Zion Thomas, Joel Rogier, Brooklyn Snow, Philip Touchette, Michael Curdt in My Fair Lady. Photo Dan Donovan Photography
The summer ‘25 season posed a new challenge for the Union Avenue Opera Company. A tornado damaged the roof and building of their historic home, Union Avenue Christian Church. The building looked rough from the outside, but there was still beauty, music, and joy inside. The same could be said about Eliza Doolittle, the scrappy, streetwise protagonist of My Fair Lady. The 1958 classic, adapted by Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe from George Bernard Shaw’s 1913 comedy Pygmalion, is the perfect comeback story for one of St. Louis’s premier performers of opera and musical theater. The role of Eliza was famously played by Julie Andrews on Broadway and by Audrey Hepburn in the Oscar-winning 1964 movie adaptation. The ladies left big shoes to fill, but Union Avenue’s talented cast is up to the task.
In London’s Covent Garden, a young woman named Eliza (Brooklyn Snow) is selling flowers. A strange man (Trevor Martin) stares at Eliza and takes notes. That man is Professor Henry Higgins, a world-famous expert in phonetics and linguistics, and Eliza has become the latest subject of his field research. He’s appalled by Eliza’s poor speech and the state of the English language in general, lamenting to the audience: “Why can’t the English teach their children how to speak? / This verbal class distinction, by now, should be antique / If you spoke as she does, sir, instead of the way you do / Why, you might be selling flowers, too.”
Prof. Higgins believes that proper speech and education are what separate the rich from the poor—and with a proper education, even a Cockney flowergirl can speak like an aristocrat. He bets his friend, Colonel Pickering (Steve Isom), that he can give Eliza a crash course in high class living and pass her off as an elegant lady at the Embassy Ball. Eliza, who yearns to leave behind her drunken, rambling father (Paul Houghtaling) and find respectable work in a florist’s shop, is intrigued by the offer.
The sculptor Pygmalion swore off womankind and only loved the silent, artificial beauty of his own creation. Higgins, too, finds women impossible and tries to shape Eliza into his perfect fantasy of femininity. It doesn’t take long for Higgins’s snobbery, self-centeredness, and sexism to grate on his new pupil; by the end of the first act, Eliza is fantasizing about his gruesome end (“Just You Wait”). Just when the imperious Higgins is about to cut his losses, Eliza flawlessly recites a little rhyme about the weather in a certain part of western Europe. Higgins, feeling vindicated, is eager to show off his “work” to European high society. But unlike Pygmalion’s creation, Eliza has a will of her own, and she’s got lessons in store for her teacher.
Between the romantic antics and toe-tapping tunes, My Fair Lady delivers some clever commentary on class and gender in 20th century England. Eliza, born without the privileges and comforts that Higgins takes for granted, is a far better judge of character than the prickly professor. Higgins’s own mother (Donna Weinsting) can hardly stand him and prefers the company of genuine, down-to-earth Eliza. By the story’s end, Eliza proves that the mark of a lady or gentleman is not their speech, but their character. The comic timing and musical talents of Mr. Martin and Ms. Snow bring the unlikely couple to life and add some levity to the sharp social satire.
My Fair Lady’s topsy-turvy love story wouldn’t be the same without the score. Luckily, Union Avenue Opera Company’s house band provides an elegant counterpoint to the onstage shenanigans. Eliza’s wistful, lilting “Wouldn’t It Be Loverly?” is a clear standout, and the legendary “I Could’ve Danced All Night” is performed with infectious joy. Charming period costumes provide the audience with a sense of time and place, and the minimalistic (but effective) set design allows for quick scenic changes. Union Avenue Christian Church, with its beautiful stained glass windows and wonderful acoustics, is a great venue for the timeless adventure of My Fair Lady.
My Fair Lady concludes its run this weekend (more information and tickets can be found here), but Union Avenue Opera Company will continue its mission to bring musical theater to the masses. Next up is Josephine / Pagliacci, a “double bill of passion and performance” running the following two weekends. Josephine Baker, the phenomenally successful and famously troubled dancer, will share the stage with the cuckolded clown prince of tragic opera. It all happens at 733 Union Blvd, with performances every Friday and Saturday at 8:00 PM. | Rob Von Nordheim
