By Julie Stern

Newtown’s Town Players are opening their 65th season with a production of George Bernard Shaw’s Pygmalion and the installation of new (well, almost new) comfortable seats to replace the old padded benches.

Based on the Greek myth of the sculptor who created a beautiful statue and then promptly fell in love with it, Pygmalion is the story of a crusty old philologist/speech coach named Henry Higgins, who proposes to take a foul mouthed cockney flower girl named Eliza Doolittle and train her to speak so beautifully that he could pass her off as a Mayfair socialite.

Sound familiar? Just in case it doesn’t, every time the stage darkens for a scene change, the soundtrack from My Fair Lady is turned on, using the Lerner-Loewe musical to keep the audience focused.

What made the musical so rich was its copious use of the original Shavian dialogue and stinging one-liners, amidst the swirling costumes and delectable score. In the straight play the wit has to stand on its own, reinforced by droll characterizations. This in turn requires very good acting and timing to be effective. In this Newtow production that happens some

of the time.

In particular, Becky Rodia, who last appeared at Newtown’s Little Theatre as a large stray dog in Sylvia, does an excellent job as Eliza Doolittle, filthy as a chimney sweep and managing to coax three syllables out of the word “ow” every time she opens her mouth.

Also very good is Erik Ruark in the role of Eliza’s father Alfred, the archetypal representative of the “undeserving poor” and sworn enemy of middle class morality. Ethyle Power merits Best Supporting Actress mention for her portrayal of the unflappable Mrs Higgins (Henry’s mother).

Barry Corn looks very theatrical in the role of Professor Higgins, but he oversimplifies the role to the point of slapstick. His portrayal offers an American movie version of Henry rather than a flesh and blood Edwardian Englishman. Ron Malyszka is fussily sympathetic as Henry’s cohort, Colonel Pickering.

This is not the greatest piece of theater going, but it is definitely ambitious and interesting. The Town Players deserve credit for raising the bar and treating audiences to something they wouldn’t otherwise get to see. And those new seats are “loverly.”

(Pygmalion will continue at The Little Theatre, on Orchard Hill road in Newtown, through May 27. Contact the theatre’s box office, at 270-9144, for show times, ticket information and reservations.)