Pygmalion Poster

My son Charlie makes his debut as Alfred P. Doolittle in George Bernard Shaw’s classic play “Pygmalion” this Friday night at the Archway Theater in Los Angeles.  How I wish I could be there to clap and cheer!

I’ve been lucky to see him in most productions he’s been in since he took a giant leap into this new career a few years back.  This particular play is calling me even louder than the others I’ve missed.  I’d love to hear his Cockney accent, take a gander at the artwork he has done for the set and watch him interact with a cast of characters that we all know well – if not from ”Pygmalion”-the-play, from the musical based upon it, “My Fair Lady.”

Pygmalion Cast – Charlie back and center

Like most of us, I suppose, I associate the part of Alfred Doolittle with Stanley Holloway and his show-stopping number, “Get Me to the Church on Time.” He was cast in that part in 1956, the year Charlie was born!  Hard to believe!  And now here is Charlie opening in the play on my very birthday.  There must be some sort of omen in all of this birth and birthday business…  Or not.

This production is set in the 1960s rather than in the Edwardian period after the turn of the last century.  I’m not sure why the director made that choice – probably a matter of budget.  Most actors can pull together their own costumes for a ‘modern’ setting.  I don’t know if that’s a commentary on a lack of distinctive style during the last four or five decades or the fact that actors’ personal wardrobes (and maybe the thrift shops) tend toward the classic (read multipurpose.)

Charlie, the Bystander

In addition to Doolittle, Charlie also plays a bystander in a crowd scene.  It’s the mustache that differentiates his looks for that role.  That and his oversized glasses and shapeless fedora and probably the trench coat.  As Doolittle, he appears to be wearing a tux or a black suit – probably for the wedding scene.  I love looking at the photos he sent (which I assume are publicity shots), but it’s maddening to have to imagine it all.  It’s one of the few times I wish that Oysterville were closer to the bright lights of (gulp!) L.A.!

Break a leg, Charlie!  We’ll be thinking of you Friday night!