Young thespians take to center stage on April 16 through 18 to join the likes of Audrey Hepburn and Julie Andrews with their own reprisal of the classic play “My Fair Lady.”
Based on author and playwright George Bernard Shaw’s classic play “Pygmalion,” where Professor Henry Higgins, a phonetician, wagers that he can take a girl selling flowers (Eliza Doolittle) of a lower class and turn her into a dutchess simply by changing her style of speaking.
Like Mia Thermopolis (Anne Hathaway) in the film “Princess Diaries,” the ambitious professor plans to accomplish it within a six-month timeframe. Doolittle and Higgins eventually form a bond, and the resulting folly is highlighted through the play.
Director Janelle Schiff, Trinity High School, said performances will take place Friday, April 16, and Saturday, April 17, beginning at 7 p.m., with a double-header on Sunday, April 18, starting at 2 p.m.
Trinity’s play will feature theater veteran Sunshine Diem, who will take the stage as Eliza Doolittle. Diem played Eve in Trinity’s January production “The Children of Eden,” and was critically successful in her breakout performance. Schiff said this role will give Diem the chance to showcase her talents.
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“She has been featured in musicals since the sixth grade ...t his role offers her a chance to demonstrate her comedic style and vocal talent,” Schiff said.
Dominic Tibor will once again be paired with Diem as he assumes the role of Professor Henry Higgins. Tibor previously played Diem’s husband Adam in “The Children of Eden.”
Nathaniel Jilek is slated to play Colonel Pickering, and senior Mason Hibbs will play Eliza’s father, Alfred Doolittle.
Of Hibbs and his fellow actors, Schiff said they have really taken to the signature number, “Get Me to the Church On Time.”
Junior Carter Ehlis will assume the role of Freddy, a man aspiring to be a suitor of Eliza, in what is often the comedic relief of the play.
These featured performers will be accompanied by an ensemble of performers ranging from grades 7-12.
Schiff said she is sure the audience will recognize some of the play’s most iconic hits, such as “The Rain in Spain” and “I Could Have Danced All Night.”
The play’s score will be conducted by Sandy Tibor and accompanied by Karen Wagner and Amanda Backer.
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Choreographers Mary Hauck and Caliegh O’Dwyer and technical director Jerry Schiff were noted as key contributors to the play’s expected success, Schiff said.
For more information about the play or to purchase tickets, call Trinity Jr./Sr. High School at (701) 483-6081.
