![]() ![]() John Marquez’s Alfred Doolittle is more morose than music hall, bringing a solemn dignity to his intuitive rhetoric. There’s strong support from Sylvestra Le Touzel, whose Mrs Higgins is a much more bohemian and bluestocking-ish take than usual, like a lady novelist or the principal of women’s college. Eliza’s point that she grew up like Higgins, essentially feral, is particularly pertinent: their different accents and level of wealth and education makes all the difference in how the world treats them. There’s no possibility of romance between this Eliza and Higgins (Shaw would approve). The production is framed by a heavily rouged woman who’s selling herself rather bunches of violets and has the same haughty, impassive expression that Eliza wears when she’s on show. ![]() She appears fragile and bird-like but is capable of violence when defending herself and possesses razor-sharp intelligence. Patsy Ferran is an Eliza who excels at the physical comedy, whether being bribed with chocolates or removing her gloves with her teeth. A cross between a hyperactive and precocious child trying to be impress his teacher with how clever he is and a fussy maiden aunt out of PG Wodehouse, he’s definitely not a “man of the world”. If he didn’t have independent means to live on and indulge his passion, he’d probably be put away. The suggestion that Higgins is neurodivergent isn’t new but this Higgins operates in another dimension. Leslie Howard’s upbeat portrayal has been overshadowed in the public consciousness by Rex Harrison’s irascible take and Bertie Carvel’s Henry Higgins is insufferably excitable (that's meant as a compliment). What makes the production special is tremendous central performances by Bertie Carvel and Patsy Ferran. Higgins, on the other hand, never changes his pullover ensemble, even for formal occasions. Eliza is saved from her quilted jacket and dirty trainers but infantalised by wearing a gymslip she looks like a Grecian goddess at the ambassador’s reception and, after an all-night drive with her puppyish suitor Freddy (Taheen Modak), dons an elegant silk shirt and slacks as an emancipated woman. Stewart Laing’s sets call to mind a modern university. This scattershot approach to design yields mixed results it’s a deliberate rejection of Edwardian elegance, though the attempt to be universal does at times slide into a hodgepodge. Richard Jones’s zippy staging combines Shaw’s original play text and his 1938 screenplay (allowing us to see the lessons and ambassador’s reception that aren’t in the original), and isn’t set in any particular historical period. This production comes a little over a year after Bartlett Sher’s production of My Fair Lady at the London Coliseum and I have to admit to being a populist who’s surprised when the songs don’t come, but the original is still hugely entertaining, and still relevant today as accent snobbery continues to be rife. Accompaniment + Melody (110bpm) with no repeatWhen Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe turned George Bernard Shaw’s 1913 play Pygmalion into My Fair Lady in 1956, they took a satirical polemic about class and feminism set in the present day and turned it into lavish entertainment based in a romanticised Edwardian era.My Fair Lady has frequently been called “the perfect musical”. It was followed by a hit London production, a popular film version, chart topping original cast and soundtrack albums and numerous revivals. ![]() ![]() It set a record for the longest run of any show on Broadway up to that time. The musical’s 1956 Broadway production was a notable critical and popular success. The original Broadway and London shows starred Rex Harrison and Julie Andrews. The story concerns Eliza Doolittle, a Cockney flower girl who takes speech lessons from professor Henry Higgins, a phoneticist, so that she may pass as a lady. My Fair Lady is a musical based on George Bernard Shaw‘s Pygmalion, with book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe. Both Andrews’ and Nixon’s versions are available on the original cast and soundtrack albums, respectively, and Hepburn’s original version is available in the specials for the DVD of the film.Īndy Williams released a version of ‘Wouldn’t It Be Loverly’ on his 1964 album, The Great Songs from “My Fair Lady” and Other Broadway Hits. In the 1964 film version, Marni Nixon dubbed the song for Audrey Hepburn. In the stage version it was sung by Julie Andrews. In addition to pronouncing “lovely” as “loverly”, the song lyrics highlight other facets of the Cockney accent that Professor Henry Higgins wants to refine away as part of his social experiment. It expresses Eliza’s wish for a better life. The song is sung by flower girl Eliza Doolittle and her street friends. “Wouldn’t It Be Loverly” is a popular song by Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe, written for the 1956 Broadway play My Fair Lady. ![]()
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