MY FAIR LADY Auditions at the CHARLESTON LIGHT OPERA GUILD in February

The Charleston Light Opera Guild has announced audition dates for their highly anticipated rendition of My Fair Lady. Auditions will take place on February 12th, 13th and 15th of 2018. This marks the first time the guild has produced this classic musical in over 25 years.

Audition Location: Charleston Light Opera Guild Theatre, 411 Tennessee Avenue, Charleston, WV 25302

Audition Age Range: Auditions are open to anyone ages 16 - Adult.

Audition Dates and Details:

Monday, February 12th, 2018 at 7:00 P.M. - This will be the singing audition. The guild asks that there be no acapella auditions. Please prepare a classic Broadway song of your choice and bring sheet music for the Guild's accompanist. If you are singing from the musical score, sheet music is not necessary.

Tuesday, February 13th, 2018 at 7:00 P.M. - This will be the reading audition. Scripts will be provided upon arrival.

Thursday, February 15th, 2018 at 7:00 P.M. PROMPT! - This will be the dance audition. Be sure to come dressed to dance. All dance combinations will be taught at the audition.

Roles Available:

Eliza Doolittle - Leading female, soprano; little Cockney gutter sparrow

Henry Higgins - Leading male, baritone (speaks most of his songs in rhythm); brilliant and crotchety middle aged bachelor who is England's leading professor of phonetics

Colonel Pickering - Male lead, baritone; friend of Henry Higgins and fellow linguistic expert

Alfred P. Doolittle - Supporting male, baritone; Eliza's father, a dustman

Freddy Eynsford-Hill - Supporting male, bari-tenor; handsome young aristocrat and Eliza's suitor

Mrs. Higgins - Supporting female; Henry Higgins socialite mother

Mrs. Pearce - Supporting female, mezzo-soprano; Higgin's housekeeper

Zoltan Karpathy - Supporting male, non-singing; Henry Higgin's former student and rival

Jamie and Harry - 2 featured Busker males, one tenor, one baritone; they back up Alfred Doolittle in song and dance.

Cameo Roles include Ms. Eynsford Hill, Bartender, Lord Boxington, Lady Boxington, Flower Girl, Footman, Selsey Man, Hoxton Man, Queens of Transylvania and more.

Servants - singing roles; servants in the Higgin's household that harmonize

Ascot Gavotte Chorus

Dancers - Buskers and society waltzing couples

Performance Dates: April 28th & 29th, 2018 and May 4th, 5th, 6th, 11th, and 12th, 2018.

Performance Location: Charleston Civic Center Little Theatre, 200 Civic Center Dr., Charleston, WV 25301

Website: Charleston Light Opera Guild's Website / My Fair Lady Details Page

Contact Information: (304) 545-6945 or charlestonlightoperaguild@gmail.com

My Fair Lady, adapted from George Bernard Shaw's play Pygmalion, features a book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner with music by Frederick Loewe. The musical was first brought to the Broadway stage in 1956 featuring Julie Andrews and Rex Harrison, where it claimed the record of longest running Broadway show, at least at that point in history. The show went on to win six Tony Awards, including Best Musical. More recently, a revival is heading to Broadway with previews beginning in March 2018. Often considered one of the best musicals ever written, the show's popularity has inspired a much beloved film version starring Audrey Hepburn and has sold countless Broadway cast albums.

The story centers on Eliza Doolittle, a Cockney flower girl, and her chance meeting with England's leading professor of phonetics, Henry Higgins. Upon meeting Eliza, Higgins lambasts her awful Cockney speech and assures Eliza that if given six months he could teach her to speak properly. Higgins then encounters a fellow linguist who specializes in Indian dialects, Colonel Pickering, and the two exchange information in hopes of working together. Eliza, wanting a job as an assistant at a florist's shop, pays Higgins a visit to see if he really could live up to his promise and correct her speech. Pickering offers to pay for Eliza's lessons, and wagers against Higgins being able to succeed. What follows is a funny and endearing tale that has charmed audiences for over 60 years.

My Fair Lady will be directed and choreographed for the Charleston Light Opera Guild by Nina Denton Pasinetti and will feature John Marshall as the Musical Director.

Richard Allen is a Broadway World contributing Editor for WV and writes about local theatre. You can contact Richard at richardallenwrites@gmail.com.

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