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The Cast

Eliza Doolittle Audrey Hepburn
(singing by MARNI NIXON)
Henry Higgins Rex Harrison
Colonel Hugh Pickering Wilfrid Hyde-White
Alfred P Doolittle Stanley Holloway
Mrs Higgins Gladys Cooper
Mrs Pearce Mona Washbourne
Freddy Eynsford-Hill Jeremy Brett

(singing by BILL SHIRLEY)
Mrs Eynsford-Hill Isobel Elsom
Prince Gregor Henry Daniell
Jamie John Alderson
Harry John McLiam
Zoltan Karpathy Theodore Bikel


 

 

 

 

 

Directed by George Cukor
Produced by Herman Levin
and Jack Warner
From the play by Bernard Shaw
Book and Lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner
Music by Frederick Loewe

 

 

 

 

My Fair Lady

The Overture

The Film opens with the overture played over the title cards.

The Overture

My Fair Lady

Why Can't
the English

The setting is 1915 London.After the opera at Covent Garden, Henry Higgins takes advantage of the lingering crowd to analyse the variety of speech which surrounds him.  Clustered around the pillars of St Paul's Catherdral are an assortment of cockneys and flowergirls.One particular girl, Eliza Doolittle, catches the attention of the crowd after a public outcry. Higgins, a prefessor of phonetics, explains the important of speech and the rapid decrease of its proper use in England society.

Why Can't the English

 

My Fair Lady

Wouldn't it be
Loverly?

Higgins boasts to his friend Colonel Pickering that he can turn Eliza into lady within six months.   Eliza, curious about this man's proposal, is left alone with her fellow cockneys to dream about a life "far away from the cold night air"

Wouldn't it be Loverly

 

 

My Fair Lady

Flower Market

Alfred Doolittle, Eliza's father, finds his daughter amongst the early morning hustle and bustle of the local market.Desperate for "a drop of liquid protection", she lends him some money that Higgins had donated the previous night in an act of kindness.  As she sorts through her flowers, Eliza considers Higgins'  proposal and decides to pay the professor a visit later that morning.

 

 

My Fair Lady

Ordinary Man

At Higgins' residence, Eliza agrees to take him up on his offer and is taken to the bathroom to be cleaned up.  Pickering, who has willingly funded this project, is unsure of his friend's motives.  Could he grow attracted to this creature of the streets?   Higgins denies such accusations and laughingly explains his views on female company.

Ordinary Man

 

 

My Fair Lady

With a
Little Bit O' Luck

Alfred Doolittle is once again penniless and refuses to work.  Hoping his luck will soon change, he hears of Eliza's mysterious absence from Mrs Hopkins.

"Moved in with a swell, Eliza has...left here in a taxi...smart as paint and ain't been home fore three days"

Alfred feels that this new venture will prove profitable.

With a Little Bit O Luck

 

My Fair Lady

Just You Wait

Eliza is sick of continually repeating her vowels.  Higgins threatens her with no lunch and dinner.  In a moment of solitude, she acts out Higgin's execution
and a world where she will be reigned as a lady.  The mood is interrupted by Higgin's entrance.

Just You Wait

 

 

My Fair Lady

Servants Chorus

The servants in the Higgins household are worried about their master's actions.  On top of driving Eliza to her absolute limits, they fear of his loss of sleep and starvation.   He fails to care as he spends the days teaching Eliza the speech of a lady.

Servants

 

 

My Fair Lady

The Rain in Spain

One phrase is the key to Eliza's success.  "The rain in spain stays mainly in the plain", she says in a fit of
hope.  Higgins and Pickering rejoice as Eliza begins to pronounce all her words with perfection.  She is ready for society and to be tested the next day at the Ascot Races.

The Rain in Spain

 

 

My Fair Lady

I Could've
Danced All Night

Eliza, now living in a dream where reality and fiction clashes, refuses to sleep due to the excitement of her new-found speech.  The thought of sleep is far from her mind.   "I only know when he began to dance with me, I could've danced danced danced all night!"  Mrs Pearce, the housekeeper, with the help of maids, manage to put her down to sleep but the excitement still lingers.

I Could've Danced All Night

 

 

My Fair Lady

Ascot Gavotte

The first exciting race at Ascot takes place and the crowd are left in a buzz of happiness.
"What a frenized moment that was, didn't they maintain an exhausting pace, What a gripping absolutely ripping moment at the Ascot opening race"

Eliza makes her societal debut at Ascot and wins the affections of local boy Freddy Eynsford-Hill.  He kindly gives her his bet for the second race.A horse called Dover.  As the race begins, Eliza gradually begins to cheer for her horse.  In a moment of rage noticing the horse is coming last, she yells "Come on, Dover! Move yer bloomin' arse!"
The result is a havoc and embarassment.

Ascot Gavotte

 

 

My Fair Lady

On the Street
Where You Live

Freddy, not deterred by Eliza's behaviour at Ascot, pays a visit to the Higgins residence in the hope of speaking with her once again.  Mrs Pearce announces the fact that "Miss Doolittle doesn't wish to see anyone ever again".   Freddy, however, refuses to leave and tells Mrs Pearce that he will stay on the footpath until she will see him.

On the Street Where You Live

 

 

My Fair Lady

Intermission

Six weeks later.
Eliza descends the staircase in her ballgown,anxiously awaiting the Embassy Ball.   Higgins, offering an arm, leads her out of the house to the carriage and they prepare to travel to Buckingham Palace.  Pickering is having doubts as he remembers Eliza's previous experiences in public.

 

My Fair Lady

Transylvanian
March

At Buckingham Palace, Higgins meets up with an old student, Zoltan Karpathy, who tells him that he can detect imposters.  Pickering's fears increase as he
begs Higgins to take Eliza home immediately. The tension is broken by the arrival of the Queen Of Transylvania.

 

My Fair Lady

Embassy Waltz

The Queen Of Transylvania summons Eliza to dance with her son, Prince Gregor, and the couple take up the floor.  She is then led into the arms of Higgins and Karpathy, who aims to discover Eliza's true identity.

 

My Fair Lady

You did it

Later that night, Higgins and Pickering congratulate each other on the success of Eliza's achievement and describe to the servants their experiences with Zoltan Karpathy. Eliza fails to see theire excitement.  She
worries about the future.

You did it

 

 

My Fair Lady

Just You Wait
(reprise)

Eliza decides to leave the household after an argument with Higgins.  In all his selfishness, he tramples hers feelings which she can no longer stand.

 

My Fair Lady

Show Me

In the street, Eliza meets Freddy who agrees to accompany her.   Trapped in a world of words, Eliza describes her need for Freddy's affections.  
"Don't talk of stars burning above - if you're in love show me!"

Show Me

 

 

My Fair Lady

Wouldn't it be
Loverly (reprise)

Alone at Covent Garden, Eliza appraoches the cockneys who fail to recognise her.  She realises that being a lady isn't what she truly wants and to herself she dreams of a world of acceptance and love.

 

My Fair Lady

Get Me to the
Church on Time

Eliza spots her father outside the pub and he tells her of his pending marriage to her step mother.  Wishing him luck, she leaves him to celebrate his last hours as a bachelor.

Get Me to the Church on Time

 

My Fair Lady

A Hymn to Him

After discovering Eliza's sudden dissapearance, Higgins decides to search for her and Pickering phones the police.  Once again, Higgins ponders the female brain and speaks of his confusion.

Hymn to Him

 

 

My Fair Lady

Without You

Higgins finds Eliza at his mother's house.  Alone, the two speak their minds and Eliza explains her intentions to marry Freddy.  Much to Higgin's disgust,
she refuses to return to his home and walks out leaving him confused and heartbroken.

Without You

 

My Fair Lady

I've Grown Accustomed to her Face

On the way home, Higgins remembers his experiences with Eliza, trying deep
down to get over her.He finds this hard though knowing he will miss her
"idiotic notions".She "almost makes the day begin".

In his solitude, Higgins switches on his gramaphone to listen to the
crooning cockney voice of Eliza in earlier days.His loneliness is
interrupted by the machine switching off and a raspy voice saying "I washed
me face an' 'ands before I come I did".

Eliza has returned.

I've Grown Accustomed to her Face

 

 

 

Based on the stage play Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw, MY FAIR LADY opened on Broadway in 1956 and opened in London on Wednesday 30th April 1958 in the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, England and ran for 2717. The longest musical run in history.   Eliza Doolittle has been referred to as perhaps the greatest stage role and was brought to the musical stage by Julie Andrews who performed alongside Rex Harrison who played Professor Henry Higgins.  The screen rights for the musical were finally granted to Warner Brothers for a cost of $5.5 million, on top of the $17 million budget. It was to be the most expensive Warners film to date.  Casting the film was to cause controversy. Whilst Julie Andrews wished to reprise her role on screen, Jack Warner feared that casting an unknown actress, only known on the English stage, wouldn't work.   Audrey Hepburn, eventually earning one and a quarter million dollars, was cast as the female lead and was to play alongside Rex Harrison who would reprise his stage role. (Warner really wanted Cary Grant though) Hepburn was having second thoughts about playing Eliza. Her singing voice was unsuitable so the production team called upon Marni Nixon "Dubber To the Stars" (Deborah Kerr in THE KING AND I, Natalie Wood in WEST SIDE STORY) to sing Eliza's songs. The end result was 2% of the singing being Hepburn.  MY FAIR LADY went on to win eight Academy Awards for Best Picture (1964), Best Actor (Rex Harrison), Best Picture (George Cukor), Cinematography, Art/Set Direction, Music (Score), Sound Music (Score), Costume Design.   Audrey Hepburn wasn't even nominated.

 

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