"My Fair Lady" By Charles Jarrett

Every aspect of "My Fair Lady"makes for a superlative production

"My Fair Lady," Lerner and Loewe's classic musical transformation of George Bernard Shaw's 1914 play "Pygmalion," (about class distinctions and women's lack of equality) has returned to thrill local audiences at the Dean Lesher Regional Center for the Arts in Walnut Creek. The Diablo Light Opera Company has mounted a great production of this musical that is absolutely superlative in every respect.

Under the combined artistic direction of Dianna Shuster, musical direction of Cheryl Yee Glass and Choreography of Kate Leland, this popular musical has found its wings once again. I find it hard to believe that there are people who have never seen the stage production of this musical, but if you have not had the opportunity to do so, by all means, this is the time you should see it.

The cast is really terrific, with popular local actor, John Hetzler, playing the immovable, self-centered and egotistical instructor of phonetics, Henry Higgins. Hetzler is sporting a new look that will take you by surprise and add even greater depth to his portrayal of this venerable character.

Angelique Lucia superbly plays Eliza Doolittle, the nasal twanging, Cockney caterwauling flower girl who engages Higgins to transform her manner of speech so that she can become a "proper" salesgirl in an upscale flower shop. Lucia is pretty, petite, charming and oozing with character. She is certainly one of the more delightful Eliza's in recent memory.

The story evolves around Professor Henry Higgins who is observed cataloguing the language and dialect of young Eliza as she sells flowers to patrons at Covent Garden. Eliza becomes upset, fearing that she must be doing something wrong to elicit such scrutiny by the professor and begs another gentleman in the square, Colonel Pickering (Lee Strawn), to intercede on her behalf.

As the two gentlemen converse regarding the common language and colloquialisms Eliza uses, Higgins comments that it is the improper use of language that keeps people such as Eliza stratified by society. Eliza says she will pay Higgins to teach her proper English, and Higgins proclaims that she might actually be worth the challenge.

He brags to Pickering that with his tutelage, in six months time, he could elevate her language skills and even pass her off as a "duchess" at a royal ball. Pickering doubts that such a transformation would ever be possible and offers to pay the entire expense of the experiment if Higgins can pull it off. The story progresses with varying stages of success until the ball actually arrives. The transition, the trials, the triumph and the lessons learned by all concerned are well worth the price of admission, many times over.

The music is classic, certainly providing such memorable tunes that they have been recorded, stylized and re-stylized by numerous artists and orchestras ever since it was first produced on Broadway in 1957. Songs such as "I Could Have Danced All Night," "The Rain in Spain," "Wouldn't It Be Loverly," "Get Me To The Church On Time" and "I've Grown Accustomed to Her Face" flow trippingly on the tongue even today.

The orchestra, under the direction of Cheryl Yee Glass, is magnificent. The sets created by "The Set Company" are brilliant in concept and functionality. The costumes, created originally by Cathleen Edwards for American Musical Theater Company of San Jose are exquisite and are enhanced by additional costume design by Carol Edinger and Audrey Pratt. In this production, the lighting design by Michael Palumbo is superlative and adds considerably to the overall effect.

This outstanding production plays through March 19 at the Dean Lesher Regional Center for the Arts, 1601 Civic Drive in Walnut Creek. Tickets range from $25 to $36 each, an absolute steal for such outstanding and high quality entertainment. The cost of this production should demand even greater ticket prices. This is a four-star production if ever there were one! Call 943-SHOW for tickets