Templeton High School Drama Presents a Spring Performance
Templeton High Drama Department will produce this year’s spring musical “My Fair Lady,” which will run from Thursday, March 15 through Saturday, March 24.
The musical was written by Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe in 1956 and based on George Bernard Shaw’s play “Pygmalion” written in 1912.
“I choose shows based a lot on what talent pool I think I’ll have for that year; plus, new students always step up and surprise me at auditions,” said THS drama teacher Catherine Kingsbury. “I also look for new skills for the students to learn, to add to their ‘bag of performing tricks.’ This show provides them with a chance to learn accents — at least three different English accents plus a few other European accents. We’ve also thrown in a bit of tap, so they’re having fun learning that as well. This is also a score that can be played by our fantastic student musicians here at THS. So, the performers learning to sing and dance with a live orchestra, and the orchestra learning to play with live singers and dancers is an important skill for those who want to pursue musical theatre in the future.”
Kingsbury said that the department can only pull off having a live orchestra every few years because it takes a lot of compromise and schedule-tweaking with the David Landers-directed music program.
“This show has such a beautiful score and everyone knows and loves the songs,” Kingsbury said. “The characters are also fun to play for the students. We’re approaching our production much more from Shaw’s original concept of the characters and themes. Eliza is not so much in love with Higgins as she is enamored of the life he promises for her. I think our audiences will find a much more independent and modern Eliza than past productions, while still being true to the script and score. And because Nick Talarico, who is playing the part of Professor Higgins, has a fabulous voice, you’ll hear him sing his tunes a lot more instead of the talk-singing that Rex Harrison performed in the role.”
The performances will take place in the Templeton Performing Arts Center, 1200 S. Main St., on Thursday, March 15 and 22 and Friday, March 16 and 23 at 7 p.m. and Saturday, March 17 and 24 at 2 and 7 p.m.
Tickets are available at brownpapertickets.com and they will also be available at the door, although some dates may sell out. Admission is $12 for students and seniors and $15 for adults.
“People should come to see this musical because: the music and vocals are so beautiful,” Kingsbury said.
