The Old Globe's 100th anniversary production of the
George Bernard Shaw classic Pygmalion stars Tony Award winner
Robert Sean Leonard (The Invention of Love, Born Yesterday) as Professor Henry Higgins and
Charlotte Parry (The Importance of Being Earnest, The Real Thing) as Eliza Doolittle. The production coincides with the 100th anniversary of Pygmalion's 1913 premiere in Vienna, Austria. Directed by
Nicholas Martin (Butley, Present Laughter), Pygmalion will run on the Donald and
Darlene Shiley Stage in the
Old Globe Theatre, part of the Globe's
Conrad Prebys Theatre Center, through Feb. 17, 2013. BroadwayWorld has a first look at the production in the photos below!
Shaw's story of a speech professor who makes a bet that he can pass off a common Cockney flower girl as the pinnacle of English society is an enduring one. In addition to its long life on the stage, the play was adapted by Shaw for the screen in 1938 with
Leslie Howard and
Wendy Hiller. It was adapted most famously as the beloved musical My Fair Lady starring
Rex Harrison with
Julie Andrews on Broadway and with
Audrey Hepburn on film.
Leonard last appeared on
The Old Globe stage as Edgar in
Jack O'Brien's renowned 1993 presentation of King Lear starring
HAl Holbrook. He received a Tony Award for his performance in
Tom Stoppard's The Invention of Love and was also nominated for Long Day's Journey Into Night and Candida. His other Broadway credits include Born Yesterday, The Violet Hour, The Music Man, The Iceman Cometh, Arcadia and Brighton Beach Memoirs, among others. At 19, he made his film debut in the acclaimed Dead Poets Society, and he appeared for eight seasons on the Fox medical drama "House."
Parry's Broadway credits include Cecily in The Importance of Being Earnest, Coram Boy and The Real Thing. She was a member of the inaugural year of
Sam Mendes' Bridge Project, performing The Cherry Orchard and The Winter's Tale at
Brooklyn Academy Of Music, on the West End and internationally.
Four Old Globe Associate Artists return to the Globe stage for this lavish new production of Pygmalion.
Kandis Chappell (Mrs. Higgins) has appeared in over 30 productions at
The Old Globe, more than any other actress in Globe history, including The Dining Room, Richard III, The Norman Conquests, King Lear and Collected Stories. She has also appeared on Broadway in Rumors and Getting Away with Murder.
Don Sparks (Mr. Doolittle) has been featured in more than 30 Globe productions including The Show-Off, The Taming of the Shrew, Twelfth Night and the title role in Springtime for Henry, and he has been featured on Broadway in Take Me Out.
Deborah Taylor's (Mrs. Pearce) Globe credits include Romeo and Juliet, The Merry Wives of Windsor, Bell, Book and Candle and A Midsummer Night's Dream, among others, and she has also appeared at Hartford Stage,
Berkeley Repertory Theatre and the Shaw Festival.
Paxton Whitehead (Colonel Pickering) has been seen at the Globe in The Mask of Moriarty, The School for Scandal, Much Ado About Nothing and as the title role in Richard III. He is also well known for his many appearances in films and television series such as Kate & Leopold, The Adventures of Huck Finn, "Mad About You" and "Friends."
Rounding out the cast are Maggie Carney (Mrs. Eynsford Hill) and Old Globe/University of San Diego Graduate Theatre Program students Erin
Elizabeth Adams (Bystander),
Jeremy Fisher (Bystander), Adam Gerber (Bystander, Taxi Man),
Allison Layman (Bystander, Parlor Maid),
Danielle O'Farrell (Clara) and Robbie Simpson (Freddy Eynsford Hill).
Old Globe Associate Artist
Robert Morgan returns to the Globe as costume designer of Pygmalion. His Globe credits include God of Carnage, Life of Riley, Measure for Measure, Hamlet and the annual holiday musical
Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas!, now in its 15th season.
The creative team also includes
Alexander Dodge (Scenic Design),
Philip S. Rosenberg (Lighting Design),
Drew Levy (Sound Design),
Mark Bennett (Original Music), Jan Gist (Voice and Dialect Coach),
Caparelliotis Casting (Casting) and Annette Yé (Stage Manager).
Tickets to Pygmalion can be purchased online at
www.TheOldGlobe.org, by phone at (619) 23-GLOBE or by visiting the Box Office at 1363 Old Globe Way in Balboa Park.
Photo Credit: Henry DiRocco
Charlotte Parry as Eliza Doolittle and Robert Sean Leonard as Henry Higgins
Robert Sean Leonard as Henry Higgins and Charlotte Parry as Eliza Doolittle
Robert Sean Leonard as Henry Higgins and Charlotte Parry as Eliza Doolittle
Charlotte Parry as Eliza Doolittle
Robert Sean Leonard as Henry Higgins
The Cast of PYGMALION
(foreground) Charlotte Parry as Eliza Doolittle and Robert Sean Leonard as Henry Higgins and (background) Paxton Whitehead as Colonel Pickering and Deborah Taylor as Mrs. Pearce
Charlotte Parry as Eliza Doolittle and Robert Sean Leonard as Henry Higgins
Charlotte Parry as Eliza Doolittle (center) with (from left) Danielle O'Farrell, Robbie Simpson, Kandis Chappell, Paxton Whitehead, Robert Sean Leonard and Maggie Carney
(from left) Paxton Whitehead as Colonel Pickering and Robert Sean Leonard as Henry Higgins
Kandis Chappell as Mrs. Higgins and Robert Sean Leonard as Henry Higgins
Don Sparks as Mr. Doolittle