characters' respective transformations...This 'My Fair Lady' is a revival for the ages, the perfect synthesis of director's vision and performers and designers working completely in sync." Full Review

"A beloved musical from another era can keep on kicking, and, as is the case here, it can even do so without making radical shifts in aesthetic, as long as it’s got its eyes wide open...This production team knows what they’re making and when they’re making it...Yeargan’s dynamic set, combined with Ambrose’s beautifully calibrated performance, always makes us feel as if events—educational and emotional—are rushing forward." Full Review

"A grand, first rate, feminist revival of Lerner and Loewe’s classic musical, 'My Fair Lady.' Perfectly keyed to this moment while honoring the greatness of its text and score, director Bartlett Sher hits another home run, and Lauren Ambrose and Harry Hadden-Paton give smashing, revolutionary performances as Eliza Doolittle and Professor Higgins. A great revival of a great musical to end the season on a high note." Full Review

"Sher's modus operandi is a deep appreciation and luxuriant refurbishing of a show's virtues with no great proclivity for reinterpretation, although in 'My Fair Lady' he does give the ending a surprise twist...Shavian brilliance glitters throughout...with Lerner's book enacted to perfection by a cast headed by Hadden-Paton...and Ambrose...Sher's work gives the revival its own impressive sense of importance, with a series of breath-taking moments." Full Review

"Sher excels at finding strong yet subtle resonance in classic musicals...What’s especially lovely is watching the tempestuous pair gradually fall in love...The production also looks and sounds great...Some might want to either lionize or lambast this as the #MeToo movement’s 'My Fair Lady.' But at the end of its three hours, it’s these magnificent characters, not political issues, that will be dancing in your head all night." Full Review

"It positively glows with class, in every sense, shimmering with confidence and oozing with delight...Hadden-Paton brings a nicely youthful yet appropriately flummoxed air to the role, and in what appears to be his first musical, carries the songs with conviction, too. He is ideally partnered by the earthy, gritty honesty of Lauren Ambrose’s Eliza...There is luxury casting all around them." Full Review

"Shaw was always on Eliza's side, and with Sher's brilliant directorial decisions, the bullies and dolts are left in the melodic dust...Ambrose is a delightful Eliza; she has a soaring voice, and she provides flawless accents in a plot that's about accents...Hadden-Paton is a superb and witty bully...The huge cast is full of great voices and impeccable diction; their timing, especially in the wondrous 'Ascot Gavotte,' is hilarious perfection." Full Review

"Ambrose not only has the voice for Eliza Doolittle...but she also demonstrates how a masterful actor can bring new dimensions to a role that makes an entire revival a new experience...This production is quite traditional but very stylish...In the end, it is Laura Ambrose's Eliza Doolittle that makes this revival special. All of the elements that Ms. Ambrose exploits are in the book and lyrics; but she brings unique insight and deeply felt emotion in expressing them." Full Review

"Sher's lush, elegant revival of 'My Fair Lady' has been triumphantly successful...Feels as contemporary as ever, its characters like they may have been written yesterday...A carefully, cleverly selected cast has given life to this classic...Ambrose gives a masterclass in leading-lady grace...She is everything posterity needed to thank this production...Hadden-Paton plays a first-rate Higgins...What shines in his performance is a comic sensibility that relegates Higgins to absurdity." Full Review

"A straightforward and first class production of one of Broadway's most beloved musicals with a little widening of actor's ethnicity for inclusions sake. And while neither Ambrose...nor Hadden-Paton...are a Julie Andrews or a Rex Harrison, they are more than adequate in their roles...This is a full 30 piece orchestra and the music shows no strain being compared by the great orchestras of the past: no corners are cut and the sound is terrific. The staging is its equal and more so." Full Review