My Fair Lady
is a musical based upon George Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion
and with book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe. The story concerns Eliza Doolittle, a Cockney flower girl who takes speech lessons from professor Henry Higgins so that she can pass as a lady. Higgins takes credit for Eliza's success, but she realizes that she can now be independent and does not need him.
The musical's 1956 Broadway production was a smash hit, setting a new record for the longest run of any major musical theatre production in history. It was followed by a hit London production, a popular film version, and numerous revivals. It has been called "the perfect musical." [1]
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Background
In the mid-1930s, film producer
Gabriel Pascal acquired the rights to produce film versions of several of
George Bernard Shaw's plays,
Pygmalion
among them. However, Shaw, having had a bad experience with
The Chocolate Soldier
, a Viennese operetta based on his play
Arms and the Man
, refused permission for
Pygmalion
to be adapted into a musical. After Shaw died in 1950, Pascal asked lyricist
Alan Jay Lerner to write the musical adaptation. Lerner agreed. Lerner and his partner
Frederick Loewe began work, but they quickly realized the play violated several key rules for constructing a musical: the main story was not a love story, there was no subplot or secondary love story, and there was no place for an ensemble. Many people, including
Oscar Hammerstein II, who, with
Richard Rodgers, had also tried his hand at adapting
Pygmalion
into a musical and had given up, told Lerner that converting the play to a musical was impossible, so he and Loewe abandoned the project for two years. During this time, the collaborators separated, and Gabriel Pascal died. Lerner had been trying to musicalize
Lil' Abner
when he read Pascal's obituary and found himself thinking about
Pygmalion
again. When he and Loewe reunited, everything seemed to fall into place. All the insurmountable obstacles that stood in their way two years earlier disappeared when the team realized that the play needed few changes, and according to Lerner, "All we had to do was add what Shaw had happening offstage". They then excitedly began writing the show.
However,
Chase Manhattan Bank was in charge of Pascal's estate, and the musical rights to
Pygmalion
were sought both by
Lerner and Loewe and by
MGM, whose executives called Lerner to discourage him from challenging the studio. Loewe famously said to him, "We will write the show without the rights, and when the time comes for them to decide who is to get them, we will be so far ahead of everyone else that they will be forced to give them to us."
[2] For five months Lerner and Loewe wrote, hired technical designers, and made casting decisions. The bank, in the end, granted them the musical rights.
Noël Coward was the first to be offered the role of Henry Higgins but turned it down, suggesting the producers cast
Rex Harrison instead.
[3] After much deliberation, Harrison agreed to accept the part.
Mary Martin was an early choice for the role of Eliza Doolittle, but declined the role. Young actress
Julie Andrews was "discovered" and cast as Eliza Doolittle after the show's creative team went to see her Broadway debut in
The Boy Friend
.
Moss Hart agreed to direct after hearing only two songs. The experienced orchestrators
Robert Russell Bennett and
Philip J. Lang were entrusted with the arrangements and the show quickly went into rehearsal.
The musical's script used several scenes that Shaw had written especially for the 1938 film version of
Pygmalion
, including the Embassy Ball sequence and the final scene of the 1938 film rather than the ending for Shaw's original play. The montage showing Eliza's lessons was also expanded, combining both Lerner and Shaw's dialogue.
Productions
The musical had its pre-Broadway tryout at
New Haven's
Shubert Theatre. On opening night Rex Harrison, who was unaccustomed to singing in front of a live orchestra, "announced that under no circumstances would he go on that night...with those thirty-two interlopers in the pit."
[4] He locked himself in his dressing room and came out little more than an hour before curtain time. The whole company had been dismissed but were rounded up by the assistant stage manager. The opening night was a triumph.
[5]
Beginning February 15, 1956, the show played for four weeks at the Erlanger Theatre in
Philadelphia. It opened March 15, 1956, at the
Mark Hellinger Theatre in
New York City (see program at left). It ran for 2,717 performances,
a record at the time.
Moss Hart directed and
Hanya Holm was choreographer. In addition to stars Rex Harrison and Julie Andrews, the original cast included
Stanley Holloway,
Robert Coote,
Cathleen Nesbitt,
John Michael King, and
Reid Shelton.
Edward Mulhare and
Sally Ann Howes replaced Harrison and Andrews later in the run.
The show's title relates to one of Shaw's provisional titles for
Pygmalion
—
Fair Eliza
. Other titles considered included "Come to the Ball" and "Lady Liza," but everyone agreed that a marquee reading "Rex Harrison in 'Lady Liza'" would be imprudent. So they took the title they disliked least — "My Fair Lady" (an allusion to the nursery rhyme "
London Bridge Is Falling Down"). The original
Playbill and
cast recording sleeve featured artwork by
Al Hirschfeld, who depicted Eliza as a
marionette being manipulated by Henry Higgins, whose own strings are being pulled by a heavenly puppeteer resembling George Bernard Shaw.
London's
West End production, in which Harrison, Andrews, Coote, and Holloway reprised their roles, opened April 30, 1958, at the
Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, where it ran for 2,281 performances. Stage star
Zena Dare made her last appearance in the musical as Mrs. Higgins.
Revivals, tours and concerts
The show was revived on Broadway three times: in 1976, under
Jerry Adler's direction and with
Ian Richardson,
Christine Andreas and
George Rose; in 1981, directed by
Patrick Garland with Harrison and Nesbitt recreating their roles,
Jack Gwillim and
Milo O'Shea; and in 1993, with
Richard Chamberlain,
Melissa Errico and
Paxton Whitehead.
The show had a 1979 West End revival at the
Adelphi Theatre with
Tony Britton,
Liz Robertson,
Dame Anna Neagle,
Richard Caldicot and
Peter Land. Produced by
Cameron Mackintosh, it was first directed by
Robin Midgley and then by Lerner himself;
Gillian Lynne was choreographer. Other European productions included an early 1970s staging in Holland starring
John van Dreelen as Henry Higgins.
Mackintosh produced the show in 2001 at the
Royal National Theatre and later the
Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, with
Martine McCutcheon as Eliza Doolittle and
Jonathan Pryce as Higgins. This revival won three
Olivier Awards: Outstanding Musical Production, Best Actress in a Musical (
Martine McCutcheon) and Best Theatre Choreographer (
Matthew Bourne).
Joanna Riding took over the role of Eliza and won the Olivier Award, Best Actress in a Musical, in 2003. A UK tour of this production began September 28, 2005 and ended August 12, 2006. The production starred
Amy Nuttall and
Lisa O'Hare as Eliza,
Christopher Cazenove as Henry Higgins,
Russ Abbot and
Gareth Hale as Alfred Doolittle, and
Honor Blackman and
Hannah Gordon as Mrs. Higgins.
In 2007 the
New York Philharmonic held a full-costume concert presentation of the musical. The concert had a four-day engagement lasting from March 7–10 at
Avery Fisher Hall. It starred
Kelli O'Hara as Eliza Doolittle,
Kelsey Grammer as Professor Henry Higgins,
Charles Kimbrough as Colonel Pickering, and
Brian Dennehy as Alfred Doolittle.
Marni Nixon played Mrs. Higgins; Nixon had provided the singing voice of
Audrey Hepburn in the film version.
[6]
A U.S. Tour of Mackintosh's 2001 West End production ran from September 12, 2007 to June 22, 2008.
[7] The production starred
Lisa O'Hare as Eliza Doolittle, Christopher Cazenove as Professor Henry Higgins,
Walter Charles as Colonel Pickering, Tim Jerome as Alfred Doolittle
[8] and Nixon as Mrs. Higgins, replacing
Sally Ann Howes.
[9]
An Australian tour produced by
Opera Australia commenced in May 2008. The production stars
Reg Livermore as Professor Henry Higgins,
Taryn Fiebig as Eliza Doolittle,
Robert Grubb as Alfred Doolittle and
Judi Connelli as Mrs Pearce.
John Wood took the role of Alfred Doolittle in Queensland, and
Richard E. Grant played the role of Henry Higgins at the Theatre Royal, Sydney.
San Francisco's
Lamplighters Music Theatre has mounted its third revival of
My Fair Lady
in July/August 2009. This production is unusual in that Tom Reardon sings the role of Henry Higgins rather than speaking in tempo in the manner of
Rex Harrison. It is also noteworthy for
Geoff Hoyle in the role of Alfred Doolittle.
Synopsis
;Act One
On a rainy night in
Edwardian London, the opera patrons are waiting under the arches of
Covent Garden for cabs. Eliza Doolittle, a
Cockney flower girl, runs into a young man called Freddie. She admonishes him for spilling her violets in the mud but cheers up after selling one to an older gentleman. She flies into an angry outburst when she sees another man copying down her speech. The man explains that he studies
phonetics and can identify any man's origin by his accent. He laments Eliza's dreadful accent, asking "Why Can't the English learn to speak?" He declares that in six months, he could turn Eliza into a lady by teaching her to speak properly. The older gentleman introduces himself as Colonel Pickering, a linguist who has studied
Indian dialects. The phoneticist introduces himself as Henry Higgins, and, as they both have always wanted to meet each other, Higgins invites Pickering to stay at his home in London. He distractedly throws his change in Eliza's basket, and she and her friends wonder "
Wouldn't It Be Loverly" to live a comfortable, proper life.
Eliza's father, Alfred P. Doolittle, his drinking companions Harry and Jamie, all
dustmen, stop by the next morning. He is searching for money for a drink, and Eliza shares her profits with him ("With a Little Bit of Luck"). Pickering and Higgins are discussing vowels at Higgins's home when Mrs. Pierce, the housekeeper, informs Higgins that a young woman with a ghastly accent has come to see him. It is Eliza, come to take lessons to speak properly so she can become a lady. Pickering wagers that Higgins cannot make good on his claim and volunteers to pay for Eliza's lessons. An intensive makeover of Eliza's speech, manners and dress begins in preparation for her appearance at the Embassy Ball. Higgins sees himself as a kindhearted, patient man who cannot get along with women ("I'm an Ordinary Man"). In reality, he is self-absorbed and misogynistic.
Eliza's father arrives at Higgins' house the next morning, claiming that Higgins is compromising Eliza's virtue. Higgins is impressed by the man's natural gift for language and his brazen lack of moral values ("Can't afford 'em!"). He and Doolittle agree that Eliza can continue to take lessons and live at Higgins' house if Higgins gives Doolittle five pounds for a spree. Higgins flippantly recommends Doolittle to an American millionaire who is seeking a lecturer on moral values. Meanwhile, Eliza endures speech tutoring, endlessly repeating phrases like "In Hertford, Hereford and Hampshire, hurricanes hardly ever happen” (to demonstrate that "h"s must be aspirated) and "The rain in Spain stays mainly in the plain" (to practice the "long a" phoneme). She dreams of different ways to kill Higgins, from sickness to drowning to a firing squad ("Just You Wait"). The servants lament the hard "work" Higgins does ("The Servants' Chorus"). Just as they give up, Eliza suddenly "gets it" after Higgins eloquently speaks of the glory of the English language. "The Rain in Spain" becomes a song of triumph, as Higgins and Eliza dance around Higgins's study. Thereafter her pronunciation is transformed into that of impeccable
upper class English. Mrs. Pierce, the housekeeper, insists that Eliza go to bed; she declares she is too excited to sleep ("I Could Have Danced All Night").
For her first public tryout, Higgins takes Eliza to his mother's box at
Ascot Racecourse ("Ascot Gavotte"). Henry's mother reluctantly agrees to help Eliza make conversation, following Henry's advice that Eliza should stick to two subjects: the weather and everybody's health. Eliza makes a good impression with her polite manners but shocks everyone by her vulgar Cockney attitudes and slang—it seems that good elocution is only skin deep. But she captures the heart of Freddy Eynsford-Hill, the young man whom she first ran into. Freddie calls on Eliza that evening, but she refuses to see him. He declares that he will wait for her in the street outside Higgins's house ("On the Street Where You Live").
The final test requires Eliza to pass as a lady at the Embassy Ball, and after weeks of preparation, she is ready. All the ladies and gentlemen at the ball admire her, and the Queen of
Transylvania invites her to dance with her son, the prince ("Embassy Waltz"). Eliza then dances with Higgins. A rival of Higgins, a Hungarian phonetician named Zoltan Karpathy, is employed by the hostess to discover Eliza's origins through her speech. Though Pickering and his mother caution him not to, Higgins allows Karpathy to dance with Eliza.
;Act Two
Eliza even fools Zoltan Karpathy into believing that she was "born Hungarian." After the ball, Higgins's boasting about his triumph and his pleasure that the experiment is now over leave Eliza feeling used and abandoned ("You Did It"). Higgins completely ignores Eliza until he loses his slippers. He asks her where they are, and she lashes out at him, leaving the clueless professor mystified by her ingratitude ("Just You Wait" (reprise)). Eliza decides to leave Higgins, and finds Freddie still waiting outside ("On the Street where You Live" (reprise)). He begins to tell her how much he loves her, but she cuts him off, telling him that she has heard enough words; if he really loves her, he should show it ("Show Me"). She and Freddie return to Covent Garden, where her friends do not recognize her refined bearing. By chance, her father is there as well, dressed in a fine suit. He explains that he received a surprise bequest of four thousand pounds a year from the American millionaire, which has raised him to middle-class respectability, and now he must marry Eliza's "stepmother", the woman he has been living with for many years. Eliza sees that she no longer belongs in Covent Garden, and she and Freddie depart. Doolittle and his friends have one last spree before the wedding ("Get Me to the Church on Time").
Higgins awakens the next morning to find that, without Eliza, he has tea instead of coffee, and he cannot find his own files. He wonders why she left after the triumph at the ball and concludes that men (especially himself) are far superior to women ("A Hymn to Him"). Higgins seeks his mother's advice and finds Eliza having tea with her. She leaves them together, and Eliza explains that he has always treated her as a flower girl, but she learned to be a lady because Colonel Pickering treated her like a lady. Higgins claims he treated her the same way that Pickering did, and demands that she return. Eliza accuses him of wanting her only to fetch and carry for him, saying that she will marry Freddie because he loves her. She declares that she does not need Higgins anymore, saying that she was foolish to think that she needed him ("Without You"). Higgins is struck by Eliza's spirit and independence and wants her to stay with him, but she tells him that he will not see her again.
As Higgins walks home, he realizes his feelings for Eliza: he has "grown accustomed to her face." He cannot bring himself to confess that he loves her and insists that if she marries Freddie and then comes back to him, he will not accept her. However, he finds it difficult to imagine being alone again. He reviews the recording he made of the morning Eliza first came to him for lessons. He hears his own harsh words: "She's so deliciously low! So horribly dirty!" Then the phonograph turns off, and a real voice speaks in a Cockney accent: "I washed me face an' 'ands before I come, I did." Henry turns and sees Eliza standing in the doorway, tentatively returning to him. The musical ends on an ambiguous moment of possible reconciliation between teacher and pupil, as Higgins slouches and asks, "Eliza, where the devil are my slippers?".
Characters
- Eliza Doolitle
- Henry Higgins
- Colonel Hugh Pickering
- Alfred P. Doolitle
- Freddy Eynsford-Hill
- Mrs. Pearce
- Mrs Higgins
- Harry
- Jamie
- Mrs. Eynsford-Hill
- Professor Zoltan Karpathy
- Bartender
- Mrs. Hopkins
- Butler
- Selsey Man
- Hoxton Man
- The Cockney Quartet
- A Bystander
- Lord and Lady Boxington
- Footman
- Six Chorus Servants
- Charles
- Queen of Transylvania
- Policeman
- Three Buskers
- Singing and Dancing Ensembles
Song list
;Act I
- Overture
- Busker Sequence
- Why Can't the English?
- Wouldn't It Be Loverly?
- With a Little Bit of Luck
- I'm an Ordinary Man
- With a Little Bit of Luck (Reprise)
- Just You Wait
- The Servants' Chorus (Poor Professor Higgins)
- The Rain in Spain
- I Could Have Danced All Night
- Ascot Gavotte
- On the Street Where You Live
- Embassy Waltz
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;Act II
- You Did It
- Just You Wait (Reprise)
- On the Street Where You Live (Reprise)
- Show Me
- Wouldn't It Be Loverly? (Reprise)
- Get Me to the Church on Time
- Why Can't a Woman be More Like a Man
- A Hymn to Him
- Without You
- I've Grown Accustomed to Her Face
- I Could Have Danced All Night (Reprise)
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My Fair Lady
around the world
The musical has been translated into many languages, with Eliza speaking Berlin, Vienna, Stockholm, Göteborg, Amsterdam, and Prague dialects. Here is Higgins' linguistic exercise and well-known song "The rain in Spain stays mainly in the plain" in various languages:
- Arabic: "????? ??????? "
- Czech: "Déšt dští ve Španelsku zvlášt tam kde je plán"
- Danish: "En snegl på vejen er tegn på regn i Spanien"
- Dutch (Version 1 and 3): "Het Spaanse graan heeft de orkaan doorstaan"
- Dutch (Version 2): "De franje in Spanje is meestal niet oranje"
- Estonian: "Hispaanias on hirmsad vihmahood"
- Finnish: "Vie fiestaan hienon miekkamiehen tie"
- French: "Le ciel serein d'Espagne est sans embrun"
- French (Quebec) : "La plaine madrilène plait à la reine"
- German: "Es grünt so grün wenn Spaniens Blüten blühen"
- Hebrew: "??? ??? ????? ???? ????" ("Barad yarad bidrom sfarad haerev")
- Hungarian: "Lent délen édes éjen édent remélsz"
- Icelandic: "A Spáni hundur lá við lund á grund"
- Italian (original performance on stage): "In Spagna s'è bagnata la campagna"
- Italian (film version): "La rana in Spagna gracida in campagna"
- Italian (later performances on stage): "La pioggia in Spagna bagna la campagna"
- Korean: "??? ??? ?? ???"
- Marathi: "Ti Phularaani"
- Norwegian (Version 1): "Det gol og mol i solen en spanjol"
- Norwegian (Version 2): "De spanske land har altid manglet vand"
- persian: ????? ????? ??
- Polish: "W Hiszpanii mzy, gdy dzdzyste przyjda dni"
- Portuguese (Version 1): "O rei de Roma ruma a Madrid"
- Portuguese (Version 2): "Atrás do trem as tropas vem trotando"
- Russian (Version 1): "?? ????? ????? ? ?? ????? ?????" ("Na dvorye trava a na travye drova")
- Russian (Version 2:) "???? ? ????? ????? ??????" ("Karl ooh Klary ukral koraly")
- Spanish (Version 1): "La lluvia en Sevilla es una pura maravilla"
- Spanish (Version 2): "La lluvia en España los bellos valles baña"
- Spanish (Mexican cast) "El rey que hay en Madrid se fue a Aranjuez"
- Swedish: "Den spanska räven rev en annan räv"
- Swedish (version 2): "Nederbörden och skörden" ("All nederbörd förstörde körsbärsskörden")
- Turkish: "Ispanya’da yagmur, her yer çamur"
- Ukrainian: "???? ? ?????? ??????? ????? ? ???????" ("Doshchi v Afinah chastishe jdut' v dolynah")
Film adaptation
An
Oscar-winning
film version was made in 1964 directed by George Cukor and with Harrison again in the part of Higgins. Controversy surrounded the casting of
Audrey Hepburn instead of Julie Andrews for the part of Eliza — partly because theatregoers regarded Andrews as perfect for the part and partly because Hepburn's singing voice had to be dubbed. (
Marni Nixon sang all songs except "Just you wait," where Hepburn's voice was left undubbed during the harsh-toned chorus of the song but Nixon sang the melodic bridge section.) Meanwhile, Andrews won 1964's Oscar for Best Actress in
Mary Poppins
.
Lerner in particular disliked the film version of the musical: he thought it did not live up to the standards of Moss Hart's original direction. He also was unhappy that the film was shot entirely on the
Warner Brothers backlot rather than, as he would have preferred, in London.
A new film adaptation has been announced by
Columbia Pictures.
[10]
Awards and nominations
(
Winners are indicated in parentheses
)
1956 Broadway
- Tony Award for Best Musical - Book by Alan Jay Lerner; Lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner; Music by Frederick Loewe; Produced by Herman Levin (WINNER
)
- Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical - Rex Harrison (WINNER
)
- Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical - Julie Andrews
- Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical - Robert Coote and Stanley Holloway
- Tony Award for Best Scenic Design - Oliver Smith (WINNER
)
- Tony Award for Best Costume Design - Cecil Beaton (WINNER
)
- Tony Award for Best Choreography - Hanya Holm
- Tony Award for Best Conductor and Musical Director - Franz Allers (WINNER
)
- Tony Award for Best Direction - Moss Hart (WINNER
)
- Theatre World Award - John Michael King (WINNER
)
1976 Broadway revival
- Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical - Ian Richardson, George Rose (WINNER
)
- Theatre World Award - Christine Andreas (WINNER
)
- Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Musical - Ian Richardson (WINNER
)
- Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical - George Rose (WINNER
)
- Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Director of a Musical - Jerry Adler
- Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Revival - Produced by Herman Levin
1981 Broadway revival
- Tony Award for Best Reproduction of a Play or Musical - Produced by Mike Merrick, Don Gregory
1993 Broadway revival
- Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Musical Revival - Produced by Barry & Fran Weissler, Jujamcyn Theaters (James H. Binger: Chairman; Rocco Landesman: President; Paul Libin: Producing Director; Jack Viertel: Creative Director); Produced in association with PACE Theatrical Group, Inc., Tokyo Broadcasting System Intl., Inc., Martin Rabbett
- Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Musical - Melissa Errico
- Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Costume Design - Patricia Zipprodt
2001 West End revival
- Olivier Award Best Actress in a Musical 2002 — Martine McCutcheon, (WINNER
)
- Olivier Award Outstanding Musical Production 2002 (WINNER
)
- Olivier Award Best Theatre Choreographer 2002 (WINNER
)
- Olivier Award Best Actress in a Musical 2003 - Joanna Riding, (WINNER
)
- Olivier Award Best Actor in a Musical 2003 - Alex Jennings, (WINNER
)
See also
Notes
- See, e.g., Steyn, Mark. ''Broadway Babies Say Goodnight: Musicals Then and Now'', Routledge (1999), p. 119 ISBN 0415922860 and this 1993 NY Times review
- Lerner, ''The Street Where I Live'', p. 47
- Morley, Sheridan. ''A Talent to Amuse: A Biography of Noël Coward'', p. 369, Doubleday & Company, 1969
- Lerner, p. 104
- History of the show
- Lawson, Kyle. "Marni Nixon in ''My Fair Lady''", ''The Arizona Republic'', June 10, 2008
- US Tour informationMyFairLadyTheMusical.com
- Tim Jerome bio
- Gans, Andrew."Marni Nixon to Join My Fair Lady Tour in Chicago"playbill.com, August 28, 2007
- Columbia Pictures and CBS Films to Develop New My Fair Lady Film
References
- See, e.g., Steyn, Mark. ''Broadway Babies Say Goodnight: Musicals Then and Now'', Routledge (1999), p. 119 ISBN 0415922860 and this 1993 NY Times review
- Lerner, ''The Street Where I Live'', p. 47
- Morley, Sheridan. ''A Talent to Amuse: A Biography of Noël Coward'', p. 369, Doubleday & Company, 1969
- Lerner, p. 104
- History of the show
- Lawson, Kyle. "Marni Nixon in ''My Fair Lady''", ''The Arizona Republic'', June 10, 2008
- US Tour informationMyFairLadyTheMusical.com
- Tim Jerome bio
- Gans, Andrew."Marni Nixon to Join My Fair Lady Tour in Chicago"playbill.com, August 28, 2007
- Columbia Pictures and CBS Films to Develop New My Fair Lady Film