SUN CITY ¬– The story of a cockney flower girl who, with the help of a phoneticist, blossoms into a “well born lady” is set to hit the stage next month in the latest installment of the Huntley Theatre Company’s 2012 season.
“My Fair Lady,” a musical based on George Bernard Shaw’s “Pygmalion,” is scheduled to premiere with four shows between Nov. 15 and 18.
Evening performances at Drendel Hall on Nov. 15 and 16 at 7 p.m., a 3 p.m. performance on Nov. 17 and a 1:30 p.m. performance on Nov. 18.
Tickets are $15 for adults and $10 for children 12 and younger.
For more info call 847-515-8545.
The musical revolves around Eliza Doolittle, a “peppy young lady,” according to Flo Ciskoski of the Huntley Theatre Company, who is socially awkward but transforms into a socially accepted individual with the help of Henry Higgins.
“Nobody that meets her [by the end] believes she was who she was, and that’s the real premise for the show,” Ciskoski said.
While the play is still a month away from “curtains up,” co-producer Joe Beard, who also portrays Col. Pickering, said the framework is “coming together.”
“Now’s the fun part because we’re actually doing the play. I think we’re in good shape, given that we’re three weeks out from opening,” Beard said.
According to Ciskoski, plays for the company are chosen based on what the group is “able to handle,” meaning it generally involves less singing and dancing. Company executives often seek the rights to several plays at once in case some applications are denied or take too long to process.
She added that a recent attempt to secure the rights to “West Side Story” did not pan out.
Beard, who sees both sides of the production, believes the history of the production, which first premiered on Broadway in 1956, is one of the leading reasons audience members will come to see the show.
“I think the play in itself is very uplifting and has a very positive theme, but there’s also the music, which has many popular songs that people are already familiar with, and then the cast itself,” he said.
Beard added that since the cast is composed of Sun City residents, the audience will be able to see a “different side” of the their neighbors.
Another first is the size of the cast. Beard mentioned a little over 40 people are involved, serving as members of the ensemble and acting in major and minor roles.
“That’s what the play calls for, to have this many people. But what’s unique is that we have a dozen or so who are totally new to the company.
“They seem to be enjoying it so far. They’re finding out, just as we all found out at one point, that the Theatre Company is a group of just exciting, creative, talented, and very, very supportive people. They’re having a very positive experience, from what I can see,” Beard said.
