"My Fair Lady"

“It’s so green in Mörbisch, Oida!”

"When Spain's flowers bloom" turns the musical hit into an original flamenco number in Mörbisch(Bild: Seefestspiele Mörbisch/kurtpinter.com)

The premiere of the classic musical "My Fair Lady" in Mörbisch was fast-paced, musically flawless, with lots of humor - and plenty of Viennese dialect. The leading actors were wonderful: Anna Rosa Döller as Eliza Doolittle and Mark Seibert as Professor Higgins!

"My Fair Lady" is one of the best-known and most popular musicals about the flower girl Eliza, who is transformed into a fine lady by the philologist Professor Henry Higgins. In Mörbisch, a modern version has now been created, drenched in deep Viennese dialect.

Mark Seibert as Higgins in his London loft(Bild: Seefestspiele Mörbisch/kurtpinter.com)

Anna Rosa Döller as Eliza in the London Underground(Bild: Seefestspiele Mörbisch/kurtpinter.com)

Sexy hen party with Herbert Steinböck as Daddy Doolittle(Bild: Seefestspiele Mörbisch/kurtpinter.com)

Horse racing at Ascot: Dolli Schmidinger holds court as the Queen(Bild: Seefestspiele Mörbisch/kurtpinter.com)

This adds pizzazz to the whole thing, and it's quite a rush to hear the wonderful Anna Rosa Döller as the punk from East Simmering stalking around the London Underground station, never at a loss for an expression, adding an "Oida" (too much) to every other sentence, before finally ending up in the loft of the fine professor. This role is tailor-made for Mark Seibert like his slim-fit suit, and it's fun to follow their unequal pairing every minute - right up to the horse race to Ascot, where things get really funny: When Eliza practises her parlor tricks for the first time and Dolli Schmidinger makes a delicious appearance as the Queen.

Anna Rosa Döller as Eliza with Marika Lichter as Mother Higgins(Bild: Seefestspiele Mörbisch/kurtpinter.com)

Eliza as the flower girl and Professor Higgins Mark Seibert(Bild: Seefestspiele Mörbisch/kurtpinter.com)

Herbert Steinböck delivers great cinema as the wonderfully drunk Daddy Doolittle, who transforms the song "With a Little Bit of Luck" into the lively orchestrated revue number "Wannst a Mazel host im Leb'n". In Mörbisch, "Just You Wait Henry Higgins" mutates into "Wirst scho' seh'n Henry Higgins" - and when it's green on Lake Neusiedl, the famous musical hit becomes a colorful flamenco interlude.

You will never get bored in "My Fair Lady", which is known for its length. Time and again, lively ballet interludes (including an acrobatic number!) provide variety in Walter Vogelweider's cleverly arranged stage set in the shadow of Big Ben.

However, the ending comes almost too abruptly, with director Simon Eichenberger foregoing a happy ending between Eliza and the professor, which one would have liked on a balmy summer night.