Bummed that you can't fly to Theatre Aspen for their special one-night-only presentation of My Fair Lady starring Julie Benko as Eliza Doolittle and Raúl Esparza as Henry Higgins? Don't worry, Playbill has you covered. The two stars, and Nathaniel Stampley as Colonel Pickering, recently gave a special rendition of "The Rain in Spain" exclusively for Playbill. See the performance in the video above.
My Fair Lady will be performed at Colorado's Theatre Aspen July 15, in the Michael Klein Music Tent.
For four-time Tony-nominated actor Esparza, the Lerner and Lowe musical has sentimental value—he first saw the movie when he was very young, courtesy of his uncle. "My family's Cuban, and my uncle was a huge fan of old movies...He had, like, a giant screen TV; it took up the whole wall with 18 surround-sound speakers, and he played My Fair Lady on a laser disc when I was a kid." Even though Esparza never thought he'd do the show, "I was just like, 'That's what musical theatre is.'"
Similarly, the musical has a special place in Benko's heart as well. She recalls how her grandmother, who had Alzheimer's, "when she was mostly gone, the only thing that would bring her back was music. I have a video of us all sitting around the table singing, 'Get Me to the Church on Time' and 'Just You Wait, Henry Higgins.' And my grandma, who could no longer speak, who could not recognize us, was just going like this and applauding."
See Esparza and Benko discuss their love for My Fair Lady in the video below with Playbill's Jeffrey Vizcaíno.
Maggie Burrows will direct the 7:30 PM concert, with Andy Einhorn conducting the Aspen Music Festival Orchestra.
The cast also includes Adam Heller (Some Like It Hot) as Alfred P. Doolittle and Anne L. Nathan (Thoroughly Modern Millie) as Mrs. Pearce.
The upcoming concert is the company's latest in a series of theatrical presentations, which has previously presented Fiddler on the Roof, Master Class, The Sound of Music, South Pacific, and a revue of songs by Richard Rodgers. See the actors rehearse in the photos below.
Gregory Lee Rodriguez, Anne L. Nathan, Adam Heller, Julie Benko, Nathaniel Stampley, and Raúl Esparza
Julie Benko and Raúl Esparza
Nathaniel Stampley, Julie Benko, and Raúl Esparza
Nathaniel Stampley, Julie Benko, and Raúl Esparza
Julie Benko and Raúl Esparza
Julie Benko
Nathaniel Stampley, Julie Benko, and Raúl Esparza
Raúl Esparza, Nathaniel Stampley, and Julie Benko
Nathaniel Stampley, Julie Benko, and Raúl Esparza
Nathaniel Stampley, Julie Benko, and Raúl Esparza
Nathaniel Stampley, Julie Benko, and Raúl Esparza
Nathaniel Stampley and Julie Benko
Julie Benko, Raúl Esparza, and Nathaniel Stampley
Julie Benko, Raúl Esparza, and Nathaniel Stampley
Raúl Esparza
Nathaniel Stampley, Raúl Esparza, and Julie Benko
Raúl Esparza and Julie Benko
Raúl Esparza, Julie Benko, and Nathaniel Stampley
Based on George Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion, My Fair Lady follows a British phonetician who bets a friend that he can make a Cockney flower girl pass as a fine lady to their society friends through linguistic work, grooming, and etiquette lessons. The work premiered on Broadway in 1956, starring Rex Harrison and making a star of a then-20-year-old Julie Andrews. The classic score introduced such Lerner and Loewe favorites as "I Could Have Danced All Night," "Wouldn't It Be Loverly?," "On the Street Where You Live," "Get Me to the Church on Time," and "I've Grown Accustomed to Her Face." The work has become a classic of the musical theatre canon, getting a Best Picture Oscar-winning film adaptation starring Harrison and Audrey Hepburn in 1964, and Broadway revivals in 1976, 1981, 1993, and 2018.
The upcoming Colorado concert is a collaboration between Theatre Aspen and The Aspen Music Festival and School. The performance is being presented through special arrangement with Music Theatre International.
Tickets are at AspenMusicFestival.com.
