FEBRUARY 20 • 2020 | 39

subversive than he’
s ordinarily 
portrayed. Director Bart Sher 
has me portraying Doolittle 
as more violent and threaten-
ing. He’
s a lowbrow guy with 
a political moral code that 
makes him a great counterpart 
in Edwardian England, which 
makes this part so irresistible.
”
The Lincoln Center pro-
duction of My Fair Lady took 
home five Outer Critics Circle 
Awards and was nominated 
for five Drama Desk Awards, 
three Drama League Awards 
and 10 Tony Awards. 
Although My Fair Lady has 
been performed since 1956, 
it’
s not done very frequently 
because it has such a large cast 
and it demands a lot from its 
leads, Grupper says. 
“What I think that people 
get a chance to see in this 
production is that it has all 
the values of a ‘
champagne’
 
musical — the gorgeous 
score, beautiful sets and 
sumptuous costumes from 
Catherine Zuber, who won 
the Tony Award. But Bart Sher 
restores elements from George 
Bernard Shaw’
s original play, 

Pygmalion, that makes it also 
about social structure, hierar-
chy and power. So, it’
s much 
more thought-provoking.
”
Growing up in Rockland 
County, New York, Grupper’
s 
family were members of the 
New City Jewish Center, where 
he had his bar mitzvah and 
was shomer Shabbos until he 
attended Yale University.
“I still consider my Jewish 
identity a very big part of 
my life. and I’
ve been able to 
combine that with my love of 
theater,
” says Grupper,
From 2015-2016, Grupper, 
who also plays mohel David 
Rosenbaum in Episode 7, 
Season 3 of The Marvelous 
Mrs. Maisel, reconnected 
with Judaism when he played 
Tevye in the Broadway revival 
of Fiddler on the Roof. 
“Life started imitating art 
when actors in the show start-
ed asking me about the laws 
of Hallachah, which I usually 
knew. But sometimes I would 
have to consult with a higher 
authority — my brother,” he 
says with a laugh. 

JOAN MARCUS

Adam Grupper as 
Alfred P. Doolittle in 
My Fair Lady

T ICK E TS: 734. 764. 25 38 —
—
— UM S. OR G

WES
T
-
EAST
ERN 
DIV
AN 
ENSEMBLE

Michael Barenboim, music director and violin

PROGRAM

 
Tartini 
 
Devil’s Trill Sonata in g minor for Solo Violin

Joel Howell and Linda Samuelson

Wed 2/26

JOAN MARCUS