The legendary stage musical “My Fair Lady,” comes to the Penn State Downtown Theatre Center in celebration of the original Broadway show’s 60th anniversary.
Performances, presented by FUSE Productions, are scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Thursday, June 9, through Saturday, June 11, and Thursday, June 16, through Saturday, June 18, at the Downtown Theatre Centre, 146 S. Allen St. There also will be 2 p.m. matinees Sunday, June 12, and Saturday, June 18.
Based on George Bernard Shaw’s 1913 play “Pygmalion,” the musical features book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe.
When Eliza Doolittle, a Cockney flower seller, meets Professor Henry Higgins one night in Covent Garden, they agree to embark on a daring experiment. Higgins wagers that he can transform the ‘deliciously low’ Eliza into a lady fit for society by teaching her to speak more beautifully. Sparks fly in what becomes a funny and ferocious battle of the sexes, a struggle of classes and a rollicking romance.
The original Broadway production, starring Rex Harrison and Julie Andrews, boasting a score that features “I Could Have Danced All Night” and “I’ve Grown Accustomed To Her Face,” ran for more than six years and 2,717 performances, a record at the time. It won six Tony awards in 1956, including best musical, best director for Moss Hart and best actor for Rex Harrison.
“It was the Hamilton of its day,” said the local production’s director and producer, Rich Biever. “And Eliza Doolittle was the ‘breakout’ role for a very young Julie Andrews. Eliza’s story arc is really timeless, really appealing. She becomes her own person during the show and ultimately a match for the misogynistic, overbearing Henry Higgins. This is still a very contemporary, resonant theme.”
FUSE Production’s musical stars Steve Snyder as Henry Higgins and Lisa Marie Rogali as Eliza Doolittle.
“It’s scary,” said Lisa Rogali about portraying Eliza in the upcoming production. “People expect a lot of the part — they’ve seen Audrey Hepburn (in the movie version), they’ve heard Julie Andrews. Just getting the changing accents down is very challenging.”
Rogali, a 2016 Penn State graduate, recently received the Metropolitan Opera National Council’s Encouragement Award. She will pursue her master’s degree in voice/opera performance at the University of Cincinnati’s College-Conservatory of Music in the fall.
Penn State theater professor Steve Snyder, who portrays Henry Higgins, grew up with the show and is excited to take on such an interesting role.
“It was the first movie musical I ever saw, and it’s a part I’ve always wanted to do, because everybody wants to write off Higgins as misogynistic. I have to try to bring out what makes him sympathetic despite this obvious flaw.”
Snyder recently played the villain J. Bruce Ismay in Penn State Centre Stage’s “Titanic” and felt that it was “good preparation for this role, having to figure out what makes him tick.”
The upcoming production features a 14-person cast that includes a mix of Penn State faculty, current and recent undergraduates and local talent, including Frank Wilson, Tom McClary, Joyce Robinson, Aidan Wharton and Sally Best. It features live musical accompaniment and is directed by Biever, with choreography by Jill Brighton, set design by Michael G. Benson and costumes by Julie Snyder.
Tickets are $25 for adults, $30 for premium seating and $15 for students and can be purchased athttps://fuseproductions.thundertix.com/.
