By John A. Schwarz
People are generally very appreciative if someone brings a helpful bit of information to their attention. You would probably thank him or her for the “heads up”. Here’s mine: “My Fair Lady” is being revived this year.
It’s been 25 years since the last revival of some critics considered as “the best musical of the 20th century.” I don’t know if it’s the best but, for sure, it’s in the top 5, with fabulous songs by Lerner & Loewe, including: “I Could Have Danced All Night”, “Just You Wait”, “The Rain in Spain”, “On the Street Where You Live”, “Wouldn’t It Be Loverly”, “With a Little Bit of Luck”, “I’m an Ordinary Man”, and “Why Can’t the English Learn How to Speak”.
All of the great musicals produced between 1925 and 1965 had six to nine magnificent numbers. Those musicals would include not only “My Fair Lady”, but also “Camelot”, “Cabaret”, “Carousel”, “Brigadoon”, “South Pacific”, “Guys and Dolls”, “The King and I,” “Kiss Me Kate”, “The Sound of Music”, and “Oklahoma”. Only, “Evita”, “Les Miserables”, and “The Phantom of the Opera”, all written in the late 70s and the 80s, can met that earlier superior standard.
Previews begin on March 15 and the opening will be on April 19. Lauren Ambrose (“Six Feet Under”) and Harry Haddon-Paton (“Downton Abbey”, “The Crown”) You can order tickets now or wait a few months before ordering. If you take option one you’ll get to see it in the late summer or early fall. If you decide to take option 2 you may be seeing it in late 2019. Quite possibly the same day that the 3rd game of the World Series is being played at Citi Field in late October or early November. Your call!
