MY FAIR LADY: Wouldn't it be lovely? A brilliant classical musical remake!
On DVD or streaming: October 6, 2009 Image released by Common Sense Media of a snapshot of My Fair Lady from the film.
My Fair Lady is a 1964 American musical drama film adapted from the Lerner and Loewe eponymous musical based on the 1913 play called Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw. [1] It became a huge hit during the 1960s when musicals were at the time powerhouses of American media. [2] But why? After watching a revival of this play at a local high school, in the following essay, I will explore several reasons why the beloved musical to this day remain as this timeless, pleasurable, engaging, and heart touching musical.
My Fair Lady tells the story of a poor flower girl named Eliza Doolittle on the streets of London who one day meets pompous phonetics professor Henry Higgins who claims that he had the ability to transform a “Cockney” accent working-class girl into someone who can pass for a cultured member of high society through the use of proper English etiquette and language. He decides to take on Eliza as a subject of a challenge for six months in his home while Eliza reluctantly agrees to speech lessons to improve her job prospect. [3] As the lessons go on relentlessly and brutally for Eliza, she and Henry develop an interesting bond over time dealing with their relationships with each other. Eliza wants Henry to see her as a human being and not just some interesting experiment to play with while Henry battles between his prideful self and his developing love for Eliza. The clash between the two takes off under the spotlight surrounding themes of social class, self-love, and self-pride.
My Fair Lady is classical because of its success. In the world of theatre, many consider the musical “one of the few perfect musicals because every piece had worked.” [4] The fact that there were so many revivals of the musical play into film and other adaptations with high success each time revealed its perfect script and music but also its relatability to the general audience of a few. For musical and theatrical lover “there's no better piece to replay.” George Cukor saw potential of Shaw’s Pygmalion (a play named after a Greek mythological figure called Pygmalion who fell in love with one of his sculptures and came to life) [5] to be a musical film and although he won best academic award from the film, its proved to be his biggest-ever box-office hit at 2,717 performances for over decades. Making it one of the most grossing films with a “Domestic Total Gross of $72,000,000” still growing. [6]
It has collected six Tony awards including Best Musical while the film version had eight Oscars including the best picture.[7] Rex Harrison winning best actor, George Cukor as best director and best costume design was Cecil Beaton, one of the most renowned British photographer and designer during 1950-60s in Britain.[8][9] In addition, Alan Jay Lerner (American lyricist and librettist) in collaboration with Frederick Loewe (Austrian-American composer) was nominated for an Oscar for his adaptation of George Bernard Shaw’s play. Although Audrey Hepburn our main lead actress did not win the best actress, she was already one the most famous Hollywood stars who shot to stardom in 1953 when she starred in Roman Holiday and became an iconic figure. With all that in mind, the film was incredibly successful hosting one of the catchiest music that set the stage with brilliance and comedy.
Simultaneously, during the postwar economy in 1964 Broadway musical theater became the biggest among American mass culture in particular with the rich’s admiration and respect for Europe. This interest in musical theatre came from a “condition that fostered the growth of theatrical institutions in the 1880s and 1890s.” [10] It opened opportunities for jobs in the entertainment industry. An example was that “Business and financial consolidation or monopolization also occurred in the 1890s with the formation of the infamous trust, Theatrical Syndicate.”[11] But truthfully, Americans had known of European operetta before the arrival of H.M.S. Pinafore, the most influential English operetta of the 1890s. After many successes of the genre of comic musical American audience grew to uniquely love. [12] Which brings me to back to my personal experience of a remake in our contemporary day.
Eric Hamber Secondary Theatre Hamber presents Lerner and Loewe’s MY FAIR LADY: wouldn't it be lovely? Playing for three consecutive nights directed and produced by Peter Beharry. It was a classic high school musical at one of the most well-known schools in Vancouver for their theatre. I had the honor of being invited by a friend to see his brother’s performance as one of the trumpet players of the orchestra for the show. I was excited as it been a long time since I watched a musical. Which meant I had little expectations. I had no prior knowledge of the film but due to its familiarity with the lead actress Audrey Hepburn, I knew something along the lines of it being classy. I was astonished! It was not only meant as this classical English interpretation, it creatively brings both music and script together in almost a perfect lively way where success was thrown at. The characters were strong in that they had their human flaws in the story both energetically clashing and developing over one and another. So curious, I wanted to know why exactly the director chose this remake of this musical.
I found what sparked the inspirations of Eric Hamber Secondary drama teacher Peter Beharry. In the Director’s note, he wrote three reasons why he chose My Fair Lady. First, Beharry’s exposure to the musicals on television as a child. Which proved of its popularity during his times. Second, he said that learning that the story follows the power of language was important to him. And lastly, that the lead character Eliza reminded Beharry of his mother teaching him about one’s self-conduct with grace. This tells us the power of storytelling in musicals, especially in the film. Which connects to why the musical’s script was a huge success. Although the high school was famous for its theatre production already, they were also known for their fashion design and other creative programs that put together a small play with students and an orchestra conducted by Nicholas Francis. With over 50 or more people in this production they had put on, my first glimpse of My Fair Lady was a success.
I was able to get an interview with one of the cast member of the play as well as one the members of the orchestra. I had asked Jenna Huynh and Morgan Chow some questions about their inspirations to join this musical. They both had different reasons however, one of the main reason was that it had worked out by chance and that they knew it would be a success. This chance had all the musical elements those students had hoped to perform which was what attracted their passion to this show in the first place.
Though the show was entertaining, I found concepts in the story to be slightly off-putting at first because it did raise concerns that it was fairly popular (if also fairly long) in review article by Deborah Hirsch, she stated that there was a weak social statement about classism and sexism in the show and lengthy runs which about 90 minutes had taken a toll on the audience as I noticed around me as well.[13] The play puts a lot of tension and energy on the main character relying on them independently to skillfully create the atmosphere of the show. Leaving other characters’ existence somewhat important. However, this meant it included additional tension to turn it into another romance between an older man and a young woman (maybe intentionally) had really offset the whole story for me in a bizarre way. The story itself leaves us to hang and it does not follow the Greek myth that Eliza was this ivory status that turns into a woman of ideas but was a woman, a human being from the beginning. I found that this shift away from the ancient myth was refreshing and unexpected. I liked Eliza’s character. It was amazing in that her character stayed true to herself as a human being. Inviting comedy and drama in the highest tension, active and spectacular sense. This may be performed by high school students but it was a huge success not only due to the fact of the film’s reputation but the support and the hard work they had put in had made this whole experience even more exciting, bringing a sense of nostalgia from the past at the same time, what is currently a success.
Footnotes:
Footnotes:
[1] "My Fair Lady (film)." Wikipedia. April 02, 2019. Accessed April 03, 2019. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/My_Fair_Lady_(film).
[2] Viagas, Robert. "Was 1964 Broadway's Greatest Year for Musicals? Dolly, Fiddler, Funny Girl and Other Groundbreakers." Playbill. May 15, 2014. Accessed March 19, 2019. http://www.playbill.com/article/was-1964-broadways-greatest-year-for-musicals-dolly-fiddler-funny-girl-and-other-groundbreakers-com-329803.
[3] "My Fair Lady." IMDb. December 01, 1964. Accessed April 03, 2019. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0058385/.
[4] Tim Gray and Tim Gray, "'My Fair Lady' 60th Anniversary: The 'Hamilton' of Its Day," Variety, March 15, 2016, accessed April 08, 2019, https://variety.com/2016/legit/news/my-fair-lady-60th-anniversary-1201721945/.
[5] Bernard Shaw, "Pygmalion: A Play by George Bernard Shaw|Paperback," Barnes & Noble, , accessed April 08, 2019, https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/pygmalion-george-bernard-shaw/1123258111.
[6] "My Fair Lady (1964)," Box Office Mojo, accessed April 08, 2019, https://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=myfairlady.htm.
[10] Wilmeth, Don B, and Bigsby, Christopher. “Musical Theatre.” The Cambridge History of American Theatre, vol. 2, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1999, pp. 411–445.
[11] Wilmeth, Don B, and Bigsby, Christopher. “Musical Theatre.”
[12] Wilmeth, Don B, and Bigsby, Christopher. “Musical Theatre.”
[13] "My Fair Lady, at MTH, Is Fairly Popular (if Also Fairly Long)," Kansas City Pitch, , accessed April 08, 2019, https://www.thepitchkc.com/arts-entertainment/theater/blog/21022985/my-fair-lady-at-mth-is-fairly-popular-if-also-fairly-long.
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