Robert Sean Leonard Cast in Old Globe’s ‘Pygmalion’ in San Diego

Tony-winner Robert Sean Leonard spent eight seasons on Fox’s “House,” and now that the series is complete he is heading back to the theater as part of a new production of George Bernard Shaw’s “Pygmalion.”

The production will be held at the Old Globe in San Diego, with opening night set for January 17. Leonard will perform the lead role of professor Henry Higgins. The production will celebrate the 100^th anniversary of the play, which first premiered in Vienna in 1913.

Higgins is a linguist in the production, and the story follows him as he makes a bet that he can pass a Cockney flower girl named Eliza Doolittle as royalty just by changing her speech patterns. In 1956, the play was famously adapted into the Broadway musical “My Fair Lady.” A film version of “Pygmalion” followed in 1964.

The first Broadway production of the play premiered in 1914, and has since been revived five times. The most recent revival opened in 2007 and starred Claire Danes as Doolittle. Jefferson Mays portrayed Higgins in that production.

Leonard won the Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in 2001 for his performance in “The Invention of Love.” He also has been nominated for Tony Awards for performances in “Long Day’s Journey Into Night” and “Candida.” He has appeared in numerous other Broadway productions including “Born Yesterday,” “The Iceman Cometh,” “The Music Man,” “The Violet Hour,” “Philadelphia,” “The Speed of Darkness,” “Here I Come!” “Brighton Beach Memoirs” and “Breaking the Code.”

In addition to his role on “House,” his film and television credits include “Much Ado About Nothing,” “The Last Days of Disco,” “The Age of Innocence,” “Dead Poet’s Society,” “Tape,” “Standoff” and “Swing Kids.”

In 2011, he was nominated for a People’s Choice Award for Favorite TV Doctor for his role in “House.”