by Mike Hoban
‘Pygmalion’ – Written by George Bernard Shaw; Directed by Eric Tucker; Costume Design by Charlotte Palmer-Lane; Lighting Design by Les Dickert; Sound Design by Eric Tucker; Properties Coordination by Elizabeth Rocha and Joseph Stallone. Presented by Bedlam and The Underground Railway Theatre at Central Square Theater, 450 Massachusetts Avenue in Cambridge through March 3
If you’re heading to Central Square Theater to see Bedlam’s Pygmalion with the expectation that you’re going to see a kind of non-musical version of the rom-com-ish My Fair Lady, you may be in for a bit of disappointment. That’s because The New York-based troupe is presenting their own superb take on George Bernard Shaw’s century-old classic in its original form. Which, while still wildly comical, is more of a searing indictment of the early 20th century classicism, misogyny, and anti-immigrant attitudes of the British monied class – that sadly doesn’t look much different than most western societies today – than a lighthearted comedy of manners.
Read more “Bedlam Takes ‘My Fair Lady’ Back to its Unsentimental Roots With Glorious ‘Pygmalion’”