On November 15th and 16th, the CHS Theatre Department will welcome audiences to enjoy their production of George Bernard Shaw’s Pygmalion. The early-twentieth century stage play was later brought to broadway in 1956 as My Fair Lady, with additional scenes and an iconic soundtrack.
The show follows the hilarious antics of the arrogant phonetician Henry Higgins (Jacob Torres), his far more polite colleague Colonel Pickering (Doug Whitworth), and their stubborn pupil Eliza Doolittle (Anna Code). Professor Higgins and Colonel Pickering try to transform Eliza into a duchess over the course of the play. Since Shaw’s play takes place in London, Pygmalion’s cast has practiced extensively, developing English accents to speak in throughout the entire show!
As evident in the actors’ efforts to perfect the English dialect, there is so much that goes into making a production the best that it can be. The cast has been memorizing their lines and stage positions, discovering new ways to convey emotion on stage, and of course learning and practicing British accents– the central challenge of the play.
Anna Code shared her favorite part of the show so far: “Being on stage with my friends for the last time, especially Doug and Jacob.” The senior reminisced over her first show with the boys at age 10, Dorothy In Wonderland. “…Now we get to close out our high school performances with this show. This is the most ‘full-circle’ thing to ever happen to me.”
The crew also plays a major role in the production of this show. While unseen by audiences, these Theatre students keep everything on stage, and off stage, moving. They work with the cast to make sure the entire performance is seamless. Zo Wetzel, Prop Master for this year’s fall play, is ready for anything that is thrown their way (including a pair of slippers). Even though the Theater Department has a plethora of props to use, Zo still had to get some items on their own. They said that “The biggest challenge for me has been converting everything onto the physical stage using the script’s descriptions. I really enjoy the ‘interior design’ aspect of building the sets, but mapping everything out is very challenging.” Although the script has some descriptions of the set, most of it is up to interpretation. Zo and the backstage crew have been working tirelessly to transfer the ideas from page to stage.
Many teachers will be distributing extra credit to students who attend the show and provide proof via a signed program! The vintage costumes are fabulous, as is the entire cast and crew. Don’t miss this remarkable opportunity to see Pygmalion in our very own auditorium this November!