By JOSH ANDREWS

The Mirror reporter

Every year, Stevens Point Area Senior High (SPASH) puts on a musical for the school and community to enjoy. This year, SPASH will be putting on the musical “My Fair Lady” on Feb. 2, Feb. 3 and Feb. 4.

The musical is about an uneducated Cockney girl living in England during the early 1900’s named Eliza Doolittle. She meets a very well-respected man named Henry Higgins who studies phonetics and teaches Eliza how to speak and act like a proper English lady.

Dena Mercer and Deb Pionek are directing the musical. Cynthia Kiepert is the orchestra director.

“I’ve wanted to do this show for a long time. I am a traditionalist by nature and like old shows. I’ve done new shows, old shows, and wanted to go back to the old standards and I am most looking forward to seeing it all come together. I have a picture in my head and I can’t wait to see it all come together,” Mercer said.

Eliza Doolittle is played by senior Katrina Stelk. “I am so excited to be playing Eliza Doolittle in this year’s SPASH musical, ‘My Fair Lady.’ Before this, I had never even heard of the musical, but it is a great story. Eliza’s character truly transforms throughout the course of the show and brings a strong sense of girl power at the end, which I love.

“Prior to this musical, I have only been in two other shows. That makes me practically a baby in the musical world, but it has driven me to work so much harder. Although, I’d be silly to say I’m not nervous, I actually am.

“The hardest part would have to be the memorization. It’s one thing to be able to act and sing but memorizing lines is a whole other ball game. No one wants to be in front of a crowd and have their mind go completely blank.

“All in all, I could not be any more stoked for the performance! The cast and I are working so hard to make it the best show it can be. I truly believe this is a show anyone can come to and get a good laugh out of.”

Henry Higgins will be played by senior Jordan Garski. “I really like it so far because the character is kind of a jerk but turns into a kinder person in the end. The hardest part is getting the old English language and slang down.

“The songs are really good and are not like the traditional musical songs people normally see. They are more forceful and mean. I would recommend going to see it because it is a really good show and funny at times,” Garski said.

“[Stelk and Garksi] have a really strong commitment to the show and are great mentors to the younger cast members. They have a very strong chemistry on stage. I can see their friendship in general and that then makes their relationship on stage much better,” Mercer said.

Additional lead characters are Colonel Pickering played by Noah Tolbert and Alfred P. Doolittle played by Tom Felt.