Julie Benko, Raúl Esparza triumph in ‘My Fair Lady’ in concert in Aspen

By ALAN SMASON, WYES-TV Theatre Critic (“Steppin’ Out“)

Julie Benko turned in a perfect performance as Eliza Doolittle in a concert version of Lerner and Loewe’s My Fair Lady opposite Broadway veteran Raúl Esparza as Professor Henry Higgins in Aspen this past week.

Benko’s credentials as a bona fide Broadway star were confirmed in this joint production of Theatre Aspen and the Aspen Music Festival and School on Tuesday evening, July 15. The Michael Klein Music tent was filled to its more than 2,000-seat capacity, while hundreds of others camped outside to listen in.

Benko’s lilting voice was powerful and accurate in bringing the lowly flower girl Eliza to life. Her mastery of cockney slang was spit spot and her nuanced portrayal was nothing short of delightful through numbers like “Wouldn’t It Be Loverly,”  “Just You Wait” and “Show Me.” But she was most resplendent in song with backing ensemble vocals in “I Could Have Danced All Night,” as she charmingly moved across the stage to the delight of audience members.

Esparza, who is a critically acclaimed actor and one of only two males to be nominated in all four Tony acting categories, was also entrancing as the redoubtable and intractable professor of phonetics. Possessing a clear and beautiful voice, he sang extremely well in “Why Can’t the English?,” “I’m an Ordinary Man” and “I’ve Grown Accustomed To Her Face.”

Directed by Maggie Burrows, the on-book cast also included terrific performances by Adam Heller as Alfred P. Doolittle and Gregory Lee Rodriguez as Freddy Eynsford-Hill, supported by a large orchestra of extremely talented young players conducted by Andy Einhorn, a noted Broadway music director and conductor. Einhorn’s music supervising and conducting credits include the currently running Broadway revival of Gypsy starring Audra McDonald as well as the revivals of Hello, Dolly! starring Bette Midler and Rodger and Hammerstein’s Carousel with Renée Fleming, Jessie Mueller and Joshua Henry.

Nathaniel Stampley provided brilliant vocal support as Colonel Pickering, especially in “You Did It,” while Anne L. Nathan was memorable as Mrs. Pearce, the head of the Higgins household staff. She was joined by Sally Maxwell in song most notably in “I Could Have Danced All Night.”

Peggy Wilkie, who like Maxwell, was also an ensemble member, was featured as Mrs. Higgins, Henry’s mother, in several scenes.

In addition, Franz Alderfer, Brad Baker Tom Fellin, Addie Harrington, Sonay Meyer , Bettina Slusar and Christopher Wolf comprised a number of supporting characters to Benko in “Wouldn’t It Be Loverly” and Heller in “A Little Bit of Luck” and “Get Me To the Church.”

A large group of singers at the rear of the Michael Klein Music Tent performed in vocal support as the My Fair Lady Concert Choir.

My Fair Lady in Concert with book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe, is adapted from George Bernard Shaw’s play Pygmalion and also partly based on Gabriel Pascal’s motion picture adaptation. The new symphonic arrangement was based on the 1964 “My Fair Lady” motion picture arrangements .