Spring musical season in full swing

My flower garden is very confused.

All of the warm weather in February has got a lot of green stuff thinking it’s time to be poking out of last year’s mulch. The buds on the trees and the spongy consistency of my backyard all testify to the fact that the calendar has turned the page to March and — dare I say it — that weasely groundhog may have been mistaken this year. Knock on wood. Well, whether Old Man Winter has more or less already packed his bags or is just napping on the couch is yet to be determined. But one thing is a certainty around here now that the calendar has flipped to March — spring musical season is fully underway!

Hawken got us going early this year with “Les Miserables,” but soon a number of productions will be competing for your attention each week. Time to see our budding young thespians flower on local stages!

March comes in like a Notre Dame Cathedral Latin High School Lion this weekend as the school at 13000 Auburn Road in Chardon presents their annual spring musical, “My Fair Lady.” Performances are March 2-5 at 7 p.m. in the O’Brien Center. Tickets are on sale now through NDCL’s online seat reservation system. All seats are $12, but NDCL students may reserve their seats for free by entering their student ID numbers on the online order form. Call 440-286-6226 for more information or check them out online at www.ndcl.org/MyFairLady.aspx. This Lerner and Lowe Broadway classic won six Tony Awards in 1957 for its story about the transformation of a cockney flower girl by a phonetics professor in London in the early nineteenth century.

You are sure to recognize a number or tunes, including “Get Me to the Church on Time” and “I’ve Grown Accustomed to Her Face.” Alan Jay Lerner wrote the play’s book and lyrics, and Frederick Loewe composed the musical score. “My Fair Lady” was adapted from “Pygmalion,” a 1913 play by George Bernard Shaw, and the classic motion picture by Gabriel Pascals.

Performing Arts Department chairperson Shirley Ivancic Stall directs the production. Assisting Stall are music teacher Adam Pysell as musical director; Family and Consumer Sciences chairperson Mary Wheelock with costuming, hair, and make-up; and science teacher Melissa Parey as production manager.

“I like the people,” says Tom Fogarty, who plays Henry Higgins. “It’s a group unlike no other, honestly. Acting forms a bond with them that seals a memory that can’t be broken.”

“My favorite part about ‘My Fair Lady’ is the cast and crew,” agrees Hannah Taylor, who plays Mrs. Higgins. “It is composed of a wonderful group of individuals who continue to make every rehearsal better and more fun than the last. It’s great to be with a group of such fantastic people! We’ve all grown extremely comfortable without each other, and at the end of the day, we all support each other.”

“What I like most about ‘My Fair Lady’ and playing the character of Eliza is being able to transform into someone completely different throughout the show for the audience to see,” says leading lady Marissa Webb.

“My favorite part about ‘My Fair Lady’ is the experiences that you get when preforming and rehearsing,” says Carter Callender, who is playing Alfred Doolittle/Zoltan Karpathy. “They are priceless moments that bring us as a cast closer together.”

Rounding out the cast are Zach Smith as Colonel Pickering, Briana Cowman as Mrs. Pearce, and Tad Brennan as Freddy. The entire cast, crew, and orchestra include more than 45 students. Check out their work this weekend.

Steve Couch Young Thespians