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| Claire Lyon as Eliza Doolittle in the 2026 John Frost - Opera Australia production of "My Fair Lady |
Book and Lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner – Music by Frederick Loewe
Directed by Karen Johnson Mortimer based on the 2016
production by Julie Andrews
Set Design by Oliver Smith – Costume Design by Cecil Beaton
Musical Direction by David Young – Choreography by
Christopher Gattelli
Lighting Design by Richard Pilbrow – Sound Design by Michael
Waters
Produced by John Frost and Opera Australia with Power Arts
and Shake & Stir
Joan Sutherland Theatre, Sydney Opera House until October
31, 2026
Opening night performance on September 22nd
reviewed by BILL STEPHENS
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| Claire Lyon (Eliza Doolittle) and company in "My Fair Lady" |
There are many reasons to savour this magnificent production
of My Fair Lady.
Firstly, it is the only production in the world directed by
Julie Andrews, who created the role of Eliza Doolittle in the original 1956 Broadway
production.
Although she had played the role hundreds of times during its
original seasons on Broadway and in London, Julie Andrews had never seen the
show from the front.
Therefore, when invited by John Frost and Opera Australia to
direct a recreation of the original production for its 60th Anniversary,
she did so from her memories of performing in it.
That production toured Australia in 2016, and it is that
production, with Ms Andrews’ direction intact under the stewardship of Karen
Johnson Mortimer, who was her assistant director when she created it, which has
now been revived for this 70th Anniversary tour.
The magnificence of this production for which extraordinary efforts have been undertaken to ensure the meticulous reproduction of Oliver Smith’s breath-taking set designs, and the much-celebrated Cecil Beaton costumes, for this production faithfully recreated by John David Ridge, is still awe-inspiring.
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| The Embassy Ballroom Scene in "My Fair Lady" |
The Covent Garden exterior which opens the show, Professor Higgins’ wonderfully detailed study, the stunning Ascot scene, and of course the breath-taking transition into the Embassy Ballroom, all gloriously enhanced by the lighting design of Richard Pilbrow, remain as gasp-inducing as ever. Each reveal drawing excited applause from the first-night audience, a reminder that there were those in the theatre who had not been born at the time of the first Australian production or had never seen a stage production of My Fair Lady.
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| The Ascot Scene in "My Fair Lady" |
Although one who certainly had, and sitting quietly among the first-night audience was Australia’s original 1959 Eliza Doolittle, Bunty Turner.
In 2026, Claire Lyon is a bewitching Eliza Dolittle, as
comfortable vocally as the uneducated cockney flower-girl as she is as Higgins newly
minted faux duchess. Her renditions of "The Rain in Spain" and "I Could Have Danced
All Night" are a joy, as is her entrance as Eliza dressed for the ball.
Similarly, Nathaniel Parker, who while embracing the unfettered
misogyny of Henry Higgins, manages to invest his portrayal with a winning
likability, even a modicum of warmth that allows Eliza’s capitulation at the
end to almost makes sense.
%20-%20Nathaniel%20Parker%20(Professor%20Henry%20Higgin)%20-%20Photo%20Credit%20Jeff%20Busby.jpg) |
| Claire Lyon (Eliza Doolittle) - Nathaniel Parker (Professor Henry Higgins) in "My Fair Lady". |
Particularly unique are the three Australian stage legends returning to the roles they created in the 60th Anniversary production. Reg Livermore as Alfred Doolittle remarkably reprising his show-stopping versions of "With a Little Bit of Luck" and "I’m Getting Married in the Morning"; Robyn Nevin delightfully dignified but landing every laugh as she brings her son, Henry, to heel; and Tony LLwellyn- Jones as the ever-urbane Colonel Pickering.
None look a day older than when they created these roles in
2016, and each bringing to the stage, a unique command and style earned over a
lifetime lighting up stages in a succession of memorable roles.
New to this production but bringing with them a wealth of
stage experience, Anne Wood plays Henry Higgin’s formidable though kindly
housekeeper, Mrs Pearce. David Whitney clearly enjoys playing Higgins's' phonetics
rival, Zoltan Karpathy, while Freddy Hellier brings an impressive voice and
presence to the role of the besotted Freddy Eynsford-Hill even harvesting laughs
from the verse of his impressively sung On the Street Where You Live.
If you need more encouragement as to why you should not miss
this production, there’s the opportunity to hear the glorious Lerner & Lowe
score played magnificently by the Opera Australia Orchestra, conducted by David
Young, who generously allows the orchestra to have its head during Christopher
Gattelli’s boisterous dance numbers, while keeping it restrained during the
many songs to allow Alan Jay Lerner’s witty lyrics to be relished.
If you have ever yearned to experience this classic musical
as its creators intended, then this is your opportunity.
Photos by Jeff Busby
This review first published in CITY NEWS September 25, 2026. Link here
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