Why can’t the English learn to speak?
That’s Professor Henry Higgins’s question in the musical “My Fair Lady,” an adaptation of George Bernard Shaw’s “Pygmalion.”
On next year’s trip to Ashland, Ore., Oct. 1-4, all juniors and seniors will be required to see “My Fair Lady,” held in the Angus Bowmer Theater.
In the play Higgins teaches a Cockney flower girl to speak like a lady.
According to English teacher Ron Bell, musicals are hard in the Ashland theaters because of setup and cost (musicals are expensive due to elaborate costumes and a full live orchestra).
Juniors in AP English III and all seniors are also required to see William Shakespeare’s “King Lear.”
An optional play is the American classic “A Streetcar Named Desire,” written by Tennessee Williams, which is set in New Orleans, where teacher Blanche DuBois is forced to move in with her sister Stella and Stella’s husband, Stanley.
“Williams is famous for his profound but sometimes shocking ability to portray people facing extreme emotional situations,” Bell said.
Juniors in English III will see William Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” in the Elizabethan Theater.
Other plays include “The Heart of Robin Hood,” “The Taming of the Shrew,” “The Tenth Muse,” “Cymbeline” and “The Unfortunates.”
