"Educating Rita"

May 3, 2015 — Northern New England Repertory Theatre presented British playwright Willy Russell's "Educating Rita," directed by John Goodlin, in the former courtroom converted to a theatre in the Whipple Memorial Town Hall in New London, New Hampshire.

The two-actor play features Tamara Scott as Rita, a slightly loopy hairdresser from a working class background, who hopes to improve her lot by taking the open university literature course offered by Frank, a jaded, hard-drinking professor, played by Paul O'Connor.

This is a charming little play, reminiscent of "My Fair Lady," but I'm sorry to say I was somewhat disappointed. I lost much of Rita's dialog because Scott worked a bit too hard at her East End accent, succeeding only in making herself hard to understand, at least to my ears. Otherwise, she played the part well, always vibrant and animated, going through many costume changes.

O'Connor, rumpled and bushy-haired, slipped naturally into the role of the heavy-drinking Frank, who keeps bottles of Scotch hidden behind the volumes in his huge bookcases. He's unhappy with his open university assignment and finds Rita annoying at first, but their relationship has many highs and lows over time.