Scene On Stage
High School Musical In Red Bank
Not that one, a real one!
By Philip Dorian
The My Fair Lady in Red Bank this weekend is a high school production. I say this not to alert you, but to remind myself, because fifteen minutes in, I forgot I was at a high school.
If you've never seen My Fair Lady, or want a reminder of the wonder Alan Jay Lerner (book & lyrics) and Frederick Loewe (music) wrought from George Bernard Shaw's 1905 play Pygmalion, get yourself to the street where Red Bank Catholic High School lives this Friday or Saturday evening. You'll be glad you did.
Featuring seniors Jade Dibling and David Shirley as flower-girl Eliza Doolittle and Professor Henry Higgins, who transforms scruffy Eliza into a regal lady, RBC's My Fair Lady rivals any 'adult' production seen over the years.
It's really Ms. Dibling who transforms Eliza from whining "I'm a good gurl, I am" to bewitching everyone in sight. Of the transformed Eliza, resplendent in a shimmering ball gown, Higgins's cohort Colonel Pickering speaks for us all: "Miss Doolittle, you look beautiful." She sings beautiful too. "Wouldn't It Be Loverly" is and "I Could Have Danced All Night" does.
No less effective, Mr. Shirley acts a maturity beyond his years. His Higgins is stuffy but not a bore, and he patter-sings ("Why Can't the English" and "I've Grown Accustomed to Her Face") confidently. The May/ October Eliza/Higgins relationship is crucial to My Fair Lady: the two become co-dependent, but not lovers. As sensitively directed by Keith Gissubel, and acted by Dibling and Shirley, this element is just so.
Matt Rozanski's Pickering is a comforting presence and a perfect participant in the "Rain in Spain" celebration. Jeremy Borut is Alfred P. Doolittle, Eliza's dustman dad, who anchors "With a Little Bit of Luck" and the jaunty "Getting Married in the Morning," which features spiffy acrobatic choreography by Kelly Gemellaro.
Kelly Fitzpatrick and Mary Schneider are excellent as Higgins's patient housekeeper and his warm-hearted mother, respectively; Hillary Clauss turns in a mini-gem as the Queen of Transylvania; Caitlin Hanson can go through life knowing she played a character named Gina the Bartender. And an overall shout-out to the buskers and ensemble members: You're all terrific, every one. Some costumes are rented, but most of the women's lavish outfits were made by a parent committee. The black-and-white Ascot scene is particularly creative, topped by Eliza's feathered hat whose wide translucent brim illuminates rather than shades the face that Higgins grows accustomed to.
And when's the last time you were up close to a 24-piece orchestra? Conducted by Shawn Mack (RBC '05), the overture alone is reason to attend.
Well of course there are some flaws, or lapses. A few vocal-tempo missteps, covered by the conductor, and a couple of delayed entrances, likewise covered by other actors, don't matter much, and several scenes would benefit from being played further front. But did I mention... this is a high school production.
When Eliza walks out on her son near the end, Mrs. Higgins says, "Bravo, Eliza." I'll add: Bravo, director Gissubel, student assistant director Nicole Sandoli, stage manager Tony Guerra and everyone connected with Red Bank Catholic's My Fair Lady.
Final performances this Friday at 7 p.m. and Saturday at 8 p.m. at RBC's Broad Street auditorium. Tickets are $15, students $8, which is like them paying you.
pdorian18@comcast.net
