CULLMAN, Ala. – The Cullman Community Theatre wrapped up the final two performances of “My Fair Lady” on Saturday, Aug. 29, 2026 at the Cullman High School Auditorium.
Prior to their first performance of the day production director Kristy McCrickard spoke to the Tribune about the play as a whole.
“This cast is a collaboration of very experienced theater people and people who – this is their first show! It has been remarkable. As a director it is so fun to see that happen and come together.”
She went on, “This is truly community theatre. Yet, it has been on a more professional level just because of the collaboration and mentoring that’s happened.”
Crickard acknowledged the devotion from every participant, no matter the title. “It has been a joy as a director to see that happen.”
She also made a point to note that, going into the start of the production, “My Fair Lady” is considered a classic musical production. The directors acknowledged the need to make the production palatable to a newer audience.
“I feel that we’ve done that with casting. We have a lot of younger people in the ensemble with- I would call it brilliant energy! We really tried to focus on the relationships of the characters, so that’s helped appeal to a broad audience.”
The first day of June marked the start of practice for cast members, stage crew and so on and so forth! This gave all participants roughly three months before their first showing on Mon. Aug. 24.
Savannah Seay, playing the role of Eliza Doolittle, stated the process has been, “An absolute joy! We have the most fun people that we are working with and we’ve just had a great time creating this story together.”
“It’s been a long time coming. We’ve worked our entire summer with all of us working together on how we want this story portrayed to our audience because many are not familiar with the story.”
She elaborated that “My Fair Lady” is the classic retelling of “Pygmalion”, a play by George Bernard Shaw in 1913. The story follows a girl that changes everything about herself, going from a very lowly flower girl, to a huge transformation into a refined lady.
“There’s a lot of comedy along the way.” She added.
She also expanded on the amount of time the theatre participants spend together, “We’ve supported each other and a lot of people have had things going on throughout the summer, whether it be personal things or things at work, and, yes, things within the show that we’ve had to work on together. We’ve all gotten pretty close.”
“This is volunteer, we’re doing this outside of your regular lives. It is a big commitment, but everyone has put their whole heart and soul into it. It’s made this whole process worth every moment.”
Seay described the entire cast and crew as one big family.
Rich Valenta, cast as Professor Henry Higgins, described his debut as challenging, being his first ever performance.
He had initially auditioned for the part of , but amidst a callback received his spot in the leading role.
“It’s been really rewarding.” Valenta stated.
He noted that his daughter, Skylar Valenta, had started shows very early on in her life and joining the Cullman Community Theatre was a way to be closer. She had actually recommended her father audition for the show.
“It has been so cool. There’s downtime while we’re practicing and I get to catch up with her. I get to dance with her in the waltz – it’s been great.”
“Cullman Community Theatre – all of these guys are now like family.” Valenta went on, “You spend a lot of time with each other. It’s great because you get to break out of the people that you know and are used to. You bond and find your groups. Everyone is different here and it’s amazing to get to really know so many different people, how they’re thinking, how they’re ticking and come together and do a show!”
The curtains closed to conclude the performance of “My Fair Lady” for the last time around 9 p.m. on Aug. 29 at the Cullman High School Auditorium, but the community and family that is Cullman Community Theatre will return with a new production before we know it!
The theatre wrote this following their performance: “This My Fair Lady production team right here is a dream. Their expertise, creativity, and dedication set a high standard for what community theatre can be!
Mix that with the incredible talent Cullman has to offer, and the result is something truly special. The caliber of this production is a testament to the many people who have poured their time, talent, and hard work into bringing it to life!
We are so proud of this team and incredibly grateful to be part of a community that continues to show up, work hard, and create amazing theatre together.”
They credited the following individuals:
Director & Choreographer: Kristy McCrickard
Assistant Director & Musical Director: Rodney Basenburg
Assistant Director & Pianist: Debbie Johnson
Choreographer & Social Media Specialist: Madalyn Jordan
Ser Design & Tech Director: Wayne Cook
Lighting Design & Tech Director: Aaron Johnston
Sound Design: Chris Van Dyke
Stage Manager & Costumes: Laura Harris
Assistant Stage Manager: Connor Seay
Set Builder: Levi Strickland
Set Builder: Mark Priess
Lighting Tech: Karen Harmon
Sound Tech: Paul Miller
Stage Crew: shoutout!
Directors, stage crew, set builders and more contributors to the performance of “My Fair Lady” (Cullman Community Theatre)
