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If you're fairly unconcerned about knowing who directs shows on Broadway, the name Bartlett Sher may not mean much to you. However, if you loved the recent productions of Fiddler on the Roof, The King and I and South Pacific—among others—you'll know he's the man with a golden touch when it comes to lavish, probing and beautifully designed revivals of the classics. Next year, Sher continues working his way through the Golden Age of Broadway in partnership with Lincoln Center Theater with the beloved comedy My Fair Lady.
Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe’s hit hasn't been on Broadway in 25 years, when it ran for 165 performances starring Richard Chamberlin and Melissa Errico. Previews for the LCT revival start March 22 next year and opening night is April 19 at the Vivian Beaumont Theater. Sher gathers his familiar crew of designers for the story of a crusty dialectician and the spirited street girl he decides to turn into a posh-talking high-society girl.
Casting has yet to be announced, but we like to start the guessing game early. Who do you want to see as Cockney flower girl Eliza Doolittle? Looking at the current crop of Broadway starlets, we'd short-list the delicious Annaleigh Ashford (currently dazzling in Sunday in the Park with George). For an edgier choice, maybe Tony-winner Lena Hall of recent Hedwig on Broadway fame? There's the unstoppable Laura Benanti, one of the funniest divas out there.
Professor Henry Higgins is a touch harder to cast. Since the role was originated by English actor Rex Harrison (not much of a singer), it's more of a character part than a chance to showoff. And much as we'd love to see Hugh Jackman back in a Broadway musical, he's a) too damn handsome and b) too good a singer. Nathan Lane? Is that crazy?
Tell you who I'd love to see as Higgins: the great Jefferson Mays, soon to tread the very boards of the Beaumont in Oslo. He already played Higgins in a Roundabout revival of Pygmalion (the George Bernard Shaw play on which My Fair Lady is based). And he was brilliant in it. He already proved in A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder he can carry a boisterous tune. Let Jefferson have a second shot at training Eliza.
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