The Muncie Civic Theatre kicked off its rendition of the classic musical “My Fair Lady” Oct. 13 at Northside Middle School.
The musical is Muncie Civic’s second main stage performance of the 2017-18 season. The story is based on George Bernard Shaw’s “Pygmalion,” and the production didn’t come easy.
“We had a lot of challenges to overcome just to get the show up,” director Michael O’Hara said.
The theater is undergoing a million-dollar renovation that caused the cast and crew to find alternative spaces to prepare for opening night.
“We auditioned in a church. We rehearsed in four different locations, none of which were appropriate for rehearsing a musical,” O’Hara said.
The group also had problems when performing at the middle school with broken equipment and an unfamiliar stage, but that didn’t stop the show’s lead actress.
“I loved watching different versions of the show just to get new ideas and listening to the music,” Annika Low, who plays Eliza Doolittle, said.
Low said she drew upon some of her own relationships to learn how to portray Eliza’s relationship with professor Henry Higgins. Low also used the original Broadway portrayal of Doolittle by Julie Andrews as inspiration.
“Eliza is so iconic, she’s been played by Julie Andrews and Audrey Hepburn, who are both these huge household names,” Low said. “I use them as a foundation, but she blossoms in me as a person and who I am as a separate entity.”
While the show had its setbacks, O’Hara and Low both said the best part of producing the musical was the cast and crew they worked with for more than six weeks.
“That’s actually been the one of the best things about the whole process,” O’Hara said. “They’re really good in their roles, and that saves the show every time.”
While opening night has already passed, “My Fair Lady” will continue to show Oct. 20-22 and 26-28.
Contact Max Lewis with any comments at lmaxwell2@bsu.edu or on Twitter at @MaxLewisReports.
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