Published: April 25, 2008 09:55 am            

THEATER: "My Fair Lady" at Cardinal O'Hara

One of the most popular musicals of all time makes its way to the Cardinal O’ Hara Performing Arts Center stage Friday night for a three-weekend run.

“My Fair Lady” will be performed by the Niagara Regional Theatre Guild at 8 p.m. Friday. The classic musical, written by Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe and based on George Bernard Shaw’s “Pygmalion,” is well-known to most musical fans, but there are reasons to keep coming back, director Dawn Marcolini-Newton said.

“It’s one of my favorites, personally,” she said. “I’ve directed it three times.”

In “My Fair Lady,” professor Henry Higgins is challenged to turn any girl into a proper lady. The poor Eliza Doolittle becomes his subject as she begins her makeover.

“Each time is so different because it’s an entirely different cast,” Marcolini-Newton said.

One of those differences this time around comes from Kim Petersdorf, who will be playing Eliza Doolittle. Petersdorf knew nothing about the show or the character before auditioning for the play, which will be her first performance since 2001.

“I just wanted to get into the show,” Petersdorf said. “It just felt right. I went with it and got the lead (role).”

The first thing that struck Petersdorf about the play was just how humorous it was.

“It is so funny,” she said. “So many lines have been worked in perfectly.”

Petersdorf sees Doolittle as a warm and real character, and she plans on bringing a hefty amount of spunk to the role.

“(Eliza) is very individualistic,” Petersdorf said. “She’s in-your-face. I think I’ve made her a little more feisty.”

Petersdorf believes a lot of talent will be on display during the guild’s production of “My Fair Lady.” And she’s had a lot of fun rehearsing and getting into her role.

“I can’t believe I stayed away from theater for this long,” she said.

        

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