Kechi Playhouse artistic director Misty Maynard and composer Matt Fenwick have concocted a fresh version of G.B. Shaw’s "Pygmalion" that’s part retelling of the 1912 classic and part love letter to the BBC. The proto-feminist play tells of an arrogant “phonetician” who transports a cockney young woman into high society by training her to change how she speaks. 

"The focus on women’s need to be heard and believed gives this old play a very modern perspective," Maynard said.

She moved the stage play to a radio drama set in World-War-II-era London during the Blitz. "I learned that Broadcasting House was bombed in October 1940," Maynard said of the BBC’s headquarters. "The bomb was heard on the air. They never shut down, they didn’t even stop the news report as the bomb went off. Six were killed and another died of injuries later. So I set the show then. It’s different from anything I’ve done before."

Pianist Fenwick will play musical bridges he composed for the show, which features Wichita State professor Ed Baker in a cast of 10. 

“Pygmalion 1940: A Radio Show” runs from September 5-28, 2025, at Kechi Playhouse, 100 E. Kechi Road in Kechi, Kansas. (Note: the construction work surrounding the theater has been completed.)

Performances take place Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays. General admission tickets are $17 on Fridays and Saturdays and $16 on Sundays. Reservations are accepted by Facebook message or phone: 316-744-2152.

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