Opera superstar joins cast of My Fair Lady

Opera superstar Lesley Garrett will be playing the role of Mrs Pearce in Lerner & Loewe 's critically acclaimed My Fair Lady when it comes to the city next year, Birmingham Hippodrome announced last week.

The show is set to run from Wednesday, 8 March to Sunday, 19 March next year.

Lesley is Britain 's best-known soprano, regularly appearing in opera, musical theatre, concert, on television and CD.

For more than 30 years, she has enjoyed one of the most successful and idiosyncratic careers of any modern-day, classically trained soprano, winning both critical acclaim and the affection of many fans and music lovers through the breadth and diversity of her work.

Internationally, Lesley has performed throughout Europe, the USA, Australia, Russia, Brazil, Japan, Malaysia, Taiwan and South Korea.

Lesley will be joining a stellar cast which includes Michael D. Xavier as Henry Higgins, Charlotte Kennedy as Eliza Doolittle, Adam Woodyatt as Alfred P. Doolittle, Heather Jackson as Mrs Higgins, John Middleton as Colonel Pickering and Tom Liggins as Freddy Eynsford-Hill

Directed by Bartlett Sher, this sublime production, which premiered in the spring of 2018 at Lincoln Center 's Vivian Beaumont Theater, was the winner of the Tony Award for Best Costume Design, five Outer Critics ' Circle Awards including Best Musical Revival, the Drama League Award for Outstanding Musical Revival, and the Drama Desk Awards for Best Musical Revival and Costume Design.

My Fair Lady tells the story of Eliza Doolittle, a young Cockney flower seller, and Henry Higgins, a linguistics professor who is determined to transform her into his idea of a “proper lady ”.

With a book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe, My Fair Lady boasts a score including the classic songs “I could have danced all night, ” “get me to the church on time, ” “wouldn 't it be loverly, ” “on the street where you live, ” “the rain in spain, ” and “I 've grown accustomed to her face. ”

Adapted from George Bernard Shaw 's play and Gabriel Pascal 's motion picture Pygmalion, Lerner & Loewe 's My Fair Lady premiered on Broadway in March 1956, winning six Tony Awards including Best Musical, and becoming the longest-running musical in Broadway history at the time.

Following this success, the production transferred to London in 1958, where it played in the West End for five and a half years.

My Fair Lady is on sale now. Tickets can be booked at www.birminghamhippodrome.com or by calling 0844 338 5000*

Pictured: Lesley Garrett as Mrs Pearce with Annie Wensak