New Harmony Concludes Season With 'My Fair Lady'

New Harmony Theatre, University of Southern Indiana's professional Equity stage, brings its 2008 season to a close with "My Fair Lady," the Tony Award-winning musical that tells a tale of love and transformation as Eliza, a lowly flower seller, learns to speak like a lady with tutelage from phonetics professor and confirmed bachelor Henry Higgins. The musical, which runs August 1 - 17 in New Harmony's Murphy Auditorium, features a cast of Broadway luminaries in principal roles and USI students and alumni filling out the ensemble and serving in a variety of roles offstage.

According to Lenny Leibowitz, New Harmony Theatre's artistic director, "'My Fair Lady' is the brightest star in the musical theatre galaxy. It is a perfect union of story and song that sparkles with buoyant wit, irrepressible joy, and unabashed ardor."  In the musical, based on George Bernard Shaw's play, "Pygmalion," Professor Higgins makes a bet that he can pass off Eliza as a duchess by teaching her to speak properly. Tempers flare and romantic sparks fly throughout the experiment, and eventually Higgins realizes that he has been transformed as well; he is no longer impervious to love.  The score features classics like, "Wouldn't It Be Loverly," "On the Street Where You Live," and "I Could Have Danced All Night."

Leibowitz said that "My Fair Lady" is ideally suited to a cast that includes Broadway stars as well as the fresh talent USI students and alumni represent: "A musical like 'My Fair Lady' requires talent, experience and the technical skill represented by our veteran performers.  It also requires the stamina, enthusiasm, and exuberance of our young professionals.  Not only do they get to work on the greatest material ever written, but in rehearsals, they have gotten a daily workshop in singing, acting, dancing in a variety of styles, and even dialect work from some of the nation's most experienced performers. They are becoming more versatile and discovering just how much they will need to know to make it in the business."

Broadway actress Susan Derry plays Eliza, a role the classically-trained Derry has been dreaming of playing since her girlhood.  She is shadowed by two aspiring actresses from the USI theatre program who understudy Derry, Kensington Blaylock and Amelia Dalto.  Dalto also serves as the production's choreographer, and Blaylock performs in the ensemble.  According to Dalto, Derry is "a brilliant performer and I have learned so much from working with her.  Going through her movements and singing her songs, I have learned a lot about myself as a performer and about working in a professional environment.  The Broadway actors have been so sweet!  They are older than me, and so it has been interesting, because as their choreographer, I am kind of their boss.  I look up to them because they are all so impressive, but they have treated me as a professional.  The whole process has been awe-inspiring."

In addition to Derry, the cast of "My Fair Lady" includes Broadway actors Chris Kipiniak as Henry Higgins, Bob Ader as Pickering, Joy Franz as Mrs. Pearce and Mrs. Higgins, Steve Luker as Doolittle, and J. Max Miller as Freddy.  Other USI students or alumni involved in the production include Brandon Eck and Rachel Schenk, both in the ensemble; Paige Scott, assistant musical director; Robert Dagit, sound designer; Joshua Buente, understudy; Sean Nicholl and Christa Crow, electricians; Joshua Lenn, carpenter; Bradley Lock and Anna Kysar, stitchers; and Natalie Singer, Michael Myers, and Rachel Ziegler, administrative staff.

The artistic team for "My Fair Lady" includes Lenny Leibowitz, director; Cynthia Shaw, musical director; Amelia Dalto, choreographer; Tijana Bjelajac, scenic designer; Shan Jensen, costume designer; Craig A. Young, lighting designer; Robert Dagit, sound designer; and Michele Fugate, production stage manager.

Tickets for "My Fair Lady" are $24 for adults, $22 for seniors, and $10 for anyone 25 or younger. On Thursday, August 7, Posey County residents can attend the production for only $8 thanks to a grant from the Posey County Community Foundation.  Group discounts are available for groups of 20 or more. For more information about the New Harmony Theatre's production of "My Fair Lady," contact the box office at 812/682-3115 or toll free at 1-877-NHT-SHOW (648-7469), or visit the theatre's new web site at www.newharmonytheatre.com

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