Chicago Tribune
- Recommended
"...Some productions of “My Fair Lady” get that right. Some don’t. Thanks to a couple of very smart, honest and engaging lead performances from Nick Sandys and Natalie Ford, Rudy Hogenmiller’s new show at Evanston’s Light Opera Works falls cheerfully into the former category. Finally—and, boy, it took a while—this company seems to have realized the importance of stellar performances atop its shows."
Chicago Sun Times
- Highly Recommended
"...In the case of Light Opera Works' altogether lustrous revival at Evanston's Cahn Auditorium, credit also must go to Rudy Hogenmiller's sleek, thoughtful staging and inspired casting; Stacey Flaster's beguiling choreography, and the elegant sets (by Nick Mozak) and lavish costumes (mostly reproductions of the Cecil Beaton originals). And, as with all this company's major productons, there is the full-bodied accompaniment of a large and excellent orchestra led by Roger L. Bingaman."
Chicago Reader
- Recommended
"...Like many Light Opera Works productions, this one sounds great--full of fine voices backed by a full orchestra--and resolutely avoids anything approaching a fresh idea. Based on Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw, Lerner and Loewe's classic musical chronicles Professor Henry Higgins's transformation of cockney flower girl Eliza Doolittle into the very image of a lady. The show is justly beloved, and director Rudy Hogenmiller sacrifices any originality in order not to mess with it."
Windy City Times
- Recommended
"...Light Opera Works director Rudy Hogenmiller knows his audience, and has instead selected the thirtysome Nick Sandys to play Higgins, not as a misogynistic old curmudgeon, but the sort of scholarly geek—often found in Shakespeare—who hides his insecurities behind his intellect. Having presented us with a Benedick, Hogenmiller's concept frees Natalie Ford's Eliza Doolittle to evolve into his Beatrice, as the similarities in their stubbornly independent temperaments become manifest, thus maintaining Shaw's unsentimental dynamic while still offering us a satisfying marriage of like MINDS."
Chicago Free Press
- Highly Recommended
"...Both sides of the show, as well as its matchless songs and exhilarating dances, are superbly served by director Rudy Hogenmiller and choreographer Stacey Flaster. Nick Sandys, noted as a star of Remy Bumppo’s fine ensemble and a skilled fight choreographer, creates one of the sharpest Henry Higgins since Rex Harrison’s standard-setter. Suavely eloquent, delicious in his deadpan quips, and perfectly controlled except when expertly combative, this Pygmalion sculpts Shaw’s lines very well."
Time Out Chicago
- Recommended
"...The piece features several gorgeous numbers, all laudably performed by Light Opera Works’ dazzling 28-piece orchestra (under Roger Bingaman’s direction). The staging is utilitarian, with unobtrusive blocking and unadorned flats. Lady doesn’t demand frills, however, when anchored by an open-faced Eliza (Ford) and an effete but invigoratingly athletic Henry (Sandys). MacMullen’s Freddie, who woos Eliza unsuccessfully with the tear-jerking ballad “On the Street Where You Live,” exploits his 15 minutes onstage to perfection, a satiating taste of a more tender love story that Lady isn’t."
ChicagoCritic
- Highly Recommended
"...in this production–the real star–who gives a younger and more romantic edge as Henry Higgins is Nick Sandys. Sandys, a great classic trained actor, was born to play Higgins–a role that necessitates an actor with a rich assortment of talent equally at home with the biting humor and wit of the Shavian style. Sandys effectively plays Higgins as both the arrogant, self-adsorbed bachelor and the lonely soul whose transformation is complete as he falls for Eliza. Sandys’ debonair, charming persona works to move the Higgins-Eliza relationship from a father-daughter to a man-women relationship."
Chicago Stage and Screen
- Highly Recommended
"...Take a bow and every bow after of this well deserved applause. The show was a masterpiece full of acting that could rival any Tony award winning performance to the choreography, by the incomparable Stacey Flaster, that could be placed on a pedestal of grand achievement. Masterfully creating the main story line was the comedic genius Nick Sandys as Henry Higgins, and the delightful Natalie Ford as Eliza Doolittle. Rounding the two of them out and giving a well designed trio was Bill Chamberlain gracing us as Colonel Pickering."
Chicago Theater Beat
- Recommended
"...In the end, as the chorus of “I Could Have Danced All Night” swells through the full orchestra’s strings, and Liza goes to fetch Higgins’ slippers, we get from this My Fair Lady exactly what Light Opera Works promised. If you’re in the mood for a faithful recreation of a familiar musical classic"
