Presented at New Haven's Shubert Theatre, where My Fair Lady premiered prior to its celebrated Broadway run, the production is the first in the University's newly created Yale Musical Theater of the Air initiative that unites graduates, faculty and current students to present a concert version of a classic American musical.
Marc Vietor, who directed last season's Kiss Me, Kate, stages the 2 PM and 8 PM performances of the Lerner and Loewe musical on Jan. 25.
Rogers (The Royal Family) will play Henry Higgins, with Grier (Porgy and Bess) as Alfred P. Doolittle and Felicia Ricci (Wicked) as Eliza Doolittle. The cast will also feature Hans Tester as Colonel Pickering and Jeremy Weiss as Freddy Eynesford Hill.
A 50-piece on-stage orchestra will play Robert Russell Bennett's original orchestrations under the direction of David Loud (Porgy and Bess, Scottsboro Boys, Ragtime).
The production will also feature sound effects, including "doors opening and closing, taxi horns, and thunderstorms," created live by a pair of foley artists. Bill Kux will narrate.
The musical has book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner with music by Frederick Loewe. My Fair Lady opened on Broadway in March 1956 and starred Oscar winner Julie Andrews as Eliza Doolittle opposite Rex Harrison as Henry Higgins, who received a 1957 Tony Award for his performance. The work also took home Tony Awards for Conductor and Musical Director (Franz Allers), Costume Design (Cecil Beaton), Direction (Moss Hart), Scenic Design (Oliver Smith) and Best Musical.