{"id":245777,"date":"2013-02-01T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2013-02-01T08:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sdnews.com\/deliciously-cunning-pygmalion\/"},"modified":"2013-02-01T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2013-02-01T08:00:00","slug":"deliciously-cunning-pygmalion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/deliciously-cunning-pygmalion\/","title":{"rendered":"Deliciously cunning \u2018Pygmalion\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u2018Pygmalion\u2019
\nWHERE: Old Globe Theatre, 1363 Old Globe Way (Balboa Park)
\nWHEN: Tues. \u2013 Sun. through Feb. 17
\nINFO: 619-234-5623
\nWEB: theoldglobe.org<\/p>\n

Superbly cast production based on Old Globe glory<\/p>\n

Por Charlene Baldridge | Cr\u00edtico de Teatro SDUN<\/p>\n

\"Deliciously
(l t r) Robert Sean Leonard as Henry Higgins and Charlotte Parry as Eliza Doolittle (Photo by Henry DiRocco)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Old Globe takes a giant step back to former glory with its luscious and lavish production of George Bernard Shaw\u2019s \u201cPygmalion,\u201d the stage play upon which Lerner and Lowe\u2019s 1956 Broadway musical, \u201cMy Fair Lady,\u201d is based.<\/p>\n

Not only is \u201cPygmalion\u201d a feast for the eyes, the production, staged by newly named Associate Artist Nicholas Martin, is superbly cast and, as a bonus, replete with four Associate Artist actors from heavenly days in the mid-\u201880s. Artistic Director Emeritus Jack O\u2019Brien staged \u201cPygmalion\u201d in 1986, featuring Associate Artist Ellis Rabb as Prof. Henry Higgins.<\/p>\n

The main draw to Shaw in 2013 may be film and television actor Sean Robert Leonard, who portrays Higgins. Leonard recently wrapped eight seasons as psychiatrist Dr. James Wilson in the hit TV show \u201cHouse,\u201d and is remembered by longtime Globe audiences as Edgar in O\u2019Brien\u2019s 1993 \u201cKing Lear\u201d and perhaps for O\u2019Brien\u2019s 2001 Broadway production of \u201cThe Invention of Love,\u201d for which Associate Artist Richard Easton and Leonard received Tony Awards for their portrayal of A.E. Houseman at different ages.<\/p>\n

Other Associate Artists involved in the Globe\u2019s current \u201cPygmalion\u201d are Kandis Chappell as Mrs. Higgins, Don Sparks as Mr. Doolittle, Deborah Taylor as Mrs. Pearce, the housekeeper, and Paxton Whitehead as Col Pickering. Associate Artist Robert Morgan provides period costumes.<\/p>\n

Others in the company are Maggie Carney as Mrs. Eynsford Hill and Danielle O\u2019Farrell as her daughter Clara. Old Globe-USD MFA students Jeremy Fisher, Erin Elizabeth Adams, Adam Gerber and Allison Layman complete the company.<\/p>\n

Most everyone knows Shaw\u2019s plot from the 1913 play, his 1938 British film adaption, or the 1956 Broadway stage musical \u201cMy Fair Lady,\u201d made after the playwright\u2019s death and the 1964 film. These vary in scenic content and the degree of embellishment on the original script to the point that the onlooker can\u2019t help but feel something is missing.<\/p>\n

The story concerns a common Covent Garden flower seller, Eliza Doolittle (magnificently played by Charlotte Parry), who attracts the attention of linguists Higgins and Pickering with her horrid Cockney vowel sounds.<\/p>\n

\"Deliciously
Charlotte Parry as Eliza Doolittle (center) with (from left) Danielle O’Farrell, Robbie Simpson, Kandis Chappell, Paxton Whitehead, Robert Sean Leonard and Maggie Carney (Photo by Henry DiRocco)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Believing they can turn Eliza into a lady by remediating her speech, they move her into their shared home on Wimpole Street and in six months\u2019 time pass her off as a duchess. Mrs. Higgins, Mrs. Pearce, Col. Pickering and Eliza are concerned over Eliza\u2019s future. Treated cavalierly by the emotionally remote Higgins, and encouraged by Mrs. Higgins, Eliza determines her own future \u2013 \u201cIf I can\u2019t have kindness, I\u2019ll have independence\u201d \u2013 leaving Higgins convulsed in laughter over the prospect of her marrying the impecunious nobleman Freddy Eynsford Hill (Robbie Simpson). At curtain fall, director Martin provides a tacit vision of the future according to Shaw. It is amusing, apropos and thoroughly satisfying.<\/p>\n

A certain suspension of disbelief is needed to fully accept the London setting, 1912. Much as one admires Leonard\u2019s acting, one finds him quite American in speech and body language, especially when he flops around in little fits of pique. No wonder his mother so disapproves of him.<\/p>\n

The women are formidably talented, and one enjoys the return of the inimitable Whitehead, who presents an interestingly confused Pickering. As Doolittle, Sparks supplies delicious cunning and wet-hen anger over his metamorphosis to middle-class morality.<\/p>\n

On opening night, Jan. 17, Alexander Dodge\u2019s revolving set briefly threatened rebellion as it morphed from Covent Garden to Higgins\u2019 laboratory. The other side shows Mrs. Higgins\u2019 drawing room in Chelsea. Morgan\u2019s gowns, morning coats and evening attire are glorious. Philip S. Rosenberg is lighting designer, Drew Levy the sound designer, and Mark Bennett provides original music.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u2018Pygmalion\u2019 WHERE: Old Globe Theatre, 1363 Old Globe Way (Balboa Park) WHEN: Tues. \u2013 Sun. through Feb. 17 INFO: 619-234-5623 WEB: theoldglobe.org Superbly cast production based on Old Globe glory By Charlene Baldridge | SDUN Theater Critic<\/p>","protected":false},"author":726,"featured_media":245778,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"11555","_seopress_titles_title":"Deliciously cunning \u2018Pygmalion\u2019","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"jnews_override_counter":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[11549,11547,11551,11555],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-245777","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-arts-entertainment","category-features","category-news","category-uptown-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/245777","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/726"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=245777"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/245777\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/245778"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=245777"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=245777"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=245777"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}