Stage Door News
Niagara-on-the-Lake: The Shaw Festival has two shows playing this winter
Thursday, October 3, 2024
The Shaw Festival continues to enchant into the holiday season with two audience and critic favourites – Lerner and Loewe’s My Fair Lady and A Christmas Carol.
“The magic of the holiday season will once again be upon us. Join us in Niagara-on-the-Lake, the merriest of holiday destinations, and celebrate the spirit of the Season with the timeless
A Christmas Carol – the perfect annual reminder of what the holidays are all about,” said Artistic Director Tim Carroll. “While here, why not revisit our production of Lerner and Loewe’s miraculous musical My Fair Lady at the Festival Theatre? From October 17, Allan Louis steps into the iconic role of Henry Higgins; I can’t wait to see what he will bring to the part. Over at the Royal George, Ryan G. Hinds puts his own spin on A Christmas Carol starting November 8. You have until December 22 to enjoy our take on these beloved classics.”
The 2024 Shaw Festival holiday playbill cast and creative teams:
FESTIVAL THEATRE
Lerner and Loewe's
MY FAIR LADY
BOOK AND LYRICS BY ALAN JAY LERNER
MUSIC BY FREDERICK LOEWE
Adapted from Bernard Shaw’s Play and
Gabriel Pascal’s Motion Picture Pygmalion
Original Production Directed by Moss Hart
Co-directed by Tim Carroll and Kimberley Rampersad
Choreography by Kimberley Rampersad
Music direction by Paul Sportelli
Set design by Lorenzo Savoini
Costume design by Joyce Padua
Lighting design by Mikael Kangas
Sound design by John Lott
Closes December 22
Cockney flower girl Eliza Doolittle (Kristi Frank) dreams of a better life. Through a chance encounter, she finds herself caught in the middle of a bet between Henry Higgins (Allan Louis), a renowned but misanthropic professor of phonetics, and Colonel Pickering (David Alan Anderson), an enthusiastic fellow linguist. Higgins vows to transform Eliza from a coarse, working-class nobody into an elite, upper-class socialite in six months.
Lerner and Loewe’s My Fair Lady also features David Adams, Matt Alfano, Tat Austrie, Alana Bridgewater, Shane Carty, Sharry Flett, JJ Gerber, Élodie Gillett, Patty Jamieson, Gryphyn Karimloo, Graeme Kitagawa, Tama Martin, Allison McCaughey, André Morin, Ruthie Nkut, Drew Plummer, Jade Repeta, Kiera Sangster, Jeremiah Sparks, Gabriella Sundar Singh, Taurian Teelucksingh and Jacqueline Thair.
This Shaw Festival production of Lerner and Loewe’s My Fair Lady is recommended for audience members 9+/Grade 4+. The run-time is 3 hours, including one intermission. Sponsored by BMO Financial Group and Mary E. Hill. Funded by the Government of Ontario. Vintage Hotels is the official hotel partner. The Festival Theatre Season is supported by Ontario Cultural Attractions Fund/Le Fonds Pour Les Manifestations Culturelles De L’Ontario (OCAF/FMCO).
ROYAL GEORGE THEATRE
A CHRISTMAS CAROL
By Charles Dickens
Adapted and originally directed by Tim Carroll
Directed by Ryan G. Hinds
Set and costume design by Christine Lohre
Lighting design by Kevin Lamotte
Original music by Paul Sportelli
Music direction by Ryan deSouza
Original movement and puppetry direction by Alexis Milligan
Previews November 8 - Closes December 22
Sanjay Talwar returns as miserly Ebenezer Scrooge, the curmudgeon everyone loves to hate. Quite comfortable constantly humbugging the holidays, he is taught the error of his ways by the ghostly visitations of his deceased business partner Jacob Marley, Christmas Past (Tara Rosling), Christmas Present (Shawn Wright) and Christmas Yet to Come.
The Shaw’s charming annual adaptation also features Kristopher Bowman as Mr. Hubble, Allison Edwards-Crewe as Emily, Marlene Ginader as Belle, Jenny L. Wright as Mrs. Dilber, Jay Turvey as Bob Cratchit, Lawrence Libor as Fred and Marla McLean as Mrs. Cratchit, with Katie Ryerson, Travis Seetoo and Gryphyn Karimloo.
Direct bus service from Downtown Toronto and Burlington to Niagara-on-the-Lake is available on the Toronto-Niagara Shaw Express. Luxury buses are standard size wheelchair accessible, offer free Wi-Fi and have an on-board host. $34 return per person. Ticket to a performance is required. Please pre-arrange with the Box Office. Schedule is subject to change. Please confirm dates and times with the Shaw Festival Box Office. For more information or to purchase tickets or a seat on the Toronto-Niagara Shaw Express, please contact the Shaw Festival Box Office at 1-800-511-SHAW or visit shawfest.com.