90 | JULY 14 • 2022

R

eturning to Michigan
as the general manager
of Lerner & Loewe’s My
Fair Lady is going to be quite
‘loverly’ for Karen Berry.
As a little girl growing up
in Huntington Woods, Berry’s
parents had only
two records —
the original cast
recordings of Kiss
Me Kate and My
Fair Lady.
“I played the
records over and over on our
Victrola,
” says Berry, who
accompanies the production
team of My Fair Lady during its
stay at the Detroit Opera House
through July 24.
“This is full circle for me.
Because of the exposure to this
musical when I was 4 years old,
I have a soft spot in my heart.

Of everything I’ve ever done in
my career, this is the show I’m
most proud to be affiliated with
and makes me the happiest,
”
she said.
As general manager, Berry
is responsible for strategizing
and executing all production
costs including actor and
crew contracts, administrative
operations and show sched-
uling. In addition to My Fair
Lady, Berry has been general
manager for many national
tours including Cats, On Your
Feet, An American in Paris
and Love Never Dies–The
Phantom Returns. She’s worked
on Broadway with Showboat,
Quilters, Asinamali and
with the Royal Shakespeare
Company’s Carrie and on sev-
eral shows in Chicago including
Old Jews Telling Jokes. Besides

theatrical productions, Berry
has served as general manager
for large concerts and immer-
sive events all over the country.
Lerner & Loewe’s produc-
tion of My Fair Lady originally
opened at Lincoln Center in
New York City three years
ago and took home five Outer
Critics Circle Awards in addi-
tion to being nominated for
five Drama Desk Awards, three

Drama League Awards and 10
Tony Awards.
It’s the musical tale of Eliza
Doolittle (Shereen Ahmed),
a Cockney guttersnipe who
begrudgingly accepts phonetics
lessons from Professor Henry
Higgins (Laird Mackintosh) in
his quest to reform Eliza into a
society woman. Audience song
favorites include “Wouldn’t
it Be Loverly,
” “Get Me to the

Karen Berry

ARTS&LIFE
THEATER

A ‘loverly’ return home
for My Fair Lady’s general
manager Karen Berry.

Putting it
All Together

JULIE SMITH YOLLES CONTRIBUTING WRITER

DETAILS
Tickets for the Lincoln Center Theater’s production of
Lerner & Loewe’s My Fair Lady appearing July 12-24,
2022, at the Detroit Opera House located at 1526
Broadway in Detroit start at $25 and can be purchased
online at ticketmaster.com, by phone at (800) 982-2787
or in person at the Fisher Theatre Box Office. For more
information, including COVID health and safety policies,
go to www.BroadwayInDetroit.com.

Shereen Ahmed as Eliza
Doolittle (on stairs) and
Company in the Lincoln
Center Theater produc-
tion of Lerner & Loewe’s
My Fair Lady.