Two Broadway obsessed high school seniors in New York City search for the perfect Eliza Doolitle for their brand new, musicalized Pygmalion. But theatrical elitism and privilege get flipped on their heads when a Harlem born-and-bred subway dancer named Alizé arrives with a few lessons of her own to teach.
WORLD PREMIERE, MAY 2025, The Olney Theater
Book & Lyrics: Melvin Tunstall, III
Music: Greg Dean Borowsky and Melvin Tunstall, III
Director: Amy Anders Corcoran
Choreographer: Karla Puno Garcia
Conceived by: Kevin Duda
Synopsis
Inspired by George Bernard Shaw’s classic Pygmalion, our story starts when our high school aged Higgins and Pickering- Juilliard bound George Bernard Washington, III (GB)- and his Broadway obsessed best friend Colin Crosby have their dreams crushed as they learn that the Senior Class Musical production of “My Fair Lady” has been cancelled due to budget cuts. Tenaciously, they convince Coach Johnson (the reluctant Drama Club advisor) to do a royalty free performance of “Pygmalion.” When the coach agrees, the search is on for their perfect Eliza Doolittle. Enter Alize Dorsey and the Beat Club, popular “Showtime!” subway dancers meeting for their normal morning rehearsal. When Alizé uses a “Bridgerton” inspired British accent, GB and Colin use the promise of extra credit for English class to get the Beat Club to join the musical. Alize doesn’t agree to play Eliza Doolittle so easily, but is persuaded by her friends’ enthusiasm and agrees- but only if her “girlfriends” also join the show. Colin then meets the Coach’s handsome son Brick, and dupes him into playing his Pickering. Art begins to imitate life as GB and Colin must both take the inexperienced and turn them into convincing leading players just as Higgins and Pickering must turn Eliza Doolittle into a convincing duchess.
The show begins to come together- with a few obstacles along the way, of course. GB and Colin’s elitist ways are a turn off to the students, the “Pygmalion” script has many outdated views of women and the poor, plus with no budget, they have no costumes. Sighting her son’s dedication, GB’s mother Marva Washington- a world renowned Opera diva- uses her diva status and Julliard connections to get the show the costumes it needs. We fast forward six weeks to the actual show as the students celebrate a true miracle from the theater Gods! At intermission, the cast is celebrating their triumph when the Beat Club member playing Freddy Hill hurts his ankle. GB has to step into the role and play Eliza’s love interest. Once again, art imitates life as GB and Alize’s friendship blooms into a showmance. After the show, Marva’s special invited guest from Juilliard is so impressed by Alize’s dance skills, she invites Alize to audition for the dance department at Julliard. When Alizé questions why GB didn’t tell her about the auditions, GB’s elitism rears its ugly head and Alize walks away from GB and his world of privilege because, in the words of Eliza Doolittle, she deserves a little kindness- and respect. A week later, the cast packs up the Julliard costumes. GB wants to perform a new song for them as an apology to Alize for his elitist ways. The only problem is, Alize is not there to hear it. She is auditioning for Julliard. When the Coach finds Alizé’s ballet slippers, GB is worried she won’t be able to audition without them. Convinced by Colin and the cast, GB is about to go to Julliard to “save the day,” when Alizé arrives from her audition, fully independent and ready to join GB at Juilliard the next year- on her own merits. When GB finally sings his apology through song, Alizé looks him in the eye and- borrowing from George Bernard Shaw- proclaims “By George Bernard, I think he’s got it.”
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Team
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MT3 is an Off-Broadway Alliance Award-winning playwright for penning the book to Polkadots, the Cool Kids Musical. Melvin began his writing career while still a student at Cincinnati Conservatory of Music as a founding member of the AMP Theater Company. A proud participant in the Yale Institute for Musical Theatre, Melvin is also an accomplished performer, appearing in the Original Broadway cast of Beautiful: the Carole King Musical and the Original Toronto Company of the smash Rock of Ages. Melvin currently resides in New York and is represented by William Morris.
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Greg Dean Borowsky is a Grammy nominated songwriter and music producer from South Africa, signed to Sony Music Publishing. Theater credits include: MANDELA - A New Musical (The Young Vic London), Polkadots: The Cool Kids Musical (The Atlantic Theatre Company) TV/Film: The Christmas Edition, Merry Liddle Christmas Wedding, Sugar & Spice for LifetimeTV, Black Patriots (History Channel), Married At First Sight 2021 Theme Song. Greg was nominated for a Grammy Award in 2021 - Best Traditional R&B Performance, for his song Let Me Go which he co-composed with Mykal Kilgore.
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Amy currently has a brand new adaptation of DISNEY THE LITTLE MERMAID on the Disney Wish, recently directed WHAT THE CONSTITUTION MEANS TO ME at KC Rep and the world premiere of CHRISTMAS IN CONNECTICUT for Goodspeed Musicals. She was the associate director of ESCAPE TO MARGARITAVILLE for Christopher Ashley on Broadway and she directed the national tour. Amy also directed versions of Mr. Ashley's FREAKY FRIDAY for the Alley and Cleveland Playhouse. Amy helmed the NYC off-Broadway and London premieres of UNEXPECTED JOY and received the SDC Noël Coward Fellowship for Comedic Direction. Upcoming projects/works in development include: SENIOR CLASS, POLLY, TEACHER OF THE YEAR, and BEAUTIFUL (The Olney). A proud member of SDC, Amy has worked at Asolo Rep, ACT in San Francisco, The Guthrie, Cal Shakes, many projects for NAMT, and often with Aria Entertainment in London. Amy holds a B.A. in Psychology with Honors from the University of Kansas and an M.F.A. in Directing from Penn State.
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Karla just received the Emmy Award for Outstanding Choreography for Variety or Reality Programming for her work in the 76th Annual Tony Awards Opening Number and Lifetime Achievement Tribute. She is currently one of Dance Magazine's 2024 "25 to Watch." A proud Filipina-American artist, she recently made her Broadway choreographic debut with Days of Wine and Wine and Roses, and in the same season, Off-Broadway's The Connector at MCC Theatre. Other choreography credits include Tick, Tick ... BOOM! (Netflix), Noir (The Alley Theatre), Other World (Delaware Theatre Company), Somewhere (Geva Theatre), One Thousand Nights and A Day (Prospect Theatre), and In the Heights (VA Rep, Artsie Award for Best Choreography). She’s also created work for live events for Smuggler, Boot Barn, La Liga, Univision, the New York Knicks and more. As a performer: National Tours Wicked and Addams Family, FOX’s So You Think You Can Dance, NBC’s Smash, several films, and four Broadway shows, including HAMILTON. Coming up … the World Premiere of Darko Tresnjak’s Ask For The Moon at Goodspeed Musicals and Tick Tick… Boom! in Tokyo, Japan.
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On Broadway, Kevin was a Producer on SHUCKED, which will embark on a 2-year tour beginning November 2025. He is an Executive Producer for Hallmark Chanel, and currently is represented in Las Vegas with Legerdemain at The Venetian Resort. He has created and produced Live Events for Marriott, Genentech, Bank of America, GSK, as well as new stage shows for Norwegian Cruise Line & Regent Seven Seas. Upcoming: 4 movies for Hallmark Channel, Fetching Water (Off Bway). Kevin is a recovering actor, having been a member of the Original Broadway Casts of The Book of Mormon and Beautiful – The Carole King Musical and making his Broadway debut in Les Liaisons Dangereuses for Roundabout Theatre Company.