Marietta, Georgia's Theatre in the Square is turning 20 in 2001-2002, kicking off the anniversary year with a revival of George Bernard Shaw's classic comedy Pygmalion, playing Aug. 15-Sept. 23.
Pygmalion is the story of irascible phonetics professor Henry Higgins, who bets he can mold a Cockney flower girl into a high-society lady and does so, without taking into account that his experiment is a real-live female with very deep feelings about herself, her class and love. The story famously served as the basis for the musical My Fair Lady.
The version of Pygmalion Theatre in the Square is staging was originally a film version written specifically for screen legend Leslie Howard. University of Georgia department head Dr. August Staub directs the production.
Theatre in the Square vets Jim Donadio and Monica Williamson play Higgins and flower girl Eliza Doolittle. His credits at the Square include Uncle Vanya and Private Lives; she's taken parts in The Front Page, Uncle Vanya and Five Women Wearing the Same Dress.
Also in the cast are Don Finney (Colonel Pickering), David Milford (Alfred Doolittle), Jackie Prucha (Mrs. Higgings), Josie Lawson (Mrs. Eynsford Hill), Anne McCarthy (Miss Eynsford Hill), Mark Pitt (Freddy), Deadra Moore (Mrs. Pierce), Nick Rhoton (Nepommuck), Anna Whitson (socialite) and Diana Butler (the hostess). Designing Pygmalion are Corky Pratt (sets) and Michael Reynolds (costumes).
Tickets are $20-$30. The Theatre in the Square is located at 11 Whitlock Avenue in Marietta. For reservations, call (770) 422-8369. Theatre in the Square is on the web at http://www.theatreinthesquare.com.
— By Christine Ehren