The rain in Spain... is so loverly... I could have danced all night
You know the silly season is upon us when your social calendar transforms from desert and tumbleweeds to full blown Las Vegas. So yeah, I didn't have much free time for pop culture consumption this past weekend, with the exception of finally running some Outland instances in World of WarCraft, and going to see a production of My Fair Lady at the Durban Playhouse.
Frankly I'm a bit bemused that the celebrated musical is being staged again in Durban just 3 years since its last run (seems like overkill to me!), but I guess the locals have their favourites... even if the attendance at yesterday's Sunday matinee didn't show it. Just 1 week into the show's month-and-a-bit-long run and the massive Opera theatre, where the production is being staged, was half empty. Hopefully the situation will change once the Summer school holidays begin, locals relax and the tourists arrive, because it's disappointing to see a highly talented cast acting and singing their hearts out to thin air.
As expected My Fair Lady is top class entertainment, on par with any production you'd see on Broadway or the West End. The part of cockney flower seller Eliza Doolittle is played alternatively by Gina Shmukler and Lisa Bobbert (we had Shmukler yesterday), while Ralph Lawson plays Professor Higgins, the brilliant but self-absorbed linguist who accepts the challenge of turning uncouth Eliza into a lady. Meanwhile, returning in the same roles they played in 2006 are other local acting faves Themi Venturas, Frank Graham and Cobus Venter - as Alfred Doolittle, Colonel Pickering and Freddie respectively.
My Fair Lady isn't my favourite musical because the love story that emerges in the second half just isn't very satisfying. Higgins is essentially the Gregory House of musical theatre: an unconventional genius who tends to treat everyone with disdain, and in particular subjects Eliza to his cruelest verbal barbs. To give you an indication of the type of character he is, one of his biggest musical numbers is the despairing "Why Can't a Woman be More Like a Man?". Eliza, meanwhile, transforms into an independent, confident young lady, who for some inexplicable reason is still content to run after Higgins with his slippers. Basically he doesn't seem to deserve her.
But I digress. The greatest pleasure the audience receives from the play is watching Eliza evolve to meet her true potential. Plus there are the stunning costumes to appreciate (especially during the Ascot scene), the enjoyable choreography, and, of course, the songs, accompanied live by the KZN Philharmonic Orchestra.
You tend to forget how many of the songs in My Fair Lady have crept into the public consciousness. These include: Wouldn't It Be Loverly?, With a Little Bit of Luck, The Rain in Spain, I Could Have Danced All Night, Get Me to the Church on Time, and I've Grown Accustomed to Her Face. If you haven't seen it and you're in Durban anytime between now and New Year's, I do recommend going to watch My Fair Lady.
Anyway, in terms of what else I got up to this weekend, there was a friend's birthday dinner on Friday evening, which involved much gorging on seafood and wine.
Then, on Saturday, there was an all-day Hen's Party in the form of a pub crawl from Westville to Pietermaritzburg. Here we have the bride-to-be, only slightly inebriated at this point, blowing enthusiastically on her penis whistle.
I'm actually glad I managed to sneak away from the celebrations in the early evening because if I hadn't, I think I would still be nursing a hangover.
Frankly I'm a bit bemused that the celebrated musical is being staged again in Durban just 3 years since its last run (seems like overkill to me!), but I guess the locals have their favourites... even if the attendance at yesterday's Sunday matinee didn't show it. Just 1 week into the show's month-and-a-bit-long run and the massive Opera theatre, where the production is being staged, was half empty. Hopefully the situation will change once the Summer school holidays begin, locals relax and the tourists arrive, because it's disappointing to see a highly talented cast acting and singing their hearts out to thin air.
As expected My Fair Lady is top class entertainment, on par with any production you'd see on Broadway or the West End. The part of cockney flower seller Eliza Doolittle is played alternatively by Gina Shmukler and Lisa Bobbert (we had Shmukler yesterday), while Ralph Lawson plays Professor Higgins, the brilliant but self-absorbed linguist who accepts the challenge of turning uncouth Eliza into a lady. Meanwhile, returning in the same roles they played in 2006 are other local acting faves Themi Venturas, Frank Graham and Cobus Venter - as Alfred Doolittle, Colonel Pickering and Freddie respectively.
My Fair Lady isn't my favourite musical because the love story that emerges in the second half just isn't very satisfying. Higgins is essentially the Gregory House of musical theatre: an unconventional genius who tends to treat everyone with disdain, and in particular subjects Eliza to his cruelest verbal barbs. To give you an indication of the type of character he is, one of his biggest musical numbers is the despairing "Why Can't a Woman be More Like a Man?". Eliza, meanwhile, transforms into an independent, confident young lady, who for some inexplicable reason is still content to run after Higgins with his slippers. Basically he doesn't seem to deserve her.
But I digress. The greatest pleasure the audience receives from the play is watching Eliza evolve to meet her true potential. Plus there are the stunning costumes to appreciate (especially during the Ascot scene), the enjoyable choreography, and, of course, the songs, accompanied live by the KZN Philharmonic Orchestra.
You tend to forget how many of the songs in My Fair Lady have crept into the public consciousness. These include: Wouldn't It Be Loverly?, With a Little Bit of Luck, The Rain in Spain, I Could Have Danced All Night, Get Me to the Church on Time, and I've Grown Accustomed to Her Face. If you haven't seen it and you're in Durban anytime between now and New Year's, I do recommend going to watch My Fair Lady.
Anyway, in terms of what else I got up to this weekend, there was a friend's birthday dinner on Friday evening, which involved much gorging on seafood and wine.
Then, on Saturday, there was an all-day Hen's Party in the form of a pub crawl from Westville to Pietermaritzburg. Here we have the bride-to-be, only slightly inebriated at this point, blowing enthusiastically on her penis whistle.
I'm actually glad I managed to sneak away from the celebrations in the early evening because if I hadn't, I think I would still be nursing a hangover.
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