Hodge & Barrett to Lead “My Fair Lady” at Bay Street

[caption id="attachment_51282" align="alignnone" width="800"] Douglas Hodge and Kelli Barrett, at Bay Street Theater’s Curtain’s Up Spring Fundraiser, will star in this summer’s production of “My Fair Lady.”[/caption]

Olivier and Tony Award winning actor Douglas Hodge will join Kelli Barrett as the stars of this summer’s production of “My Fair Lady” at Bay Street Theater in Sag Harbor.

“My Fair Lady,” with books and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner, music by Federick Loewe and based on “Pygmalion” by George Bernard Shaw and Gabriel Pascal’s motion picture, will be directed by Michael Arden, a Tony Award nominee and Outer Critics Circle Award winner for Best Director of a Musical for the Broadway revival of “Spring Awakening.” “My Fair Lady” will be staged at Bay Street August 2 through August 28.

Mr. Hodge will star as Professor Henry Higgins, with Ms. Barrett — the star of last season’s “Zhivago” on Broadway — performing the role of Eliza Doolittle. They will be joined by Howard McGillin — who was featured in last season’s “Grey Gardens” at Bay Street — as Colonel Pickering, John O'Creagh as Alfred P. Doolittle, and Bobby Conte Thornton as Freddy Eynsford-Hill.

The musical follows Eliza Doolittle, a cockney flower seller who meets the imperious and attractive Professor Henry Higgins one night in Covent Garden. The two agree to embark on a daring experiment together. Higgins wagers that he can transform the "deliciously low" Eliza into a lady fit for society by teaching her to speak more beautifully.  Sparks fly in what becomes a funny and ferocious battle of the sexes, a struggle of classes, and a rollicking romance. Mr. Arden's innovative new production will feature two pianos and 15 actors.

"This is an astounding team of artists that has come together to create a bold new “My Fair Lady” for the final show of Bay Street's 25th Anniversary Season this summer," says Artistic Director Scott Schwartz. "Douglas Hodge is one of the leading actors of his generation, and I have admired his work for years, from his Tony and Olivier award-winning performance as Albin in ‘La Cage Aux Folles’ to the television series ‘Penny Dreadful’ and the current ‘The Night Manager.’ Kelli Barrett is a wonderful actress and has one of the most beautiful singing voices on Broadway. With the two of them leading a remarkable cast under the direction of Michael Arden, one of the most visionary directors working today, I am sure “My Fair Lady” will be a production our audience will be talking about for years to come."

For more information or to purchase a 2016 Mainstage Season subscription, visit baystreet.org or call (631) 725-9500.