My Fair Lady
OPENING: March 15th, 1956
CLOSING: September 19, 1962
Seen: September 4th, 1961
LOCATION: Mark Hellinger
You know that kid in school? The one who can do no wrong? The star quarterback. The pretty cheerleader. The valedictorian. We all hate that kid and love that kid. We’re both annoyed by that kid and we want to be that kid. There’s a show on Broadway almost every season that we feel the same way about, and in 1956, that show was My Fair Lady and my dad was able to see it in September of 1962.
Based on the George Bernard Shaw play Pygmalion, My Fair Lady was a major success in a somewhat lackluster season on Broadway. Nominated for ten Tonys, it took home six, including Best Musical. The adaptation is close to the source material, but adjusted to suit the audiences of 1956. The biggest change is in the ending – Shaw specifically wrote in an epilogue to show Eliza ending up with Freddy. Hart adjusted the ending to hint that Eliza ends up with Henry instead – something that audiences of the time not only would have wanted, but expected. (Atkinson, 1970). Despite this deviation from Shaw’s work – or maybe even because of it – audiences were absolutely entranced by My Fair Lady. It ran for six and a half years, an astoundingly long run for the time period.
My dad did not see the original cast. My Fair Lady originally opened on March 15th, 1956. Instead, he saw it on September 4th, 1961, right before he started fifth grade. A part of me mourns that he didn’t get to see Julie Andrews and Rex Harrison, but that’s the theater kid in me trying to live vicariously. From what I understand, Margot Moser and Michael Allinson were well received in their roles.
It must be said, however, that My Fair Lady is very much a piece of it’s time. If it had been written within the past five years, I firmly believe that it would have closed within a week. The character of Henry Higgins is exactly what the #MeToo movement is working against. In my opinion, he is narcissistic and misogynistic to an uncomfortable level. I have been told I feel this way because of a deep rooted sense of feminism that I just can’t look past. I recently rewatched the 1964 movie for the first time since childhood and was horrified to how Henry’s behavior is not only excused, but glorified. I believe that it is quite literally a study in gaslighting and Stockholm Syndrome.
I will admit that I over analyze things. I had some traumatic experiences as a child that make me look at a character like Henry and will immediately write him off as an idiot and not someone to be admired. But to someone who has not had the experiences that I did, Henry comes off as a buffoon who is not to be taken seriously. From this perspective, when Eliza challenges him and doesn’t kowtow to his ridiculous demands, Henry finally feels something resembling an emotion and takes the baby steps he needs to become the man he is capable of being.
Whatever the interpretation was, audiences loved the show, including the critics. Brooks Atkinson could not say enough complimentary things about it. My aunt has been hinting that she would like to rewatch the film, which is currently on Netflix. (I should probably suggest she and I watch it together before Netflix yanks it.) Amateur companies were drooling for the rights to become available. I know this because a year after seeing it on Broadway, my dad was cast as Henry in his sixth grade play. I can definitely see him in the role; especially when he is watching the Mets and they are losing.
I doubt he remembers much of it now. But when I was a kid, he told me that the only reason he was cast in the role was because he was the only boy in his class. Ironic, since Rex Harrison most definitely could not. He was also sure to mention that his Eliza was a foot taller than him. I wish I had pictures, or even knew what her name was.
For all it’s flaws, My Fair Lady still persists as a timeless classic. It was most recently revived at Lincoln Center in 2019; it even grabbed a few nominations of its own, only winning Best Costume Design for Catherine Zuber. Will it be the last time this show is revived on Broadway? Only time will tell.
CAST: REPLACEMENT
BUSKERS: Joan Diehl, Bentley Roton, Christian Alderson
MRS EYNSFORD-HILL: Regina Wallace
ELIZA DOOLITTLE: Margot Moser
FREDDY EYNSFORD-HILL: Dan Reslin
COLONEL PICKERLING: Guy Spaull
A BYSTANDER: Crandall Diehl
HENRY HIGGINS: Michael Allinson
SELSEY MAN: Gordon Dilworth
HOXTON MAN: David Thomas
ANOTHER BYSTANDER: Rod McLennan
FIRST COCKNEY: Robert Price
SECOND COCKNEY: Glenn Kezer
THIRD COCKNEY: Bill Diehl
FOURTH COCKNEY: Herb Surface
BARTENDER: David Thomas
HARRY: Gordon Dilworth
JAMIE: Rod McLennan
ALFRED P. DOOLITTLE: Ronald Radd
MRS. PEARCE: Joyce Worsley
MRS. HOPKINS: Olive Reeves-Smith
BUTLER: Glenn Kezer
SERVANTS: Rosemary Rainer, Colleen O’Connor, Lee Dougherty, Margaret Broderson, Herb Surface
MRS. HIGGINS: Margery Maude
CHAUFFEUR: Harry Woolever
FOOTMEN: Tom Vaughan, Lawrence Keith
LORD BOXINGTON: Gordon Dilworth
LADY BOXINGTON: Olive Reeves-Smith
CONSTABLE: Harry Woolever
FLOWER GIRL: Cathy Conklin
ZOLTAN KARPATHY: David Thomas
FLUNKEY: Robert Price
QUEEN OF TRANSYLVANIA: Connie Beers
AMBASSADOR: Rod McLennan
BARTENDER: Chris Edwards
MRS. HIGGINS MAID: Margaret Cuddy
SINGING ENSEMBLE: Helen Ahola, Rosemary Rainer, Margaret Broderson, Ann Casey, Lee Dougherty, Connie Beers, Colleen O’Connor, Diana Chase, John H. Jones, Glenn Kezer, Lawrence Keith, Tom Vaughan, Bill Diehl, Robert Price, Herb Surface, David Thomas
DANCING ENSEMBLE: Janet Gaylord, Cathy Conklin, Margaret Cuddy, Dorothy Dushock, Barbara Siman, Barbara Heath, Colleen Cokrey, Gretl Bauer, Joan Diehl, Betty Krasnor, David Lober, Dick Colacino, Ronald Rosanoff, Ronnie Lee, Kim Hayward, Glenn Olsen, Bentley Roton, Henry Woolever, Robert St. Clair, Christian Alderson, Christopher Edwards.
Atkinson, Brooks. “Broadway.” New York: Macmillian Publishing Co, Inc, 1970.
Atkinson, Brooks. “My Fair Lady.” New York Times, March 16, 1956. https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1956/03/16/86548580.html?pageNumber=20
Bordman, Gerald. “American Musical Theatre: A Chronicle.” New York: Oxford University Press, Inc., 1978.
