One of the unique things about the Alhambra Theatre & Dining is that the experience it can create can make you believe that you truly are either in another time period or another country through both their decorations, attire and the food selections served on the menu.
This was accomplished and then some with its latest show My Fair Lady, as both the staff and talent on stage do an excellent job of capturing the atmosphere of 20th Century London as soon as one walks through the doors.
It helps that the Alhambra has such a passionate following with many that have been coming to shows for years and are willing to do their part to come to the show dressed for the occasion, especially when the show is so well known and acclaimed as My Fair Lady.
Once seated, the menu reflects the theme even more with popular British style dishes, such as creamy pea salad, fish and chips and Banoffee pie.
Capturing these cultural aspects of the show is something that the Alhambra kitchen usually does a good job hitting and it was obvious that this was another attempt at capturing the essence of the play by helping set the scene.
Once the scene was set, the play itself did and its job of landing and making the full experience a memorable one with casting that proved to be seemingly spot on with every character.
Sofia Smith and Gary Lee Webber seemingly stole the show with their performances as Eliza Doolittle and Henry Higgins, respectively.
As the main two protagonists in the production, they did an excellent job of feeding off each other during the performance and really diving into their character portrayals.
It was Smith’s third time performing at Alhambra, and she was happy to be back as she continues to work on her degree as a public relations student at the University of Florida.
What makes the timing even more amazing is that Webber had not performed on the Alhambra stage since 2021, but has several credits to his name, including To Kill a Mocking Bird, The Sound of Music and Les Misérables.
He dedicated his performance to his wife of 32 years, Sheri.
Another performer making his return to stage, this time after 30 years, was Andy Moritz who played Col. Pickering. He earned a musical theatre degree from Drake University before pursuing a law career and thanks his wife, Juliana, for encouraging him to make the return to acting.
My Fair Lady will be shown at the Alhambra through June 22.
