MY FAIR LADY - Reviews and Photos

We've just about hit the mid-point of our run of MY FAIR LADY at Quintessence Theatre Group.  Attendance continues to swell, and I think there is actually a palpable buzz around the production here on the northwest side of Philadelphia.  An extension week (through December 23rd) has already been announced, and I have been approached by many patrons who have bragged eagerly about attending the show multiple times.

The materials we have to work with - both George Bernard Shaw's original text (from his play, PYGMALION, of course), and the score composed for the musical by Lerner & Loewe - are iconic and legendary for a reason, and it is a real joy to play it with such a talented and committed ensemble of performers. I cannot imagine a better group of people to be tackling this show with.

It is a testament to Shaw's genius that the plot he conceived, and the characters who move through it can still evoke such a strong response with our audiences.  Many of the issues it presents and wrestles with are even more vital today than ever.  I have, understandably, spent a great deal of time in the last few months, pondering Professor Higgins and his point of view.  First, I must say that I am incredibly grateful to Mr. Shaw for granting us (and me) a character packed full up with both brilliance and flaws, virtuosity and deplorability, who delights and disgusts in both extraordinary ways and equal measure.  He feels incredibly human to me, three-dimensional and so very, very real.  He is not a collection of randomly assigned character traits, but a HUMAN, whole and true, whose wit, and fears, and triumphs and failings are all tightly interconnected and constructed by a playwright who was not only better than most, but at the height of his powers. While I cannot fault anyone in this particular moment of our social and cultural history who chooses to write him off as a simple misogynist, I find I cannot fully agree with that distilled assessment.  Henry Higgins is every bit the titan of personality that his counterpart, Eliza Doolittle is (and I like to think that my performance is coming something close to doing him that justice).

But regarding Higgins and Eliza, there is no doubt in my mind that one entity is greatly diminished without the other, and I am incredibly grateful to be sharing that task with Leigha Kato.  She is a "tower of strength, a consort battleship," and brings to her Eliza not only a full-voiced glory, but a fire and intelligence that I greatly admire.  She is the best of all possible scene partners.  Marcia Saunders, Doug Hara, Bradley Mott, and Lee Cortopassi are each giving their own master classes on stage every night as well, and the game just keeps getting better every time we play it.  It hasn't been easy, this one, but I've found it incredibly rewarding, and I look forward every night to walking into the theatre with my co-workers to try the whole thing all over again.

But enough of me blathering on, and on.  Here's what a few of the professional opinionators had to say...

"MY FAIR LADY gets the Quintessence treatment: intimate, stripped down, concentrating on character, language, and action. It's a success.  An evening full of heady emotion, the spectacle of people changing before your eyes, and a profound closing truth, all the more profound right now."  - John Timpane, writing for The Philadelphia Inquirer

"Quintessence Theatre's MY FAIR LADY is a jubilant mix of beautiful songs, dancing, magic, social politics... and elocution.  It's a splendid show, a holiday gift"   - Kathryn Osenlund, writing for phindie.com

"Kato's Doolittle has the perfect insufferable Henry Higgins to teach her how to be a lady with proper English: Gregory Isaac.  He plays the nasty know-it-all linguist with a smirk that seems to be born to the character."  - Howard Shapiro, writing for WHYY

And finally I want to share a thought that Amanda Morton, our incredibly talented 2nd piano player (though really it's more like Piano 1, and 1A), posted on Instagram about the show just before our opening night.  I found it very thoughtful and insightful:
"I grew up loving this show, then discovered problems with it as i got older, but have somehow fallen back in love with it thanks to [director] Alexander Burns' thoughtful, intelligent hand in revealing the complexity of a dynamic that, at first glance, can be repugnant.  However, it seems to me that Eliza and Henry are looking to be understood, and perhaps find a more evloved kind of love that acknowledges its flaws from the get and doesn't mind a lively verbal spar.  It is not our commecial vision of relationships, but it's deeply human and for that reason, touches me."

We now run until December 23rd.  PLEASE come to Mt. Airy and check us out.  You won't be sorry that you did.

Gregory Isaac as "Higgins" and Leigha Kato as "Eliza".  Photo by Shawn May.

Doug Hara as "Col. Pickering".  Photo by Shawn May.

The Ensemble in the Ascot Gavot.  Photo by Shawn May.

Leigha Kato as "Eliza," and Gregory Isaac as "Higgins".  Photo by Shawn May.

SAINT JOAN - Reviews & Photos

It's hard to believe that it's been nearly two weeks since we opened SAINT JOAN, as the ensemble has been deep in the work of teching and prepping DOCTOR FAUSTUS since the moment JOAN was fully on it's feet, but nevertheless, here we are.  Not only have the reviews been very kind to us, we also have some gorgeous production photos from Shawn May to entice you to see the show for yourself.  Here's a dose of both:

Jim Rutter, for the Philadelphia Inquirer, calls it, "a powerhouse, actor-driven production," and adds, "Leigha Kato's Joan inspires. [Her performance] is beyond compare, a singularity of passion and energy."

David Fox, for Philadelphia Magazine, lauds, "Rebecca Wright's staging reinforces the core sense of the play as an arena for vigorous philosophical debate," and adds, "The ensemble deserves congratulations, with special praise to Sean Close and Josh Carpenter (who are best at the Shavian banter), and Gregory Isaac, (whose performance as Peter Cauchon is heartbreaking in it's emotional directness)."

And Mark Cofta, for the Broad Street Review, notes that, "Brian Sidney Bembridge's powerful lighting sculpts the action," along with sound designer Adriano Shaplin's "artful" underscoring, and Nikki Delhomme's "bold" costumes, but concludes, "Most impressive about SAINT JOAN is how it relates to today's world, nearly a century after Shaw wrote it."

SAINT JOAN is scheduled to run through April 22nd, and is produced by the Quintessence Theatre Group at the historic Sedgwick Theatre.  Tickets range from $15-$34.

Leigha Kato as JOAN (Photo by Shawn May)

Andrew Betz as the Dauphin, Leigha Kato as Joan (Photo by Shawn May)

John Basiulis as the Inquisitor, Alan Brincks as Brother Martin, Gregory Isaac as Cauchon (Photo by Shawn May)

Aaron Kirkpatrick as LaHire, Josh Carpenter as Bluebeard, John Basiulis as The Archbishop

The Historic Sedgwick Movie Palace

Exterior of the Sedgwick Theater in the 1940s

Quintessence Theatre Group is housed in the historic Sedgwick Theater in Mount Airy neighborhood on the far north side of Philadelphia.  It was designed by noted architect, William Harold Lee and opened in 1928 as a true “Movie Palace”.  The Sedgwick was a landmark of art deco design, and very much a centerpiece for the neighborhood.  The theatre itself was a 1600+ seat venue and designed with a full stage beneath the large projection screen which was capable of hosting a orchestra to sit and play along live to the silent movies of the day.  (An event which, apparently, happened only rarely, as the “talkies” became commonplace not long after the theatre was opened.)

The massive screening room was fronted by not one, but two large and ornate lobbies which welcomed moviegoers as they entered the building. This, after they passed under a grand, lighted marquee and through the recessed, open-air box office off the sidewalk.  Each room featured high ceilings, chandeliers, deco detail, and the presentation of general grandeur. 

My understanding is that the “average” number of seats in any given screening room at a modern movie house is about 250.  The Sedgwick had more than 1,600, and if a planned balcony had actually been constructed (it was scrapped early on while the theater was still being built), the capacity would have been more than 2,000 seats.

The Fox Theater in Atlanta, which is primarily a venue for concerts and live performances, still offers a movie series most summers.  Capacity there is more than 4,600, and the movie screen is massive.  They have occasionally used the full 75mm prints for certain movies featured in those summer programs.  I was lucky to see 2001, RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK, STAR WARS, and CITIZEN KANE there in that massive venue.  The Sedgwick lacked the extra balcony seating, and the house was not as wide as the Fox, but the depth of the house and the loft of the ceiling would have been comparable.  How amazing to have a structure like that as your local neighborhood movie house.

The Sedgwick today

The Sedgwick was one of 20 such theaters build in the late 20s in Philadelphia. They all had the great misfortune to open just before the country was buried in the depression and movie palace extravagance began to seem frivolous and unnecessary.  Their presence never fully took hold, and they gradually faded, failed and shuttered their doors.  Only two of them still remain, and although the Sedgwick is one of those two, both exist now in an altered state.

The Sedgwick closed as a movie house in 1966, and the building was split into two halves.  The massive screening room was largely gutted and sold as a warehouse space.  A cinder block wall was erected, cutting it off from the double lobbies that led to it.  My understanding is that the deco ceiling, with the relief for the chandelier, and a large portion of the archway over the proscenium still remain.  The lobbies remained shuttered and dormant for several decades until the building was purchased and repurposed in the mid-90s by David and Betty Ann Fellner.  At that time, the open-air box office was enclosed, and what were originally lobbies became the venue for a cultural center in Mt. Airy. 

What now remains of the original theater, since converted into warehouse work space.

A series of performance companies have taken residence there in the 20 years since, but none were able to successfully root, until Quintessence moved in five years ago and has grown a strong, expanding local audience. The now-enclosed box office is a modest lobby and rehearsal space.  The original entrance lobby offers some storage and still serves as an audience passage-way, and what was the grand, second lobby is now a large, very versatile “black-box” performance space.  There is a great deal of decay, but the architectural archways between the lobbies still exist.  The ceilings are still intact and a beautiful deco, glass chandelier still hangs over what is now the house, but the space below is large and highly convertible into whatever look Quintessence chooses to give it for each production. (THE THREE MUSKETEERS will be performed in the round.)

One of many iterations of the Quintessence performance space in what used to be the Sedgwick's inner lobby.

Hopefully, before our run is over, I’ll find a way to take a peek inside the remnants of the old theater, maybe snap a few photos.  But even if I don’t, it’s still really cool to be working in this space. It’s a big part of the character of the company as a whole, and I think it has a very unique impact on this production.