Breaking: Claire Danes doesn't suck!

In fact, she's excellent.

I'm still reeling that I'm writing these words - "she's excellent". Truth be told, I have utterly detested Claire Danes ever since she abandoned Angela Chase characters in favor of playing precious, mannered good girls in films far and wide. From Juliet to Cosette in that awful film of Les Miserables to T3 to The Family Stone, she made me want to slap her. Oh, and I hated her in The Hours. And I didn't see Evening, but I hated her in the previews.

Well, imagine my surprise when I found myself charmed by her performance in Roundabout's surprising revival of Pygmalion. Rather than her usual wide-eyed, lost soul film acting, the role of Eliza Doolittle immediately pitches Danes into a character who is gritty, imperfect, gutsy, and not always a good girl. She sinks her teeth into the role pretty fearlessly, especially for an actor still in previews who has never once performed in a play. (She's done two dance shows, but no actual plays). It's not an easy role technically or emotionally, but Claire Danes embodies Eliza with aplomb - from the brassy, salty flower girl to the newly proper lady who will never quite fit in, she is convincing, dynamic, and charismatic enough to make every one of her scenes more interesting than the last. She's not entirely there yet and falters a few times, but as performances continue and she gains the confidence of commanding the stage, there's no doubt that her performance will only deepen and strengthen.

In less surprising but equally satisfying news, Jefferson Mays is triumphant as Henry Higgins. I have to confess to never having seen Pygmalion onstage, but it's hard to imagine that this interpretation of Higgins has been seen before. Mays' Higgins is not the patriarchal taskmaster, but an energetic, set in his ways little boy who never grew up and just wants to play with his linguistics toys. The boys' club created by him and Boyd Gaines' Colonel Pickering reminded me of high school science club, populated by adolescent males who are more interested in the behavior of molecules than the feelings of human beings, let alone women. This new interpretation of the character is fascinating, and just watching the minutiae of Mays' performance is bewitching.

The rest of the cast is more spotty - Boyd Gaines is as lovable as ever, Helen Carey is wonderful as Mrs. Higgins, but Jay O. Sanders seems like he hasn't quite figured out what he's playing yet, and Brenda Whele's painfully general Mrs. Pierce seems yanked off a regional theater stage. But those few hitches aside, it's a totally respectable production with two leading performances that may be the most surprising of the season.

Also - I should note that I saw Pygmalion for $20 through their Hiptix program, which is totally convenient and easy to use. I just called up the hotline, joined the program, and order two tickets. Our seats were far back, but the American Airlines Theatre isn't huge enough for that to be a problem, and it sure beat doing student rush.