My Fair Lady
Alan Jay Lerner (Book & Lyrics); Frederick Loewe (Music)
The Pear Theatre
One by one, staff and patrons of a local English pub, The Pear and Rose (established 1821) arrive — some carrying an instrument like a violin or a flute, others handed as they enter a pipe or a hat, and all greeting each other with a nod or smile, clearly as friends. As the flute and pianist begin to play, five local lasses begin a circle dance of varying steps and moves while others watch and approve before going about their business.
And on this particular night, the purpose of these working-class, Cockney friends and pals is to tell their version from their perspective of Alan Jay Lerner (book and lyrics) and Frederick Loewe’s (music) My Fair Lady — a much-loved, oft-produced musical that is usually presented more from the point of the somewhat snobby, supposedly sophisticated aristocrats featured in the story. The Pear Theatre opens an innovatively conceived, rambunctiously presented, and thoroughly engaging My Fair Lady as if it were local neighbors who decide to gather one night, bring from home or from behind the counter a few props and homemade costumes, and have a good ol’ time putting on a show. And maybe like any neighborhood venture, performances on this night at the pub vary in quality and success; but where it most counts, some local stars emerge; and the overall experience ends up being fun and enlightening.
For the rest of my review, please proceed to Talkin’Broadway.
Rating: 3 E
My Fair Lady continues in an extended run through March 14, 2026 in a two-hour, forty-five-minute (one twenty-minute intermission) production by The Pear Theatre, 1110 La Avenida, Suite A, Mountain View, CA. Tickets are available at https://www.thepear.org/.
Photo Credits: Mikenzie Gilbert
