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Theater review: Q-C Music Guild's 'Lady' exceeds loverly

By David Burke | Wednesday, June 18, 2008 | () comments

Professor Henry Higgins (Mark McGinn) meets flower girl Eliza Doolittle (Jenny Winn) in Quad-City Music Guild’s production of “My Fair Lady.” (Contributed photo)

There came a point in the opening night of “My Fair Lady” — which kicks off Quad-City Music Guild’s summer season — where Eliza Doolittle (Jenny Winn) makes her entrance for the Black & White Ball and the audience let out a collective gasp.

Whether the gasp was for the platinum-white gown (costumes by Deb Holmes), the glistening jewelry, the transformation of Winn-as-Eliza or any combination of the above is uncertain, but it confirmed what the audience had already suspected for an hour and change.

Guild’s “My Fair Lady” is breathtaking.

Winn brings a touch of Kristin Chenoweth charm and spunkiness to the role of Eliza, the flower girl-turned-title character, as well as a vocal and physical transformation that shows off her range as an actress. The change is more than just wiping the smudges of makeup off her face and sticking her into a gown. There’s a believable evolution from the Cockney-accented urchin that we see in opening scenes to the fully realized woman by the musical’s end.

Mark McGinn plays well off her as Henry Higgins, the fussbudget linguistics professor who finds himself eventually enchanted with his subject. McGinn is limited to the “speak sing” style of Rex Harrison, who originated the role in 1956 on Broadway, but carries himself well in all aspects of the role.

Three other performances in the large cast stand out. Harold Truitt lets loose as Higgins’ confidante, Col. Pickering; John VanDeWoestyne has a heyday with his role as Eliza’s father, a drunken ne’er-do-well; and Erin Lounsberry is better with reacting than many are in acting as Higgins’ long-suffering maid.

Charles DCamp leads the cast and orchestra nicely through such Lerner and Loewe classics as “Get Me to the Church on Time,” “I’ve Grown Accustomed to Her Face,” “I Could Have Danced All Night” and “The Rain in Spain.”

Kevin Pieper does double-duty as director and set designer, the latter creating seven different scenes (most notably the sturdy Higgins study), some of them so elaborate that set changes probably take longer than they should. As a director, Pieper doesn’t try anything fancy, but lets the time-tested work speak for itself, conveying why audiences have loved the story for more than a half-century.

Classic musical fans won’t need to hear any more than “My Fair Lady” is in town for them to order their tickets, but Guild’s delivery makes it enjoyable for first-timers to the classic tale as well.

If you go

What: “My Fair Lady” by Quad-City Music Guild

When: 7:30 p.m. today through Saturday, June 21; 2 p.m. Sunday, June 22

Where: Prospect Park auditorium, Moline

How much: $15 for adults, $9 for children

Information: (309) 762-6610 or QCmusicguild.com on the Web

David Burke can be contacted at (563) 383-2400 or dburke@qctimes.com. Comment on this review at qctimes.com.