My Fair Lady at Montecasino: All You Need to Know About This Blockbuster Musical

Following the sell-out success of The Sound Of Music in the 2023/24 summer season, Pieter Toerien Productions and Cape Town Opera will present Lerner & Loewe’s musical masterpiece, My Fair Lady at the Teatro at Montecasino in Johannesburg from 25 January 2025 to 2 March 2025.

The show will be directed by Steven Stead (The Sound of Music, Metamorphoses, Cabaret, Sweeney Todd,) with design by Greg King, musical direction by Kevin Kraak and choreography by Duane Alexander. Here’s all you need to know.

What is My Fair Lady about?

My Fair Lady tells the story of Eliza Doolittle, a Cockney flower girl, who receives elocution lessons from Henry Higgins, a phonetics professor, so she can pass as a lady in early twentieth-century England. As Eliza transforms, a complex relationship develops between them as she grapples with her class, identity and the power of language.

A stellar lineup of the best local talent

The coveted lead role of Eliza Doolittle will be shared by Cape Town Opera’s Brittany Smith. Smith (who recently completed a successful performance in Orpheus McAdoo, and received glowing reviews for Master Class and Lucia di Lammermoor) won a Fleur du Cap Theatre Award earlier this year for her role as Maria in The Sound of Music, another hit Pieter Toerien Production and produced with Cape Town Opera. As with the latter production, Smith will share the role of Eliza with Leah Mari (Company).

Leading the male cast is Craig Urbani (The Sound Of Music, We Will Rock You, Chicago) as Henry Higgins and Graham Hopkins (Witness for the Prosecution, Hansard, Equus) as Colonel Pickering.

The rest of the lineup includes Mark Richardson as Doolittle, Sandi Dlangalala as Freddy Eynsford-Hill, Adrienne Pearce as Mrs Higgins, Namhla Tshuka as Mrs Eynsford-Hill, Megan Spencer as Mrs Pearce, Ryan Flynn as Harry and Gareth Meijsen as Jamie.

Relive all the beloved songs and classics

Boasting a score that features timeless songs such as ‘I Could Have Danced All Night’, ‘The Rain in Spain’, ‘Get Me to the Church on Time’, ‘Wouldn’t It Be Loverly’, ‘I’m Just An Ordinary Man’, ‘On the Street Where You Live’ and ‘I’ve Grown Accustomed to Her Face’, this grand production is set to enthral audiences of all ages. South African theatregoers will once again fall in love with Eliza Doolittle!

My Fair Lady is “one of the greatest musicals of all time!”

According to the award-winning lyricist Tim Rice, My Fair Lady is one of the greatest musicals of all time. My Fair Lady premiered for the first time on Broadway in 1956 and ran for 2,717 performances, making it the longest-running musical in Broadway history at the time. The show also won 6 Tony Awards including Best Musical.

The original production is adapted from George Bernard Shaw’s play and Gabriel Pascal’s motion picture Pygmalion, while the book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe.

Need to know before you go

The venue is wheelchair-friendly, and drinks and light snacks are served in lower and upper foyers. No children under 3 or babies in arms are permitted at the show. Special seating with wireless facilities is available for hearing-impaired guests.