The Acting Troupe of Lambert (ATL) has closed the curtains on its production of “My Fair Lady” after a very successful set of performances. The show’s production spanned from Feb. 7 until March 27. However, its actors and the tech team have been hard at work since November; building an awe-inspiring set and practicing to create a one-of-a-kind experience for their audience.
The musical “My Fair Lady” is based on George Bernard Shaw’s book and the 1913 play “Pygamalion”, with its lyrics made by Alan Jay Lerner and music by Fredrick Loewe. The show follows Eliza Doolittle, a flower seller with a strong Cockney accent. She encounters phonetic specialist Professor Henry Higgins at a market, who, making a bet with his friend Colonel Pickerings, takes Eliza for speech lessons. Through this bet, he claims that he could pass her off as a Duchess if she learns how to talk with a proper English accent.
One of the most outstanding parts of this show, besides its intriguing plot, was its intricately built set design with many large components. All of the set was built and designed by ATL construction leads Gabriel Teater, Melody Yang and Abigail McAdams, as well as the rest of the construction team.
“The most prominent component is the giant wall with an indent mimicking half of a giant bird cage… to go into the symbolism of birds in our show” Teater explained. “To kind of show the actors as being trapped or caged.”
The metaphor between the actors and birds trapped within a cage is meant to highlight how the characters are trapped and separated by their own social classes. The cage dome was constructed using 6 individual 6 feet by 12 feet frames, which were connected together then lifted up manually 12 feet in the air using scaffolding steps. Several other set pieces the tech team made were inspired by the division in social classes: a giant stairwell was used to show a power difference between the people of the top versus below, and the stage extensions had significant height differences to separate the lower and upper classes. This division of social classes ties into Eliza’s story as her relationship with Mr. Higgins develops, bringing along many arguments related to respect and their power difference.
To further enhance the differences between the characters, the actors use the very distinct accents of Cockney and formal English, which required a lot of practice to mimic.
“[Training for the show] was a very in depth process, requiring a lot of research about the international phonetic alphabet, IPA, and then other methods of teaching phonetics, like Bell’s visible speech,” senior Benjamin Borski, who played Henry Higgins, stated.
In depth research about the characters’ speech styles was essential for the actors in this show because the show is largely centered around how linguistics define social classes. It was also very important in order for actors to properly portray their characters since the way a character talks can signify their personality to the audience and help them better understand the story.
In order to commemorate the hard work and dedication of ATL members, like that in the “My Fair Lady” cast, the organization hosts a senior sendoff on their last performance night in their last show of the year. “My Fair Lady” had its senior sendoff on March 7th, which was an emotionally moving moment for the audience, cast families and especially the cast themselves.
“Most [ATL seniors] have dedicated their entire high school career to the theater program and being in these shows… and [senior sendoffs] just really make you feel appreciated and make you feel seen in your growth and your efforts,” Teater commented.
During the ceremony, all senior cast members, technical crew, costume and makeup design and actors, were called up on stage to receive a rose and be commemorated by one of the tech leads on their accomplishments and best qualities. For the “My Fair Lady” senior sendoff, nearly half of the casting crew was commemorated, creating a truly heartfelt and touching experience as ATL seniors reflected on their high school theatre career.
As a result of the intricate preparation in construction design and actor training, “My Fair Lady” was incredibly well-received by the audience. Musical numbers like “I’m An Ordinary Man” and “Get Me to the Church on Time” had the whole auditorium standing ovation for the actors. This was also ATL’s submission for the Shuler Awards, a prestigious statewide program that awards students and teachers with their excellence on and off stage. The actor for Professor Henry Higgins, Benjamin Borski, received an Honorable Mention award, and the actor for Elizabeth Doolittle, Madeline Hansen, received the National YoungArts Winner award. As shown from the recognitions gained from the Shuler Awards program,“My Fair Lady” was a fantastic showcase of ATL’s talent in all aspects of theatre, and promises more incredible productions from this organization.
