Woburn Resident David Kimmelman Performs in Wellesley Players' My Fair Lady

The hummable, quotable, wonderfully enjoyable musical for the whole family! The story, the songs, the characters -- you know and love them. A Broadway hit when it debuted in 1956, this fan-favorite musical has gone on to win Tony Awards, launch careers and be adapted into the Oscar-winning beloved film. The Wellesley Players brings together an award-winning team to present this beautiful musical in a manner that speaks to today’s audiences. When Professor Henry Higgins bets he can transform a Cockney flower girl into an aristocratic lady, he doesn’t anticipate that Eliza Doolittle will end up transforming him. Based on George Bernard Shaw’s delightful social satire Pygmalion, Lerner and Loewe’s charming and beloved musical features such unforgettable numbers as “I Could Have Danced All Night,” “The Rain in Spain,” and “Wouldn’t It Be Loverly?” it’s no wonder everyone — not just Henry Higgins — falls in love with Eliza Doolittle. This show is the standard by which all others are measured. The production will feature the sparkling two-piano orchestration, crafted with the approval of Lerner and Loewe by the show’s original arranger of dance music.

The cast and crew of Wellesley Players’ production are drawn from talent throughout Eastern Massachusetts, from Ashland to Beverly, from Tewksbury to Winthrop, and some hometown Players from Wellesley. The talented cast includes both Wellesley Players veterans and performers who are new to the troupe.

Woburn resident David Kimmelmann joins the cast as Jamie, one of Alfred Doolittle’s drinking companions. Kimmelmann’s career in theatre goes back to age eight year when he played Dopey in “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs”. From there he was hooked, and went on to four straight years at Nokomis sleep away camp in Mahopac, NY, where I got to perform and it was just pure joy.

A 1981 graduate of American Academy of Dramatic Arts in NYC, he has worked in film, Off-Off Broadway and TV, working with Gregory Hines on the movie “The Cotton Club” back in 1982 and appearing on Days of our Lives in 1986.

Kimmelman’s local community theater roots go back to 1988. His most precious memory onstage was playing the role of Tevye five years ago with The Wellesley Players. “My grandfather’s family faced the same plight as the village of Anatevka, so there was a close connection to the role and the show.”

Kimmelman has worked frequently with the Wellesley Players joining the cast of their productions of A-My Name is Alice, Tale of the Allergist’s Wife, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (McMurphy), and he received an EMACT Best Actor nomination for his portrayal of Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof. Some of David’s other community theater credits include; Second Samuel (Burlington Players), Les Miserable (Concord Players), and The Laramie Project (Arlington Friends of the Drama).

The show will be directed by Celia Couture with music direction by Art Finstein, choreography by Kelly Murphy and set design by Ruth Neeman. Director Celia Couture has taken shows to the National Drama Festival three times, including once with the Wellesley Players. Her Radium Girls with the Burlington Players won the National Best Show Award in 2013.

My Fair Lady will be performed at the Arsenal Center of the Arts, Mosesian Theatre in Watertown from April 10-19. Don’t miss it! To reserve tickets please visit: www.wellesleyplayers.org. Discounts for groups are available. Order early as seating is reserved.