On the recommendation of my friend Andrew, we went out yesterday - me and WotN and my Mom - to see My Fair Lady at the Palace Theatre. It was terrific, a dazzling production of one of the very best of musicals. Any production of My Fair Lady labours under two big burdens. It's virtually impossible to improve on Audrey Hepburn as Eliza Dolittle; and it is impossible to improve on Rex Harrison as Henry Higgins. But the two principals - Amy Nuttall and Christopher Cazanove (interviewed here) - could not be faulted. There's something else, though neither actor would thank me for saying it: if you're of a certain age, have seen George Cukor's great movie enough times, and are sitting quite high up in the Circle, part of the time what you see is Rex Harrison and Audrey Hepburn.
Magic of the theatre - there was a fair bit of that around at yesterday's matinee, with wonderful choreography and all those lovely songs. But there was one moment in particular that really got to me even after all these years. It was when Eliza comes down the stairs, ready to set off for the Embassy Ball, in her ball gown sparkling white. It was a stunning moment. I almost had a turn.
If you can, go: My Fair Lady plays Birmingham, Edinburgh, Bristol, Plymouth, Liverpool, and another half dozen centres after that, not excluding Milton Keynes.