Capsule Reviews in the Time of Coronavirus (10)

My Fair Lady

I’m a theater-goer and while I’ve had the opportunity to see several classic musicals on stage over the years, one play that’s always been high on my list to see is “My Fair Lady.” So when I saw that tickets for the Lincoln Center Theater’s touring production of the show were available for October—its visit to L.A. rescheduled and cancelled earlier due to the pandemic—I grabbed a pair for the Oct. 9 show for my wife and me, COVID-19 be damned!

Adding to the appeal was that the show was being presented in the heart of Hollywood, at the Dolby Theatre, where the Academy Awards are held, next door to the famed Grauman’s Chinese Theatre (though now officially the TCL Chinese Theatre) and directly across the street from where the talk show, Jimmy Kimmel Live broadcasts. And, yes, vaccinations were required and checked at the door; everyone in the audience wore masks.

This touring production is based on a much lauded 2018–19 revival production that originated with Lauren Ambrose as Eliza, Harry Hadden-Paton as Higgins, the late Diana Rigg as Mrs. Higgins, and Allen Cordener as Pickering. (When Ambrose concluded her run, Laura Benanti assumed the role.) This touring production starred Shereen Ahmed and Laird Mackintosh as the leads.

Broadway in Hollywood promotional photo

The challenge of any show as iconic as “My Fair Lady” is to escape the shadow of the much beloved and excellent film adaptation. While I’m not quite sure the cast of the production I saw quite succeeded in that tall order and made the characters their own, it was nonetheless a solid production. Featuring actors in the lead roles somewhat closer in age than the film does somewhat change the dynamic of the story in a subtle interesting manner; the nature of the relationship between Eliza and Higgins has always been complex and an endless source of debate (playwright George Bernard Shaw, who wrote the original play, “Pygmalion,” on which “My Fair Lady” is based, was adamant that their relationship was not romantic).The theme of Eliza discovering the spark of he soul independent of Higgins also seemed to come through more. That said, when done right and with thoughtfulness, “My Fair Lady” remains critic-proof and the characters indelible. The story and its timeless songs and melodies remain appealing and crowd-pleasing as ever. (I should add that, following the production, I watched the film!)

Afterwards, my wife and I had lovely dinner at Musso and Frank’s on a last-minute whim!

For All Mankind (Apple TV+)

This science fiction (sf) series posits a fascinating alternate history where the Soviet Union was the first to land on the moon, sparking a fierce space race between the super powers. While I noticed the series when it dropped in 2019 and was intrigued by its premise, I did not get around to watching it until this summer during the pandemic and ended up bingeing the first two seasons over a week or so. (A third season is in the works.) This series makes a nice complement to the HBO series “From the Earth to the Moon” and the film The Right Stuff, which I admire.

I have to assume that the title, “For All Mankind,” is meant to be partly ironic—much of the series focuses on the women who train and become astronauts, partly after the Soviets shock the world when they land a woman on the moon on its second landing. As this suggests, like the best sf, the series examines real-life issues through its alternate history lens: the success of women astronauts helps spur the passage of the Equal Rights Amendment (which ultimately failed in the real world), while race and LGBTQ issues also emerge.

In addition, enough of “real” history is weaved into the series, which adds to its believability. Historical figures like Richard Nixon and Ronald Reaga, and astronauts Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Deke Slayton, as well as rocket scientist Wernher von Braun, all play roles, sometimes as major characters. (As an example of how the series plays with history, in the series, Teddy Kennedy is unable to go on a planned vacation to Chappaquiddick when he is recalled to Washington, DC for NASA hearings and eventually succeeds Nixon as president. Similarly, the second season begins with a montage to show some of the “highlights” of the 1970s, including the fact that Beatle John Lennon survived the shooting and becomes a peace activist).

The series features a large ensemble cast, with the characters’ personal lives—while admittedly occasionally soapy—are intertwined with thrilling space missions as well as NASA and Washington politics. The first season generally focuses on introducing us to the characters and the differences of this world from our own, and the acceleration of the space race, concluding with the beginning of construction of the U.S. space station on the moon. The second season further expands that and, for the first time, we see the Russian cosmonauts on screen and, unlike our own world, the militarization of both the moon and space. Without giving anything away, the second season ended on an action-packed culmination of several storylines that come to a head that the series successfully pulls off, a season finale that was genuinely thrilling and left you wanting more—I must admit, the finale left me breathless and looking forward to the next season.