Chicago Tribune - Somewhat Recommended
"...This show is generally assumed to be about Eliza’s journey from Cockney crudity to ladylike sophistication. And so it is, to a point. But the best productions invariably focus on Professor Henry Higgins’ more complicated emotional journey in the other direction. One useful test of how well “My Fair Lady” has worked is how you feel when Eliza comes back to Henry (here played by Kevin Gudahl). At Wednesday night’s opening, you feared for her future with this unpleasant patriarch. And that’s not the ideal emotion for a romantic musical."
Chicago Sun Times - Recommended
"...what is most delicious about this show is its book. It easily trumps nearly every other musical around thanks to Lerner's brilliant adaptation of George Bernard Shaw's play, "Pygmalion." And along with the audience's joyful anticipation of the songs, it is the intensity with which they listen to the full-blown scenes -- and their incomparable humor and razor sharp wit -- that is most notable."
Copley News Service - Highly Recommended
"...My Fair Lady” is the greatest musical in American theater history. No other show combines such a marvelous score with such a literate book. If that claim seems extravagant, check out the superior “My Fair Lady” revival at the Marriott Theatre. Case closed!"
Centerstage - Recommended
"...All-in-all, this production, while sometimes missing dramatically, has a lot to offer musically. This is an enchanting evening that will make you 'dance all night'."
Time Out Chicago - Recommended
"...As Higgins, Gudahl makes no effort to whitewash his character’s rough spots; as in last summer’s A Minister’s Wife, he conveys both an impervious self-regard and a disarmingly boyish enthusiasm. Kettenring’s Eliza movingly conveys her character’s uneasy class-passing, particularly in a hilarious scene at the Ascot races. But she remains always a bit remote; the vitality that so captivates both Higgins and Freddy (Max Quinlan) rarely comes to the surface. They’re surrounded by a fine supporting cast, most memorably a Falstaffian Alfred Doolittle (Don Forston) and a briskly efficient, devoted Mrs. Pearce (Catherine Lord)."
ChicagoCritic - Recommended
"...My Fair Lady is a witty, stinging social commentary on Edwardian British morality wherein the upper-class speech Professor Higgins boasts he can turn an uneducated low-class flower girl into a princess at the embassy ball. With one of the smartest books with brilliant lyrics (by Alan Jay Lerner) on one of the finest, lush musical scores by Frederick Loewe, My Fair lady is one of the gems of the Broadway stage. (It is my all-time favorite musical.)"
Chicago Stage and Screen - Highly Recommended
"...This is one energetic cast under Missimi's solid direction, and Choreographer Matt Rafferty uses the small in-the-round stage to full advantage. This is a slick production worthy of comparison to any production we have seen in Chicago over the years. Michael Mahler's musical direction, Nancy Missimi's wonderful costumes, Diane Ferry Williams' lighting and the set by Thomas M. Ryan were the side dishes to make this recipe complete. If you can compare a theatrical production to a dinner, which I often find myself doing because of the ingredients and the stirring (direction) and the final presentation (not to mention the taste), this production would be a five star dining experience that would have to be Zagat recommended."
Chicago Theater Beat - Highly Recommended
"...I found myself thinking of all the things a theater company might do with this brilliant but hoary old musical to shake it up. While it’s probably going too far to set the show in the Loop and give Eliza a Bridgeport accent, a production, however beautiful, that merely follows where others have gone before, forms a sadly lost opportunity. Marriott’s My Fair Lady feels as if it’s set in aspic."
