A "Loverly" Lady

Contributed

Eliza Doolittle and Henry Higgins hit the Erie Playhouse's LECOM stage in My Fair Lady, and everything from the cast to the costumes and the songs are set to inspire and impress their audiences.

BEGINNING FRIDAY, SEPT. 12

In a classic rags-to-riches tale, My Fair Lady makes its way to the Erie Playhouse Mainstage for three weekends of unforgettable performances of such songs as "On the Street Where You Live" and "Wouldn't It Be Loverly."

Following the story of Eliza Doolittle (Ellise Chase), a cockney flower girl whose dialect is of the greatest aggravation to phonetician professor Henry Higgins (Rich Tryzbiak), one can witness her comedic transformation into higher society and ladyship.

Director Ryan Ingram is excited to return to the director's chair for the sixth time in his history with the Erie Playhouse. With a lasting love of George Bernard Shaw, author of Pygmalion, the source material for the beloved musical, Ingram noted, "The directness of his characters' banter, while often comedic, also exposes their true opinions, motives and biases, often educating his audiences on social issues."

In addition to directing the show, Ingram works as a costume designer for the Erie Playhouse. Through clothes ranging from the looks of "dirty street vendors" to the "lush and fabulously outlandish elites," he stressed the importance of how costumes can aid in storytelling.

Ingram's favorite part of the production is the song "Get Me To The Church On Time," where he commended choreographer Melissa J. Dixon's "ability to bring out the best in the performers in a truly magical way."

The show will feature several notable faces from the Playhouse's fine selection of past productions, and six actors and actresses making their Mainstage debut: Kristin Lynn, Zach Hyman, Lydia Johnson, Mia Koket, Paul Gress, and Chris Van Riper.

"In this production, I am really struck by how well our multi-generational cast is working together to tell the same story," Ingram said. "It has been inspiring to watch them interact."

Fridays and Saturdays, Sept. 12 through Sept. 28 at 7:30 p.m. // Thursday, Sept. 25 at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays, Sept. 21 and Sept. 28 at 2 p.m. // Erie Playhouse, 13 W. 10th St. // $19-30 // For tickets and info: erieplayhouse.org