'My Fair Lady' revival makes it to Chicago after pandemic pause

Shareen Ahmed at the Cadillac Palace Theatre. Photo credit Lisa Fielding

By Lisa Fielding

(WBBM NEWSRADIO) — A beloved musical is at the Cadillac Palace Theatre for the next week.

My Fair Lady opened on Broadway in 1956, and a popular film with Audrey Hepburn and Rex Harrison followed in 1964. The classic score includes “Get Me to the Church on Time,” “Wouldn’t It Be Loverly,” “The Rain in Spain” and “I’ve Grown Accustomed to Her Face.”

The plot, originating from George Bernard Shaw’s play, follows phonetics professor Henry Higgins as he tries to transform Eliza Doolittle, a Cockney working-class girl, into someone who can pass for a member of high society — and the emotional turmoil that causes when the scheme succeeds.

The revival of the Lerner & Loewe musical was supposed to stop in Chicago in 2020, but the pandemic changed that, says Shareen Ahmed, who portrays Eliza.

Eliza Doolittle begins her ascent into high society in "My Fair Lady." Photo credit Broadway in Chicago

“I’ve truly been so patient and waiting to visit Chicago and tell the story,” she tells WBBM Newsradio.

Ahmed said she also appreciates the opportunity to be a part of such a legacy with her role. But she had to put her own stamp on the part, she said.

“It started with Julie Andrews, iconic in her own right,” Ahmed says of the first actress to play Eliza onstage. “And then, Audrey Hepburn.

“I’m inspired by them, I’m inspired by the story and incredibly honored to tell the story.”

Blast from the past: the classic film version cast. Director George Cukor (right) with (left to right) Audrey Hepburn, Rex Harrison and Wilfrid Hyde-White. Photo credit Getty Images

My Fair Lady runs through July 10 at the Cadillac Palace.