Asolo Repertory Theatre Presents My Fair Lady 11/18-12/23

Asolo Repertory Theatre is set to present My Fair Lady as Asolo Rep's 53rd season opener. The
performance runs in the Mertz Theatre from November 18, 2011 through December 23, 2011. Preview performances are November 15, 16 and 17. Directed by Tony Award-winner Frank Galati, the production will feature 19 actors from all over the nation. Galati's directing credits include last season's hit Twelve Angry Men, Steppenwolf Theatre Company's Homebody and Broadway's Ragtime. He was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Screenplay for The Accidental Tourist.

Joining the creative team is four-time Jeff Award winner Doug Peck. Peck has taken the musical theatre scene by storm, having been attached to the hottest productions at the Goodman Theatre, Huntington Theatre Company, TimeLine Theatre and many more. Leading the cast is Andrea Prestinario, who recently played Eliza Doolittle at Chicago's Paramount Theatre. Joining her as Professor Henry Higgins is Jeff Award nominee Jeff Parker, whose credits include Goodman Theatre, Huntington Theatre Company, Steppenwolf Theatre Company and more.

Asolo Rep's Producing Artistic Director, Michael Donald Edwards, recognizes what a powerhouse creative team he has put in control of My Fair Lady. "Frank Galati is a gifted director, and a major figure in the American theatre scene," he raves. "We are so fortunate that he is working with us." The first of those productions is "My Fair Lady," which has been called "the perfect musical". With its unforgettable characters and enchanting songs (Wouldn't It Be Loverly?, The Rain in Spain, I Could Have Danced All Night, and I've Grown Accustomed to Her Face), My Fair Lady won six Tony Awards (including Best Musical), and became Broadway's longest running musical of its time.

Asolo Rep is proud to present the intimate, revival-version of this show featuring accompaniment by two pianos. Frank Galati's vision of My Fair Lady promises to be distinctive and original. This show, in particular, is one dear to Galati's heart. "In 1957, the touring production came to Chicago's Schubert Theatre, when I was a sophomore in high school. It was the first professional show I ever saw in my life," Galati says, "and it had a profound effect on me. I still
remember how excited I was trudging home in the snow. It was a turning point for me. After seeing it, I joined a theatre program at Northwestern University for high school students, and I was on my way."

My Fair Lady takes place in Edwardian England, and revolves around Eliza Doolittle, the Cockney flower girl whose speech is nearly unintelligible to polite society; and Henry Higgins, the proper and pompous voice coach with an ear for language but a tone-deaf heart. With its examinations of class distinctions, society's prejudices, the gender divide, transformation, and identity, the themes of this spectacular musical are as relevant today as they have always been. Asolo Rep's production, with Tony Award-winner Galati at the helm, promises to take a fresh and innovative approach to one of the most popular musicals of all time.

Tickets for My Fair Lady are available through the Asolo Repertory Theatre box office by calling 941-351-8000 or tollfree, 800-361-8388. Tickets are also available online at www.ASOLOREP.ORG

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