My Fair Lady Review At Birmingham Hippodrome Review

Reviewed by Sue Rumble

Intro
This production, featuring over 30 members of cast on stage and a large orchestra, is the first major revival of Lerner & Loewe’s much-loved musical – previously seen in a film and on stage. This musical is based on George Bernard Shaw’s 1913 play Pygmalion, with lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe.

My Fair Lady tells the story of Eliza Doolittle, a young Cockney flower seller, and Henry Higgins, a language professor who is determined to transform her into his idea of a “proper lady”. The story is set in London in the year 1913.

Booking & getting there
Birmingham Hippodrome is centrally located in the city centre a few minutes’ walk from New Street Station. Parking is avaiIable at the Arcadian NCP, only a 2-minute walk from the theatre, which offers a post 5pm theatre rate of £7.50 for the evening. It is close to bars and restaurants for anyone who would like a meal before the theatre.

Venue & facilities
Birmingham Hippodrome is a lovely modern theatre, which offers BSL Interpreted, Captioned and Audio Described performances. The seat row letters were clearly lit up and illuminated, making it extremely easy to locate your seats. There are a few bars and kiosks for refreshments and ice creams prior to the performance and during the interval. We were sat in the front row of the circle – a very good view.
The theatre is very good at communicating information via email prior to your visit.

Price & Value
The price range of tickets, in my opinion, is extremely good value for money given the quality and length of performance. Prices are dependent on performance day and time and also where you decide to sit.

The Plot
The show opens with a busy scene outside Covent Garden with shoe shiners, gentlemen walking by & calling taxis and flower girls including Eliza on a street in London. One gentleman is making notes of what & how Eliza is speaking. She challenges him – thinking he is a policeman. Henry Higgings is a phonetic expert and is challenged to turning Eliza into a lady in six months to be able to take her to a ball. The story continues with his task and the outcome of his challenge along with a side story of Elizas father Alfred who is a bit of a chancer.

Review
For this show Rebekah Lowings starred as Eliza Doolittle, Michael D. Xavier as Henry Higgins, and EastEnders’ Adam Woodyatt plays the role of Alfred P. Doolittle. They are joined by famous soprano Lesley Garrett playing Mrs Pearce – Henrys housekeeper, John Middleton (Emmerdale) as Colonel Pickering, who is friends with Henry and Tom Liggins as Freddy Eynesford -Hill – a love interest of Eliza.

Wow – what a great show. The flamboyant costumes with lots of feathers, top hats and tails and ballroom dresses are beautifully reflective of the 1910’s. Many of the songs are well known and include a beautiful rendition of “Wouldn’t it be Loverley?” in the first scene. Other songs include “With a Little Bit of Luck” sung by Alfred Doolittle and his friends from the pub, “I Could Have Danced all Night”, “Ger me to The Church Ontime” and “The Rain in Spain”. The music, orchestra and singing were brilliant and all of the cast had beautiful voices. The show had scenes that were serious and more laid back and scenes that were vibrant, fast moving and full of fun. There were also comical moments giving this show everything that you want from a live musical show.

The scene with the dancing girls, the night before Alfred was due to get married, was particularly vibrant and fast moving and the costumes extremely colourful.

Eliza was brilliant – having to change from a rough cockney girl to a well spoken lady – her voice was amazing and she showed all the emotions very well – even when she wasn’t speaking.
The scenery was done very well with a revolving stage for when the scene was taking part in the home of Henry Higgins, meaning it looked like the characters were actually going through the house. Outside of the house other scenery was very well done and was moved about as part of the dancing in the scenes.

I would highly recommend this show for anybody who likes a fun, fast moving, professional musical with a great story and songs that you can sing along to.

Date of performance – 8th March 2023
Date of review – 9th March 2023
Running Time – 3hrs including 20 minute interval
Rating out of 5 – 5 out of 5
Price of tickets – £25.00 to £75.00
Buy tickets – www.birminghamhippodrome.com
Tickets & information 0844 388 5010
Venue – Birmingham Hippodrome Theatre, Hurst Street, Southside, Birmingham, B5 4TB
Dates showing – Wednesday 8th March 2023 to Sunday 19th March 2023 in Birmingham

Birmingham Hippodrome – My Fair Lady