Rialto Chatter: Is Lauren Ambrose Broadway's Next Eliza Doolittle?

By George she's got it! Or does she? According to Page Six of the New York Post, sources connected to Broadway are reporting that SIX FEET UNDER star Lauren Ambrose has been tapped to star as Eliza Doolittle in the upcoming revival of MY FAIR LADY. As previously reported, the musical, to be helmed by Tony winner Bartlett Sher, is set to begin previews on March 22, 2018 and open on April 19, 2018 at the Vivian Beaumont Theater (150 West 65 Street).

A rep for Lincoln Center Theater commented "We can't confirm any casting," while Ambrose's manager told the Post last week, "Let's talk on Monday." Thus far, no further information has been released. It has previously been reported that both Colin Firth and Kevin Kline are being considered for the role of Professor Henry Higgins.

Ambrose most recently appeared on Broadway in 2009's EXIT THE KING. She also appeared in the 2006 revival of AWAKE AND SING!

Adapted from George Bernard Shaw's play and Gabriel Pascal's motion picture Pygmalion, My Fair Lady, with book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe, premiered on Broadway on March 15, 1956. The legendary original production, directed by Moss Hart and designed by Oliver Smith and Cecil Beaton, starred Rex Harrison and Julie Andrews, won 6 Tony Awards including Best Musical, and ran for 2,717 performances, making it, at the time, the longest-running musical in Broadway history.

Boasting a score that contains such now-classic songs as "I Could Have Danced All Night," "Get Me to the Church on Time," "Wouldn't It Be Loverly," "On the Street Where You Live," "The Rain in Spain," and "I've Grown Accustomed to Her Face," My Fair Lady was hailed by The New York Times as "one of the best musicals of the century," by the Christian Science Monitor as "a work of theatre magic," and by the NY Herald Tribune as "a miraculous musical."

2018 production of My Fair Lady will have sets by Michael Yeargan, costumes by Catherine Zuber, and lighting by Donald Holder. Casting and additional creative credits will be announced at a later date.

Photo Credit: Walter McBride / WM Photos