Next few days are last ‘loverly’ opportunity to see ‘My Fair Lady’

Artistic Civic Theatre in Dalton, Ga., will end its run of “My Fair Lady” this weekend.

Based on George Bernard Shaw’s play “Pygmalion,” the musical from lyricist/librettist Alan Jay Lerner and composer Frederick Loewe was a Broadway smash when it debuted in 1956. It was nominated for 10 Tony Awards and won six, including Best Musical. The Broadway run was followed by a hit London production, a popular film version and numerous revivals.

In the story, pompous phonetics professor Henry Higgins is so sure of his abilities that he takes it upon himself to transform a Cockney working-class girl into someone who can pass for a cultured member of high society. His subject turns out to be the lovely Eliza Doolittle, who agrees to speech lessons to improve her job prospects. Higgins and Eliza clash, then form an unlikely bond – one that is threatened by an aristocratic suitor.

Songs from the musical include “Wouldn’t It Be Loverly,” “The Rain in Spain,” “I Could Have Danced All Night,” “On the Street Where You Live” and “I’ve Grown Accustomed to Her Face.”

Greer Caldwell and Wes Phinney have starring roles in the ACT production. Others in the cast are Keith Rollins, John Hutcheson, Ted Long, Tanner Jaco, Amanda Havelin, Jan Corbin, Emma Phinney, Jim Brinkley, Rodney West, Lori Southerland, Brooke Douglas, Josiah West, Cassia Mugge and Russ Southerland.