Muncie Civic Theatre debuts ‘My Fair Lady’

The Muncie Civic theatre kicked off it’s rendition of the classic musical “My Fair Lady” at Northside Middle School on Friday.

The musical is Muncie Civic’s second main stage performance of the 2017-18 season. The musical 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 theatre is undergoing a million-dollar renovation which 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 cast and crew also had problems at the middle school with broken equipment and an unfamiliar stage, but that didn’t stop the show’s star.

“I loved watching different versions of the show just to get new ideas and listening to the music,” Annika Low, who played 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 as an inspiration. Doolittle was originally played by on Broadway by Julie Andrews.

“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 that 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 people the cast 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.”

My Fair Lady will have several more performances. Shows are scheduled on October 20-22 and 26-28. For more information you can visit www.munciecivic.org.