"My Fair Lady" is back to enchanting theater lovers with the story of Eliza Doolittle and Professor Henry Higgins at the Dolby Theater in Los Angeles.

"LA Times Today" went backstage to talk to Shereen Ahmed, the first Arab American actress to play the role of Eliza in a major theater production.

Shereen Ahmed knows she has big shoes to fill in playing the role of Eliza Doolittle. It is a role that Julie Andrews and Audrey Hepburn also starred in the role.

She said being the first Egyptian American actor to play this role is just as big a responsibility. She understands she is representing her Arab-American community and wants to do them justice.

"I grew up not seeing myself represented on stage in music, TV and film and any storybooks. But there's only one you, and there's a reason why there is only one you. I have very textured hair. There weren't products made for me at that time, so it was very much a discovery of the self and trying to figure out where I fit in."

Ahmed studied sociology, anthropology and criminal justice at Towson University in Maryland. When she graduated, she had already landed several parts of the stage and decided to pursue a career in theater, and her parents supported that dream.

"Being the daughter of an immigrant and being an actor, it's blasphemy. But to him, he knew that I had so much drive to make this work that he gave me, you know, full rein. I'm a big believer that art and theater is the best way to start discussions, and theater is at the forefront of social change," Ahmed said.

Even though this version of "My Fair Lady" is modernized, the lyrics for the musical do not change, and Ahmed says the play is still relevant for the year 2021.

"I'd like to say that Shaw's original intention was this exact revival, and it was to put forth the difficult choices that a woman has to make and bring to light the issues between class and the power of language," she said. 

Thanks to her education in criminal justice, Ahmed said it has served a purpose for understanding the character she plays.

"Eliza is the one who decided to change her life and better her life, and she took it upon herself to walk into the study and say, Look, I want to take lessons, and I want to be a lady in a flower shop. And of course, she surpasses her wildest imagination and even society's imagination of what a woman is capable of."

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