PhotosPhoto Exclusive: A Week at The Muny With My Fair Lady's Loverly Eliza, Alexandra SilberThe Muny production of Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe’s Tony-winning musical My Fair Lady, which launched the summer season at the St. Louis venue, was presented June 15-21. Leading lady Alexandra Silber (Master Class) offers an exclusive look behind the scenes!
By
Matthew Blank
June 22, 2015
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Photo Exclusive: A Week at The Muny With My Fair Lady's Loverly Eliza, Alexandra Silber
Photo Exclusive: A Week at The Muny With My Fair Lady's Loverly Eliza, Alexandra Silber
The Muny production of Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe’s Tony-winning musical My Fair Lady, which launched the summer season at the St. Louis venue, was presented June 15-21. Leading lady Alexandra Silber (Master Class) offers an exclusive look behind the scenes!
24 PHOTOS
'ello 'ello 'ello! Welcome to the 97th season at The Muny, kicking off with My Fair Lady.
Alexandra Silber
10 years ago, as a fresh graduate of the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, I had the extraordinary honor of making my professional debut in Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Woman in White, opposite one Anthony Andrews. He was a perfect leading gentleman, and this show is a dream come true for us. [NOTE: we both wore a *lot* of makeup in The WiW...]
Alexandra Silber
Here we are before the big season opener. That would be 11,000 seats. No pressure...
Alexandra Silber
Our fearless leader (and MUNY veteran) Marc Bruni welcomes the cast on the first day of rehearsal in the "Music Room"
Alexandra Silber
Look: there are only so many reasons a girl plays Eliza Doolittle. 1. The hats. 2. The outfits 3. ... the...well, the role.
The MUNY Hall of Fame is an impressive line of theatrical luminaries. Obviously I have my priorities [obsessions] ...
Alexandra Silber
Rehearsing in the outdoor West Pavilion must be what it is like rehearsing the talent show IN HEAVEN.
Alexandra Silber
You really should hear Matthew Scott sing that gorgeous stalker ditty.
Alexandra Silber
The Muny's incredible scenic artists created 80 hand-painted paintings for Professor Higgins' study.
Alexandra Silber
This was what it all looked like as it came together...
Alexandra Silber
...And here those paintings are on Tim Mackabee's glorious set.
Alexandra Silber
"HA HA HA--" or, rehearsal dignity.
Alexandra Silber
Opening night, our amazing team ran the three and a half hour show in the blazing Missouri sun! There were hats and umbrellas and rain and LOTS OF FEELINGS.
Alexandra Silber
Ben Whitely passionately conducts our luscious 27 piece orchestra. This sure was one incredible sitzprobe!
Alexandra Silber
Only at The Muny do you get two "shows" at once--sometimes nature sure is "loverly..."
Alexandra Silber
ASCOT: Or, costume dreams come true....
Alexandra Silber
Michael McCormick: THEATRICAL TREASURE
Alexandra Silber
Sometimes we have to stop for the rain. The rain in Spain stays mainly on the... stage. But that means 'Showstop Photo-op!'
Alexandra Silber
We might have finished the show at 1am (and made MUNY history!) but rain delays also lead to incredible theatrical storytime in my dressing room with these gorgeous legends.
Alexandra Silber
This is Paxton Whitehead. He is playing Colonel Pickering LIKEABOSS. He is a theatrical legend and has the world's best one-liners. He also wore this pink straw hat for the entirety of tech.
Alexandra Silber
Look: Matthew Scott trained hard at Carnegie Mellon University. So we took this rain pause to keep sharp with Zip zap zop, trust falls and mirror exercises. In Cardinals hats. (Because, St. Louis.)
Alexandra Silber
Evidence of our comedic sharpness. Thanks acting exercises!
Alexandra Silber
Opening Night glory with this beautiful cast!
Alexandra Silber
After 10 years of friendship, I've grown accustomed to his face!
The cast was led by Anthony Andrews as Henry Higgins, a role he played in a 2001 London production; Alexandra Silber, who appeared on Broadway in Master Class, as Eliza Doolittle; Paxton Whitehead as Colonel Pickering, a role he played in the 1993 Broadway revival; Michael McCormick, a Broadway regular in Curtains and other shows, as Alfred P. Doolittle; Matthew Scott (Freddy Eynsford-Hill); Zoe Vonder Haar (Mrs. Higgins); and Peggy Billo (Mrs. Pearce).
The company also included Lori Barrett-Pagano, Leah Berry, Anna Blair, Steve Czarnecki, Thom Dancy, Colby Dezelick, Samantha Farrow, Matt Faucher, Ellie Fishman, Tanya Haglund, Michael Hartung, Steve Isom, Jacob Lacopo, Lee Anne Mathews, Russell McCook, Kaela O'Connor, Rich Pisarkiewicz and Paul Scanlan. My Fair Lady, according to press notes, "tells the story of Eliza Doolittle, a Cockney flower girl who takes speech lessons from professor Henry Higgins, a phoneticist, so that she may pass as a lady." Based on George Bernard Shaw’s Pygmalion, My Fair Lady features such classic as “On The Street Where You Live,” “I Could Have Danced All Night,” “I’ve Grown Accustomed To Her Face” and “Wouldn’t It Be Loverly?”
Directed by Marc Bruni, the limited engagement was choreographed by Chris Bailey and music-directed by Ben Whiteley.
The production also had scenic design by Timothy R. Mackabee with costume design by Amy Clark, lighting design by John Lasiter, sound design by John Shivers and Hugh Sweeney and video design by Nathan W. Scheuer. Wig design was by Leah J. Loukas, and the production stage manager is Nevin Hedley.
The play comes on the heels of a broader cultural conversation about Dahl's work and the prejudice that was embedded in many of his most beloved stories.
![The MUNY Hall of Fame is an impressive line of theatrical luminaries. Obviously I have my priorities [obsessions] ...](http://assets.playbill.com/editorial/_embeddedGallerySize/04a2ea048364698a13cd181a9ab5454f-silbermfl-06.jpg)
