Performances will be held April 20-22 at 7:30 p.m. and on April 23 at 3 p.m.
A preview performance, by invitation only, will be held on Wednesday, April 19, at 7:30 p.m.
WILSON, N.C. — April 10, 2017 — Imagine a chance meeting one rainy evening outside a London Opera House between a common, working-class, Cockney flower girl and the educated, upper-class phoneticist and prescribed bachelor Professor Henry Higgins. This is exactly where Eliza Doolittle’s soon-to-be-told story begins.
Theatre at Barton is thrilled to present “My Fair Lady,” a heartwarming, and often hilarious, musical adaptation of George Bernard Shaw’s groundbreaking play “Pygmalion,” with music by Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe. The show opens on Thursday, April 20, at 7:30 p.m., in the Kennedy Family Theatre on the campus of Barton College in Wilson. Additional performances will be held on Friday and Saturday evenings at 7:30 p.m., with an afternoon performance to follow on Sunday, April 23, at 3 p.m. A preview performance, by invitation only, will be held on Wednesday, April 19, at 7:30 p.m.
This beautiful, witty, and, at times, scandalous Cinderella story is rife with social insight and commentary as Eliza Doolittle persuades Professor Henry Higgins to give her lessons in speech as a means to improve her social status. Her hope is to one day “be a lady in a flower shop.” She cannot anticipate the “real lessons” that will come with reinventing herself.
“Barton College launched a concentration in Musical Theatre four years ago,” explained Adam Twiss, director of the Barton College Theatre program. “Since that time, we have developed and showcased many wonderfully talented students, while maintaining a level of excellence almost unheard of with such a young program. This year, we have challenged ourselves to tackle one of the classics of the genre and arguably the most beloved musical of all time. This show is an enormous undertaking for any theatre company and an outstanding benchmark for Barton’s Theatre Program.”
Sherry Lee Allen, artist-in-residence for musical theatre at Barton, will direct the spring production. “The music and the dialects from ‘My Fair Lady’ are contagious and will most certainly be heard throughout our campus for weeks after the show closes,” shared Allen. “We could not be more pleased to present this ‘timeless’ show at our Kennedy Family Theatre!”
This spring’s musical production will feature: Eliza Doolittle: Ashley Keefe; Professor Henry Higgins: Dirk Lombard; Colonel Pickering: Adam Twiss; Mrs. Eynsford-Hill: Luisa Torres; Freddy Eynsford-Hill: Stephen Foy; Mrs. Higgins: Sherry Lee Allen; Alfred P. Doolittle: Tim; Mrs. Pearce: Jane Kolunie; Harry: Zaddock Williford; Jamie: Chris Byrd; Professor Zoltan Karpathy: Edward Fernandes; Lord Boxington; Alan Lane; and Lady Boxington; Mary McClees Lane.
Playing multiple roles, the ensemble cast will include community members alongside our Barton students, faculty and staff: Kristine Bennett, Brittany Bullock, Allison Dellinger, Elizabeth Hallora, Nikki Helton, Michaela Howell, Alan Lane, Mary McClees Lane, Kiara Lewis, Camerin McPherson, Rakim Mathews, Taylor Medlock, Dominique Ormond, Emily Raynor, Brianna Tenhet, Charles Stainback, Tony Tilley, Julianna Wall, Savannah Wall, and Zaddock Williford.
The show will be designed and built by award-winning Barton technical director, Chris Bernier, together with Barton Theatre students. Megan Hickey will be the stage manager. The costume designer will be Denise Schumaker, and the lighting designer will be Kelsie Barnes. Musical director Mark Peterson and adjunct instructor Dexter Ruffin will perform the two-concert piano orchestration in tandem on stage.
Tickets are available at the door (or in advance at www.barton.edu/theatre). General admission is $12 for adults, $8 for seniors (65 and over), alumni, and military, and $5 for non-Barton students. Tickets are free for Barton College students, faculty, and staff with a valid Barton ID.
For additional information, please contact Twiss at (252) 399-6484 or ajtwiss@barton.edu.
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