Scottish actress Verity Power will take on the iconic role of Eliza Doolittle opposite Alan Cumming’s Henry Higgins in Pitlochry Festival Theatre’s new chamber production of My Fair Lady this Christmas season.
Running from 21 November to 31 December, the production’s high-powered production team includes Maria Friedman (Merrily We Roll Along), designer Tim Hatley (Life of Pi/Back to the Future, West End/Broadway) and lighting designer Neil Austin (Harry Potter and the Cursed Child/Paddington, Broadway/West End).
Looking forward to co-starring in the production, Power (How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, Southwark Playhouse, Zombies The Musical, The Other Palace) said: “As a kid I was completely obsessed with Audrey Hepburn and had a DVD boxset of her films, with my ultimate favourite being My Fair Lady. Eliza was brash, messy, authentic and unapologetic. Even in the face of completely reinventing her voice, grammar, manners and looks, she drew the line by refusing to compromise her enormous heart and fighting spirit.
“I cannot wait to explore the complex power dynamic of Higgins and Eliza, and of course to do that with a legend like Alan Cumming is an all-time career high. The audition process with Maria Friedman was an absolute masterclass in and of itself. This woman possesses so much gold dust, and I cannot wait to soak up every ounce that she has to give.”
Friedman added: “I’m absolutely thrilled that Verity will be playing Eliza opposite the wonderful Alan Cumming in this exciting new production of My Fair Lady. She is bold, fearless, thrilling, with a razor-sharp wit and an authenticity and warmth that I think will make her Eliza truly special. I can’t wait to get into the rehearsal room with her and for Pitlochry audiences to see her bring this extraordinary character to life.”
Presented by Pitlochry Festival Theatre in association with Sonia Friedman Productions, My Fair Lady will be the final production in Cumming’s inaugural season as artistic director of the Pitlochry Festival Theatre.
Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe’s glorious musical reimagining of George Bernard Shaw’s 1913 play Pygmalion, was first seen on Broadway in 1956. The original production which starred Julie Andrews and Rex Harrison won six Tony Awards including Best Musical and remains in the top 30 longest-running Broadway musicals of all time. Andrews and Harrison also starred in the musical’s West End premiere run at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane in 1958.
The enduringly popular 1964 film adaptation starring Harrison reprising his Tony Award-winning performance as Henry Higgins opposite Audrey Hepburn’s Eliza Doolittle won eight Academy Awards including the Oscar for Best Picture.
Angela Thomas
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