Welcome to a new Musical Theatre Monday! This month, we’re flashing back to a July from long ago — 1976 to be exact, when the Melody Top Theatre in Milwaukee put on a production of Lerner & Loewe’s classic My Fair Lady (1956), starring Linda Michele as Eliza, and in the role of Henry Higgins, a famous Star Trek veteran by the name of Leonard Nimoy.
Yes, Spock himself took on the Rex Harrison part, and I’m offering subscribers — who comment below to alert me of their private, non-commercial interest — access to an audio recording from this brief production, where Nimoy reveals his chops as a creature of the theatre. Here’s an excerpt — “I’ve Grown Accustomed To Her Face.” Enjoy!
Oh, and act now — before July ends! — and I’ll also throw in another audio of a My Fair Lady production featuring a TV legend in the role of Higgins: the 2007 New York Philharmonic concert, starring Kelsey Grammer, opposite Kelli O’Hara, with a cast that includes Charles Kimbrough, Brian Dennehy, and Marni Nixon. Here’s Grammer’s rendition of the same.
Come back next month for a new musical rarity! And stay tuned tomorrow for more Empty Nest!