Following its 2011 hit, Hello, Dolly!, McKinney Summer Musicals (MSM) has selected another timeless favorite, My Fair Lady, for its 2012 production. The announcement was made in recent days at a gathering of cast and crew members from previous productions, along with fans and sponsors, at the home of MSM director Kevyn Robertson. 
My Fair Lady, with book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe, has been called the standard by which all other musicals are measured. Adapted from George Bernard Shaw’s play and Gabriel Pascal’s motion picture Pygmalion, the story centers around Eliza Doolittle, a Cockney flower girl who takes speech lessons from professor Henry Higgins, a phoneticist, in order that she may pass as a proper lady. The musical features beloved tunes such as “I Could Have Danced All Night”, “On the Street Where You Live”, “Get Me to the Church on Time”, and “I've Grown Accustomed to Her Face”. My Fair Lady’s 1956 Broadway production set the record for the longest run of any major theater production in history and was followed by a hit London production, a popular film version, and numerous revivals.
In making the announcement, Robertson could barely control her enthusiasm, saying,
“My Fair Lady is a musical theater treasure. We look forward to the creative energy the MSM production team will bring to the show, and we can’t wait to assemble another extraordinary cast from the wealth of talent we always enjoy at our auditions.”
Planning has already begun for MSM’s annual benefit, “A Loverly Evening for MSM”, which will be held on February 10, 2012 at the home of Pam and Eugene Knies. Always a highlight of McKinney’s performing arts calendar, this year’s event will feature a very special guest—internationally renowned vocalist and stage performer David Gaschen, who starred as the title character in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Phantom of the Opera throughout Europe and on Broadway. In addition to enjoying entertainment by Gaschen, guests at the benefit will have the opportunity to bid on a once-in-a-lifetime experience: to be serenaded by the Phantom, singing “The Music of the Night” in a re-enactment of his famous scene with Christine.
“We anticipate intense bidding for this particular auction item,” said Robertson. “Benefit attendees from all across the Metroplex—and beyond—will be thrilled at the chance to support our 2012 production while becoming the envy of their friends, co-workers, and neighbors!”
Additional information about auditions, tentatively scheduled for late March, as well as sponsorship and volunteer opportunities, can be found at the MSM website at www.mckinneysummermusicals.com.
Performances of My Fair Lady will take place July 7-8 and 12-15, 2012, at McKinney Boyd High School Theatre.
This production is funded in part by the City of McKinney through a grant from the City of McKinney Arts Commission.
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