Cwmbran Woodland Players started the new season at the Congress Theatre in style with their adaptation of Lerner and Loewe's most famous musical, My Fair Lady.
Not for the faint-hearted, the production covered all the complexities of the original play with language, morality, social class and the place of women in society sitting alongside frivolity and romance.
Inevitably this musical's success depends on the chemistry between Professor Henry Higgins and his muse, Eliza Doolittle.
Lyn House and Rhiannon Cadwell more than did justice to these lead roles, House's lack of sentimentality as the irrepressible Higgins sitting well alongside the determination yet vulnerability of Eliza, whose demanding transformation from flower-girl to society lady was achieved with charm and elegance.
Patrick Martin hit just the right note of humour as Alfred Doolittle, whilst Jamie McNash as Colonel Pickering and Lesley Grubb as housekeeper Mrs Pearce kept balance and pace in two pivotal roles designed to offset Higgins' eccentricity.
The production combined clever choreography with a capable chorus, and aside from a few slight prop malfunctions, an appreciative audience were delighted with the result. It runs until Saturday.
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