My Fair Lady

L Y R I C O P E R A O F C H I C A G O

April - May, 2017

• At the end of the musical, Eliza Doolittle returns to Henry Higgins.

What happens next? Does Eliza still marry Freddy? Or do the repressed

feelings of both Higgins and Eliza blossom?

• Both

Pygmalion

and

My Fair Lady

share the notion that different groups

of people use different types of language – in this case, specifically

English. What different types of vernacular do you use or notice other

people using (whether family, friends, or strangers)? How does the

emphasis on language influence the show?

• When compared with other hit musicals of its time,

My Fair Lady

is very different in that it isn’t a love story. How does the absence of

this signature element have an effect on the relationships the characters

develop with each other?

• What is it about the music of

My Fair Lady

that makes this musical

so popular? Is it the lyrics? The melodies? What’s your favorite song

from the show and why?

• Compare the roles of Eliza Doolittle and Henry Higgins. What is the

general attitude of each and how is this highlighted in their songs

and dialogue?

• What elements of the set, costume, and lighting designs are the most

memorable to you in this production? How do these elements help

convey the musical’s shifting moods?

My Fair Lady:

After the Curtain Falls

To continue to enhance your experience of

My Fair Lady

, Lyric dramaturg Roger Pines suggests the following performances:

When the performance is over, try discussing it with your companions and any other

theater lovers you know! You can continue your pleasure in

My Fair Lady

for hours –

even days – by exchanging ideas about it. Here are some topics we can suggest:

• CD – Rex Harrison, Julie Andrews, Stanley Holloway,

Robert Coote, John Michael King (Masterworks Broadway)

• CD – Jonathan Pryce, Martine McCutcheon, Dennis

Waterman, Nicholas Le Prevost, Mark Umbers

(First Night – Red)

• CD – Jeremy Irons, Kiri Te Kanawa, Warren Mitchell,

John Gielgud, Jerry Hadley (Polygram Records)

• CD – Alec McCowen, Tinuke Olafimihan, Michael Bauer,

Michael Denison, Henry Wickham (Jay Records)

• DVD – Rex Harrison, Audrey Hepburn, Stanley Holloway,

Wilfred Hyde-White, Jeremy Brett (Warner Home Video)

Shaw’s

Pygmalion

• CD – Anton Lesser, Lucy Whybrow, David Burke,

Geoffrey Palmer, Charlie Simpson (Naxos Audiobooks)

• DVD – Leslie Howard, Wendy Hiller,Wilfrid Lawson,

Scott Sunderland, David Tree (Criterion Collection)

• DVD – James Villiers, Lynn Redgrave, Emrys James,

Ronald Fraser, Nicholas Jones (BBC Home Entertainment)

Audrey Hepburn (Eliza Doolittle) and Rex Harrison (Henry Higgins)

in director George Cukor’s 1964 film version of

My Fair Lady.