Grand Valley's Opera Theatre is taking a new look at a beloved classic with its full-scale production of Lerner and Loewe's musical masterpiece, My Fair Lady.
The musical will be staged January 31-February 10, with performances at 7:30 p.m. on January 31 and February 1, 2, 7, 8, and 9; and at 3 p.m. February 3 and 10. All shows are held in the Louis Armstrong Theatre, located in the Performing Arts Center on GVSU's Allendale Campus.
Tickets are $7 for adults; $6 for college students and senior citizens; and $2 for K-12 students. Purchase at the door or reserve by calling (616) 895-2300.
My Fair Lady, a romantic comedy often called the perfect musical, tells the story of the contentious relationship between the lively Cockney flower vendor, Eliza Doolittle, and the brilliant-but-stuffy language professor, Henry Higgins, who bets his friend that he can make Eliza over to pass in high society. The internal changes of the heart that Eliza brings about in Higgins, however, turn out to be far greater than her own external transformation into an educated lady. Hence, the transformative power of love becomes the theme of the play.
The movie version [of My Fair Lady] focuses on the language, costumes, and the fact that Eliza and Higgins are at odds, said GVSU Opera Theatre Director Dale Schriemer. Our production focuses more on the undercurrent of emotional heat that leads to the transformation of Higgins.
My Fair Lady is based on the play Pygmalion by English playwright George Bernard Shaw. Adapted as a musical in 1956 by Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe, it ran for 2,717 performances on Broadway, has been revived three times, and remains one of the most produced shows of all time. The original production starring Julie Andrews won nine Tony Awards, and the 1964 film version starring Audrey Hepburn won eight Oscars.
GVSU's Opera Theatre plans to introduce a new generation to the story, said Schriemer. The musical will be presented in its full finery, featuring period costumes (the show is set in 1913) rented from the Minnesota Opera Company. The musical score includes the enduring favorites With a Little Bit of Luck, The Rain in Spain, and I Could Have Danced All Night.
Ben Krywosz, director of past Opera Theatre shows Saturn Returns and Into the Woods, returns to Grand Valley to direct My Fair Lady. Krywosz is artistic director of the Nautilus Music-Theater in St. Paul, Minn., and has worked extensively in the field of integrated singing and acting.
About three dozen students make up the cast, including dancers and a Cockney chorus. Lead roles are played by GVSU students Jamie Mosher, of Ada, as Eliza Doolittle; Rory Miller, of Portland, as Professor Higgins; Trinity Bird, of Bronson, as Higgins' friend Colonel Pickering; and Michael Houser, of Boyne City, as Alfred P. Doolittle. (Full cast is listed on next page.)
Serving as music director is Charles Hutchins, winner of the Grand Award for past musical productions; dancing and movement choreography is led by GVSU dance director Jefferson Baum; and conducting the GVSU Chamber Orchestra is GVSU orchestra director Hyunsai Lee. Costume and set design are by Jill Dole Hamilton and Al Sheffield, respectively.
