Shortly after making his entrance on the circular stage at Westbury, Henry Higgins asks a law-fearing Eliza Doolittle, "But my dear girl, do I look like a policeman?" No, many members of the audience wanted to sing out, but you do look a lot like a lawyer named Ben Stone...That's because this Henry Higgins is indeed the actor Michael Moriarty, who left his best-known role on television's "Law & Order" amidst a storm of controversy almost three years ago. And he's scarcely been idle - or silent - since!
The role of Higgins in My Fair Lady is actually a reprise for Moriarty, who took over for Richard Chamberlain in the final month of the show's Broadway revival in the spring of 1994. But now that he has more control of this hour upon the stage, Moriarty has molded Henry Higgins anew, giving the Professor a sort of sideways Pygmalion twist all his own.
Not that the play's been tampered with. It's still the classic tale of dual transformation, beautifully performed by a polished troupe. But clearly Moriarty is the star of this production. His name is above the title and his bio stands alone among the cast listing in the theater program. Save for the regular season subscribers, it's the chance to see Ben Stone perform on stage that's packing the house at Westbury and Valley Forge.
And he does not disappoint. Moriarty's voice, the weakest of his attributes and noticeably hoarse after eight performances in six days, is nonetheless adequate for this Higgins rendition. Higgins never really does break out into full-bodied song in the show; instead he speaks, he "elocutes", most of the lyrics, and Moriarty does just fine with this.
It's in the acting that Moriarty truly shines as Higgins. He's mastered a sort of British accent, replete with a few John Houseman-as-Professor-Kingsfield bellows, that more than fits the bill. But his is decidely different that past interpretations. It's a looser, happier, more user-friendly Higgins that Moriarty gives us. He drops the British pretense and stiff upper lip stuff when clearly wounded by Eliza. He trembles and weeps in her presence. He bares his soul when alone on stage with only the audience as witness. He's a much more modern man under Moriarty's tutelage. He's kindler, gentler, and not afraid to let us see him cry.
That, it turns out, is a very brave thing to be, given the history of both the character and play. Happily, it's far from a morose performance. Moriarty makes full use of his other attributes along the way. He bounds about the stage and dances lithely. His stature, long limbs, artist's hands and piercing blue eyes all combine to make his Higgins quite a dashing figure. On stage Moriarty fits both the new and old Higgins molds, donning silk smoking jacket, caped tuxedo and top hat, and British tweeds as easily as he once wore attorney's suits on television.
And he gets to do one thing he rarely did as Ben Stone: he smiles. Broadly and regularly throughout the production, Moriarty gives us those pearly whites. He laughs heartily, richly, and sometimes deliciously wickedly. Moriarty clearly is enjoying his transformation of Higgins as much as Higgins enjoys transforming Eliza. It's a treat to see him so well engaged for more than two hours.
Near the end of the intermission, audience members were overheard assessing his performance thusly: "His voice isn't all that great tonight," said one grey-haired lady to another. "True, he's no Rex Harrison..." the other agreed. "But you know what?" a third, slightly younger male asked his two older seatmates. "It really doesn't matter, because he's such a great actor, in this role or any other, it's worth more than the price just to see Michael Moriarty perform in person." The jury agreed. 'Nuff said, your honor. The people rest.
Thanks Gail! Sounds like a great performance. (dw)
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