The Paper Mill: The State Theatre of New Jersey's production of Lerner and Loewe's My Fair Ladybegins performances June 5 with a cast led by Glory Crampton (Eliza Doolittle), Paul Schoeffler (Professor Henry Higgins) and George S. Irving (Colonel Pickering).
Featuring direction by Robert Johanson, choreography by Michel Lichtefeld and musical direction by Tom Helm, this Fair Lady mounting also casts Ed Dixon as Alfred P. Doolittle, Brenda Cummings as Mrs. Pearce, Phyllis Sommerville as Mrs. Higgins and Max Von Essen as Freddy Eynsford-Hill and will run through July 21. The ensemble comprises Steven Bogard, Peter Cormican, Patricia Dell, Danette Holden, Eric Jackson, Cara Johnston, Matthew LaBanca, Renee Lawless-Orsini, Brian Letendre, Michelle Lanette Lookadoo, Jean Marie, Connie Pearson, Michael Pesce, Katie Rayle, Billy Rosa, Natalie Ryder, Matthew Scott, Brian Shepard, Jeromy Smith, Jonathan Stahl, Autumn Weidman and Christine M. Williamson. Gregory A. Poplyk has designed the costumes and Michael Anania the sets.
Presented in conjunction with Theatre Under the Stars (Houston), the Ordway Theatre of St. Paul, the 5th Avenue Theatre (Seattle), Dallas Summer Musicals and Theatre of the Stars (Atlanta), this will be the last tri state area production of the classic musical prior to the Cameron Mackintosh-produced Broadway revival. It will also mark Johanson's final directing project as Artistic Director of the theatre.
My Fair Lady is based on George Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion and features book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe. The original Broadway production opened on March 15, 1956, ran for over six years and won nine Tony Awards, including one for Best Musical. The score contains such Broadway standards as "I Could Have Danced All Night," "On the Street Where You Live," "Wouldn't It Be Loverly?" and "Get Me to the Church on Time."
Paper Mill: State Theatre of New Jersey is located on Brookside Drive in Millburn, NJ. Tickets are available by calling the theatre's box office at (973) 376-4343. For more information, go to www.papermill.org —By Andrew Gans
