Jonathan Pryce will play the lead role of Prof. Henry Higgins in the new Royal National Theatre production of the classic Lerner and Loewe musical My Fair Lady, a press spokesman confirmed to Playbill On-Line. The production will be directed by RNT artistic director Trevor Nunn. Pryce is perhaps best known in the U.S. for creating the role of the Engineer in Miss Saigon, both in London and on Broadway. His casting caused a ruckus in New York, where many parties maintained the Euro-Asian part should be filled by a minority actor. Pryce's other theatre credits in the UK are many and include a variety of classics. On film, he has been seen in "Glengarry Glen Ross" and "Carrington."
As Higgins, Pryce will be called upon to sing such classic as "I've Grown Accustomed to Her Face," "Why Can't the English" and "The Rain in Spain." Rex Harrison, who originated the role, was famous for "talk-singing" the songs.
—By Robert Simonson
