The beloved classic My Fair Lady, which premiered as a musical in 1956 and later became a worldwide sensation with the 1964 film adaptation starring Audrey Hepburn, returns to Broadway for the first time in half a century. This limited engagement revival runs through January 6 2019.
The original Broadway production received six Tony Awards at the eleventh Tony Awards in 1957 including Best Musical and achieved an impressive run of two thousand seven hundred seventeen performances. With such a celebrated history, this long awaited revival has attracted tremendous attention.
With less than one month remaining until opening night, full scale rehearsals have begun with the new cast at the Vivian Beaumont Theater. Before seeing the show, take a moment to explore the remarkable journey of My Fair Lady.
How the My Fair Lady revival came to life
The original story: George Bernard Shaw’s play Pygmalion
The musical is based on Pygmalion, the 1912 play written by George Bernard Shaw. It was first adapted for the stage in Vienna in 1913, and the subsequent London production starring the celebrated actress Mrs. Patrick Campbell earned wide acclaim, elevating both Shaw and the play to greater fame. In 1938 it was adapted into a film directed by Anthony Asquith, and although discussions about turning it into a musical followed, Shaw’s own reluctance meant that a musical adaptation did not happen during his lifetime. For an overview of the My Fair Lady storyline, please visit the link below.Broadway premiere of “My Fair Lady” in 1956
On March 15, 1956, five and a half years after George Bernard Shaw’s death, the musical premiered on Broadway at the Mark Hellinger Theatre (originally the Hollywood Theatre, later renamed, and now home to Times Square Church). With lyrics and book by Alan Jay Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe, the show is also known as “Lerner & Loewe’s My Fair Lady.” Julie Andrews starred as Eliza and Rex Harrison as Henry Higgins, leading to the Tony Awards mentioned above.You can watch rehearsal footage from that time in the video below.
The 1964 film adaptation won Academy Awards
After its Broadway success, My Fair Lady was adapted into a feature film. Warner Bros. purchased the movie rights from CBS in 1962 for a then unprecedented 5.5 million dollars plus a share of the grosses, and cast Audrey Hepburn in the role of Eliza instead of Julie Andrews to ensure commercial appeal. The film received 12 Academy Award nominations and won 8, including Best Picture. Its North American box office gross reached about 72 million dollars.
My Fair Lady returns to Broadway
The musical returned to Broadway at the Vivian Beaumont Theater. This Lincoln Center Theater revival featured the original Lerner and Loewe score and was directed by Tony Award winner Bartlett Sher. His acclaimed revivals of South Pacific and The King and I also played at the Vivian Beaumont Theater and were major hits, so expectations were high for this production as well.Enjoy seeing how this global favorite was reimagined with its original music and an award winning creative team.
Behind the Scenes of the musical My Fair Lady
The meaning behind the title “My Fair Lady”
My Fair Lady literally means “my beautiful lady,” but the title is actually inspired by the phrase Mayfair Lady. In Eliza’s Cockney accent, spoken by working class communities in London’s East End, “Mayfair Lady” sounds like “My Fair Lady,” creating a playful word twist in the title. Mayfair is well known today as one of London’s upscale districts lined with luxury shops.A different ending from Shaw’s original
For the musical adaptation of George Bernard Shaw’s Pygmalion, lyricist and book writer Alan Jay Lerner changed the ending from the original play. To avoid spoilers, details are best discovered at the theater.Julie Andrews’ salary for the original production
Before casting was finalized for the 1956 Broadway premiere, producers announced that the actress playing the lead role would receive a salary of one million dollars. Julie Andrews, who originated the role of Eliza, was reported to have received this amount.Latest cast highlights for My Fair Lady
Here are some of the standout performers selected for this revival production.Eliza Doolittle played by Lauren Ambrose
Lauren Ambrose is an American actress and singer known for her vibrant red hair. She began her career Off Broadway and later appeared as a supporting character in the television series Law and Order. Her film credits include In and Out (1998), and from 2001 to 2005 she starred in the acclaimed series Six Feet Under, earning the Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in both 2002 and 2003.
She made her Broadway debut in 2006 in the Lincoln Center production Awake and Sing!, and played Juliet in Romeo and Juliet in 2007.Henry Higgins portrayed by Harry Hadden-Paton
Harry Hadden-Paton is a British actor born in 1981.
He has been active on stage and screen in the United Kingdom, and this production marks his American stage debut.
His most recognized work is the historical drama series Downton Abbey, and he has appeared in many television shows. More recently, he played Martin Charteris, private secretary to Queen Elizabeth II, in the 2016 Netflix series The Crown.
Mrs. Higgins portrayed by Diana Rigg
Diana Rigg was a renowned British actress from Doncaster in South Yorkshire.
She trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and made her stage debut in 1955. She appeared as a Bond girl in the 1969 film On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, and in 1994 she received the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play for Medea.Take a look behind the scenes as these three principal cast members talk about their work on My Fair Lady.
My Fair Lady performance venue: Vivian Beaumont Theatre
The Vivian Beaumont Theatre is part of Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, located slightly north of the main Broadway Theater District around Times Square.
The venue was built with a budget of approximately 960 million dollars and is well known for staging acclaimed revival productions such as South Pacific and The King and I, the latter starring Ken Watanabe.
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