“MY FAIR LADY”

Press, Volume CI, Issue 29716, 9 January 1962, Page 2

“MY FAIR LADY”

Formal Dress Invited

Enclosed with tickets, now being sent out for opening night of “My Fair Lady” in Christchurch, are cards inviting patrons to wear formal evening dress for the gala occasion. Miss Miriam Peppier, advance manager for the company, said yesterday that the first night audiences in both Auckland and Wellington gladly responded to the suggestion on the first night of the long-awaited show. In both cities many women wore full-length, formal evening gowns and some of their escorts wore formal evening suits, she said. But the majority of the women in the first-night audience chose short evening dresses and most of the men wore dinner suits. There was a scattering of men’s dark lounge suits at the two premieres.

“The show will open in Christchurch on February 8 and as it could be a hot summer evening, women patrons here are likely to prefer short, cool evening frocks to long gowns,” she said. For “My Fair Lady” the Theatre Royal is now being given a “face-lift” outside and will be dressed inside with flowers and special decorations for opening night. “For the first performance the ‘red carpet,’ which has been used on gala nights throughout New Zealand, will be laid out in the stalls foyer,” Miss Peppier said. “The special decorations and set pieces for the foyer and lounge will be created by Christchurch floral artists.” February 8 is an anniversary for the company. It was on this date one year ago that the cast arrived in Auckland to begin its recordbreaking tour of New Zealand.