My Fair Lady

 

A small Sutton Place park on the East River was transformed Tuesday as 16 dynamic singers and a 28-piece orchestra, conducted by Jarrett Winters Morley, brought a concert version of My Fair Lady to this genteel neighborhood on Manhattan’s Upper East Side. 

Sutton Place Parks Conservancy presented the two performances, produced in conjunction with JWM: A Theatrical Company. The al fresco concerts of the entire musical were performed by three principal singers, 13 ensemble vocalists and the magnificent orchestra. 

I knew the concert would be outstanding because I experienced Jarrett’s giftedness and dedication in June at the benefit cabaret, “Being Present,” he produced and directed for the Alzheimer’sFoundation of America (AFA). He really knows how to cast and rehearse singers.  He once again made excellent choices in Evan Bertram as Eliza Doolittle, Maxwell Swangel as Henry Higgins and Kurt Perry as Colonel Pickering. 

The concept for yesterday’s concerts was initiated last year as an opportunity for seniors and those with ambulatory issues to continue to enjoy the essence of Broadway musicals near their residences. AFA also brings Broadway to those no longer able to attend the theatre through its free afternoons of live music and activities in its Manhattan headquarters in Chelsea.