Interview: Leah Mari Chats About Bringing MY FAIR LADY To Life

It's been touted as the world's most loved musical and it's fair to say that MY FAIR LADY really does seem to have stood the test of time. The live musical production, adapted from the 1938 film, made its debut in 1956. It continues to entertain, with regular revivals happening around the world. The most recent is happening right here in South Africa, with Pieter Torien Productions and Cape Town Opera teaming up to present MY FAIR LADY this holiday season.

To find out a little more about the this production, we chatted to Leah Mari, who will be taking on the lead role of Eliza Doolittle (sharing it with Brittany Smith).

BWW: Let’s start off with – how does it feel to be playing THE Eliza Doolittle in MY FAIR LADY?

Leah: It’s quite surreal to be honest! I often catch myself with the giddiest grin in rehearsal. If you’d asked me three years ago if I ever thought I’d be playing Eliza Dolittle opposite actors like Craig Urbani and Graham Hopkins, the answer would be "I wish..." It’s surreal to be here and I’m honestly on cloud nine.

I think it can be easy to become overwhelmed by the responsibility of bringing this iconic character to life. I’m trying not to go there. I’m taking each day, one song and one scene at a time and I’m committed to enjoying the process while doing the best I can. So far, we’re having a BLAST. Eliza’s joy and determination is contagious - if anything she is bringing me to life.

BWW: MY FAIR LADY is one of the iconic musicals, and the character of Eliza is so well known. What kind of approach do you take when preparing to play this part? How do you go about bringing something new to such a well-known piece?

Leah: My first step was getting the accents down before anything else. It’s such a crucial part of Eliza’s journey and character. I wanted to find Eliza’s starting point in the Cockney dialect before I tackled any of the book work or the songs. I started studying the Cockney dialect religiously in August. I worked with Claire Berlein as my accent coach during college so I was delighted to find out she was going to be working on this production. She really helped me get the accent into my body.

Both my parents are musicians and so I developed a very musical ear. That helps in picking up accents. Much like Eliza in the Ascot scene, the true test for me was improvising with the accent, to investigate which sounds need improving. It was a lot of learning and unlearning.

But I made it really fun for myself too! I watched a lot of British TV in my spare time - consciously listening to phrasing and slang. Also a lot of unconscious listening too. Playing podcasts and recordings of cockney speakers while I went about my day. You’d think I  would have gotten sick of it but there is something so charming about this accent.

Once the accent was down, I started applying it to the music. Lerner and Loewe (the composers) have masterfully written this piece because there is a clear difference between the style in which Eliza sings when she has a cockney accent versus when she uses a “proper” RP accent. The cockney accent assists the speech like singing of “Wouldn’t It Be Loverly” and “Just You Wait”. In the same way, the RP accent is embellished by a much more lyrical and legato style in “I Could Have Danced All Night”. Doing the prep work for a show is so exciting when you’re working with such great material.

As far as making it new, I think that’s the question every actor asks themselves when taking on a well known role. I am bringing a lot of my own unique experience as Leah to the role. Eliza has been plunged into a world of unknown and is piecing it together with massive determination. I could say the same for myself. I’m so early in my career, I only graduated in December 2023 and went straight into THE SOUND OF MUSIC. There’s still so much that I’m trying to figure out about myself and my place in this industry but also my place as a young adult. This is so relatable to Eliza. I am in a similar state of mind to her, so there’s an extremely real understanding and common ground between us.

BWW: You’re once again sharing the lead role with Brittany Smith from Cape Town Opera (you shared the role of Maria in THE SOUND OF MUSIC last year). Do you find that the two of you approach or want to play the role differently? Can you play it differently or do you try to find the common ground and keep the role consistent for the rest of your cast?

Leah: Last year with THE SOUND OF MUSIC, my position was slightly different. In rehearsals, I stepped into what Brittany and Steven Stead (our director) set on the floor later on in the process and I only performed the matinees on double show days. I also had my own ensemble role to do when I wasn’t on as Maria. Now, I’m focused solely on Eliza and I’m on the floor creating the role with Brittany.

Brit and I naturally have different instincts on the floor. Steven is doing a fine job of finding a common ground between our two performances. At the end of the day it’s about sincerity and honesty. Brit and I have lengthy discussions about who Eliza is.

Being an alternate last year with Maria in THE SOUND OF MUSIC, I’ve learned that as much as it is about making her my own, there’s also a technical side: feeding my scene partners certain beats that they need; staging; phrasing (musically). There is wiggle room, but my advice to anyone alternating is that you must be aware of the technical things that are non-negotiable for the sake of your scene partners and also the orchestra and your stage manager for musical and technical cues.

The feedback that I got last year from the cast was that having an alternating role keeps things fresh and present. There is active listening and responding (acting 101) from the cast because they’re interacting with a different Eliza every night. Those small differences in our deliveries keeps the cast on their toes (in the best way). Right now, perhaps it’s a bit more technical as we’re in rehearsal. But from experience, once the show is running, the alternating Eliza’s are going to become a massive advantage to the show being fresh and lively every night.

BWW: You’ve done a number of productions on the bigger stages thanks to your training through LAMTA. How does stepping into a professional production differ from your LAMTA days? And how do you feel that your training has helped you make this transition?

Leah: My favorite story to tell is how I came to LAMTA in 2021 as an "NMT (New Musical Theatre) girlie". Golden Age or ‘legit’ musical theatre was nowhere on my radar. I saw myself as a Pasek and Paul, Jason Robert Brown, Steven Swartz type performer, with a naturally darker tone. Don’t get me wrong, I had huge appreciation for Golden Age but I never thought I could sing it. However, the very first song my vocal coach gave me to sing at college was none other than THE SOUND OF MUSIC. How’s that for subconscious manifestation. We knew what I was good at, but we worked harder at what needed improvement.

My two vocal coaches at LAMTA, Kurt Haupt and Amy Campbell, helped me completely transform my voice. I spent countless hours on vocal exercises and unfamiliar material. At any opportunity, I always opted to sing Golden Age instead of NMT because I knew that muscle was weaker - the best thing I could have every done for myself during college.

“You have to diversify and up skill yourself in this industry” said Anton Luitingh and Duane Alexander on the regular. I spent a lot of time in their office talking about the business and where I might fit in to the industry once I graduate. At first, there was hesitance from my side. Like a lot of people my age, the newer material was more exciting and relatable. But Anton and Duane helped me see that I didn’t have to sacrifice one style for the other. But rather work hard at getting my legit sound to the same level as my contemporary sound so that I was equally qualified. Naturally we all had a fat laugh (and a couple tears of relief) when the first role I booked was Maria in THE SOUND OF MUSIC.

I look fondly on my LAMTA days. The students work so hard and at such a professional level. We pride ourselves on how seriously we take the course. Anton and Duane run a tight ship. They pushed us to new heights. I think every LAMTA student leaves LAMTA an even greater performer than they set out to be. LAMTA teaches you responsibility, resilience and tenacity over the three year course. All these skills are put to use in the industry.

BWW: A major point of the story of MY FAIR LADY is to do with how the character Higgins treats Eliza. He is quite unashamedly a sexist and belittles women throughout the text. How do you feel that this aspect of the story works in a modern context, especially having to play the character who so often is on the receiving end of Higgins’ sexist views?

Leah: The age old saying of “art imitates life” stands true in this piece. Unfortunately, the world we live in is riddled with sexism and classism and the character Henry Higgins represents a point of view that still exists in society today.

However, what MY FAIR LADY does so brilliantly, is its use of comedy. It points at the issues and makes fun of them. But it’s important to acknowledge that we laugh at Higgins because what he says is absurd, not because it’s justified. Making that distinction has been our focus in the rehearsal room.

Fortunately, the text supports that! Higgins is written to be laughed at and Craig Urbani handles him with such care - Craig is hilarious. He also makes a point to show true sincerity in the moments where Higgins believes in Eliza. Higgins is not a hateful man at his core. He’s a very focused and passionate man who gets ahead of himself. Sometimes a bulldozer, he is never aggressive with her or with anyone.

Another crucial set up, is “whose story are we telling?” Answer: It’s Eliza’s. As soon as the story becomes about Higgins, there is a dangerous chance that it becomes a show about a man who get’s what he wants from a young impressionable woman. Again, Steven has guided us through this and we’re shaping the show with intentional focus on Eliza. She’s the underdog and audiences naturally gravitate towards the underdog.

Possibly my favorite oppositions to Higgins in the piece is the incredible community of female allies. Colonel Pickering, played so brilliantly by Graham Hopkins, is one of Eliza’s biggest supporters. But mainly, the women around her: Mrs Pearce (played beautifully by Megan Spencer), the maids, Mrs Higgins (Adrienne Pearce, who has the most charming strength). The show celebrates the power of female resilience. Again, it is so well written. I hope audiences see these women who encourage Eliza at the face of Higgins’ belittling and are reminded that the way to support women is to support women. Speak up and intercept sexist behaviour in the moment. Be brave, be strong. Your femininity is divine and
powerful.

BWW: Finally, to lighten things up a bit – what is the one thing that you’re most looking forward to about audiences getting to see MY FAIR LADY these holidays?

Leah: My favourite sequence in the show is ‘The Rain in Spain’ into ‘I Could Have Danced All Night’. Eliza’s excitement is contagious. I get swept away in it. I’m absolutely giddy by the end of it. I think audiences will love that.

Also, we’ve got the most talented and skilled ensemble that shine in the big group numbers like “Little Bit of Luck” and “Get Me to the Church”. Duane Alexander’s choreography is electric and you can see how much fun the cast is having performing it. We’ve got incredible performers: the musical theatre industry’s finest triple threats, paired with the richest vocals from Cape Town Opera - a recipe for the most delicious show of the year.

I think the audiences will come for the excitement of live theatre and leave having been moved by the sincerity and strength of a young woman with courage, determination and a bit of cheek. You’re bound to fall in love with Eliza... I know I have.

BWW: Thank you so much for your insights into the production and the character of Eliza! All the best for the run.

You can catch MY FAIR LADY at the Artscape this holiday season. The production runs from 12 December until 12 January and tickets are available via Webtickets. 

Photo credit: supplied and Allison Foat

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