Theater patrons rush into the rain, frantically trying to find cabs and stay dry, while a modest flower girl attempts to earn enough change to see herself through the night. From the opening scene of George Bernard Shaw’s classic Pygmalion low class urchins are contrasted sharply with the wealthy and unfeeling upper-class.
Nomadic Theater’s first production of the year tells the story of Eliza Doolittle, a poor cockney flower girl (Jessie Sullivan, CAS ‘08) hoping to improve her lot in life by improving her English. Linguist Professor Henry Higgins, played by Michael Kocher (SFS ‘05) accepts her not as a pupil, but as an experiment. Higgins bets his housemate, Col. Pickering, played by Ted Wold (SFS ‘05) that within six months he can pass Eliza off as a duchess at an embassy ball.
Through this transformation, Shaw, a known socialist and advocate of women’s rights, addresses issues of class and gender. Although Pygmalion was written in 1913, these topics are all too relevant today. In My Fair Lady, the 1958 musical adaptation of Shaw’s classic, these themes are somewhat watered down, but in the play they remain raw and powerful.
“You know well I couldn’t bear to live with a low common man after you two; and it’s wicked and cruel of you to insult me by pretending I could,” Eliza tells Professor Higgins in the final scene. “But don’t you be too sure that you have me under your feet to be trampled on and talked down.” Higgins has destroyed any chance of happiness she may have had remaining in the lower class, but she is unwilling to continue to live with Higgins’ womanizing and manipulation.
The real tragedy of the play is that Higgins fails to recognize his mistakes despite the fact that they are obvious to all those around him. He has tried to turn Eliza into a lady without making any attempt at becoming a gentleman. It is clear that Eliza will adapt and move on, but Higgins seems destined to remain a lonely bachelor if he can not learn to treat others with respect and kindness.
Thanks to the dedicated direction of Adam Aguirre (CAS ‘06), the play’s two leads do an excellent job of getting across the messages. Schachter’s innocent flower girl breaks on stage only to be reborn as an iron-willed woman. As Higgins, Kocher shows disregard for his pupils’ feelings while still remaining human enough for the audience to sympathize with him at times.
The other performers do a wonderful job of adding to the rich tapestry of the play. Wold’s Colonel never fails to get a laugh and the grandfatherly portrayal saves the production from being too cynical. Kerry Gibbons (CAS ‘05) delivers a consistent performance as Higgins’ housekeeper Ms. Pearce. Her accent is perhaps the best in the play and she brilliantly manages to criticize both Higgins and Eliza without seeming hypocritical. The play’s most comic moments belong to the Hungarian linguist Nepommuck played by Eric Weiss (CAS ‘06). His bumbling and baffling save an otherwise slow ballroom scene from being boring.
The production stumbles in its attempt to incorporate a circus theme. Though the idea of Pygmalion as a big top show is intriguing, it isn’t carried through the play very well, and in the end adds little.
The play’s moral, however, remains intact. Eliza realizes that it is not important how others view her, but rather how she views herself. A tense confrontation with Higgins in the final scene makes this message clear to the audience.
Nomadic Theater’s Pygmalion is well worth seeing, and though it may not end as happily as its musical spin-off, it conclusion is gratifying. The boy may not get the girl, but the girl does get her independence. That is something no amount of good breeding can bring about.
Pygmalion opens in Walsh’s Black Box Theater tonight. It will show Thurs., Fri., and Sat. at 8:00 this weekend and next.
