Pygmalion

I made it to the theater last night for the first time in a long time. Pygmalion is currently on Broadway, with Claire Danes starring as Liza Doolittle. I was glad I got to see this - I never got around to reading "Pygmalion", but I've seen or know more about most of its distortions - "My Fair Lady" and the much more recent "Pretty Woman".

The theater in general always astounds me...I am always in awe of how much they can do to create a scene with very little stage space. When "Pygmalion" opens, the characters are waiting under an archway and it's raining hard on the street. It's well done, and for the rest of the play, two different rooms slide on and off the stage simoultaneously as needed.

The other joy of Broadway is the caliber of acting that you are always presented with. After the play Karen and I were discussing this, and I was saying how I rarely understand it when a Broadway actor gets a scathing review...when you read the Playbill bios and see how accomplished these people are I can't help but be in awe, and while watching the play you are presented with such enthusiastic acting, it is hard not to be enraptured by the entire experience. Clearly this isn't amateur night, so what are these critics looking for?

Anyhow. It is interesting to see Claire Danes in such a role - she is unlike herself in both forms of Doolittle - which is interesting for those of us who still remember her as Angela Chase from the very awesome "My So-Called Life". Jefferson Mays, who plays Henry Higgins, is also very very good. This is a good one to see, if you're headed for Times Square anytime soon.