10 FACTS ABOUT MY FAIR LADY

Mon 20 May 2024

Running at Curve this Christmas (23 November 2024 – 4 January 2025) and directed by Nikolai Foster (A CHORUS LINE, EVITA, BILLY ELLIOT), Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe’s iconic musical MY FAIR LADY is filled with comedy, romance and dazzling songs such as ‘The Rain in Spain’, ‘Wouldn’t It Be Loverly‘ and ‘I Could Have Danced All Night’.

As proclaimed in the song ‘Just you Wait’, the 20th May is Eliza Doolittle Day, so today we’re sharing 10 facts you might not have known about the musical.
  1. The musical was adapted from George Bernard Shaw’s popular play Pygmalion (1913), which premiered in London’s West End in 1914 at His Majesty’s theatre, and the film of the same name which was released in 1938.
  2. Shaw based his play on the Greek myth of Pygmalion, a sculptor who falls in love with the statue he carved.
  3. Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe’s MY FAIR LADY, opened on Broadway in 1956 to critical acclaim.
  4. The Broadway production shot then 20-year-old Julie Andrews into the mainstream spotlight, as she starred as Eliza Doolittle. Her co-star Rex Harrison, who was already a renowned actor, took on the role of Henry Higgins.
  5. The name “My Fair Lady” was chosen by Lerner as it was a provisional title for Shaw’s play, and he liked that it was the final line in the nursery rhyme “London Bridge is Falling Down”.
  6. The Broadway production had a six-and-a-half-year run, experienced immense success and won six Tony Awards.
  7. The first film adaptation of MY FAIR LADY was released in 1964 with somewhat controversial casting. Rex Harrison returned to the role of Higgins, but Julie Andrews was not chosen for Doolittle, with many complaining that she was perfect for the role. The role instead went to Hollywood star Audrey Hepburn, who has now become synonymous with the character and received many award nominations for her portrayal.
  8. It may however have been fate for Andrews, as she went on to star in Disney’s Mary Poppins that very same year – a career defining role.
  9. The film adaptation of MY FAIR LADY won eight Academy Awards and was one of the highest-grossing films of 1964.
  10.  MY FAIR LADY was the most expensive Warner Bros. movies film produced at the time, costing the studios $17 million.

You can see our Made at Curve Christmas production of MY FAIR LADY from Saturday 23 November 2024 to Saturday 4 January 2025, tickets are on-sale now. To find out more and book, visit www.curveonline.co.uk, call 0116 242 3595 or visit Curve’s Box Office in-person.