“This is the first time I’ve seen an honest producer!” - exclaimed Bernard Shaw when Gabriel Pascal, in response to the question of how much money he had, took some change from his pockets. Pascal asked the famous playwright for permission to stage a musical based on his play. If Shaw had not been captivated by Pascal's honesty, the world probably would not have seen the magnificent musical "My wonderful lady».
This story perfectly corresponds to the spirit of the play that Pascal drew attention to - “Pygmalion”: is everything in the world really decided by money, what will happen if you support a person who has no money? The playwright puts these eternal questions into the form of a plot that echoes ancient myth, set out in Ovid Naso’s “Metamorphoses”: the sculptor Pygmalion fell in love with the statue he created beautiful woman, and the goddess of love Aphrodite, condescending to his prayer, breathed life into her... In Shaw’s play, everything looks far from so sublime - after all, the action takes place not in ancient times, but in Victorian England. Poor girl Eliza Doolittle - ugly, dressed in a blackened straw hat and a “red-colored coat”, with “mouse-colored” hair - sells flowers on the street, but the income brought by this occupation does not allow her to get out of poverty. She could improve her situation by getting a job in a flower shop, but she is not hired because of her incorrect pronunciation. To correct this deficiency, she turns to Professor Higgins, a famous phonetics specialist. He is not inclined to accept a beggar girl as a student, but his colleague Pickering, feeling sympathy for Eliza, offers Higgins a bet: let the professor prove that he is truly a highly qualified specialist, and if six months later he can pass the girl off as a duchess at a social reception, let him consider himself a winner ! The “experiment” turns out to be difficult for both the teacher and the student, suffering from Higgins’s arrogance and despotism, but their efforts are crowned with success: the young aristocrat Freddie Ainsfort Hill falls in love with Eliza, and at the ball where the professor brings her, representatives high society without hesitation they accept her as their own. But the girl not only improved her self-care, learned good manners and correct pronunciation - she gained a sense of self-esteem, she suffers from the dismissive attitude of Higgins, who cannot understand the tragedy of the situation: she no longer wants to return to her old life and has no money, to start a new one. Offended by the professor's lack of understanding, she leaves his house. But Eliza’s training transformed not only the girl herself, but also Higgins: the old bachelor discovers that he has “gotten used” to Eliza, that he misses her. Listening to a recording of her voice on a phonograph, he suddenly hears the real voice of Eliza, who has returned.
This is the story that producer Gabriel Pascal decided to translate into a musical. To create music, he turned to two famous Broadway authors - composer Richard Rodgers and librettist Oscar Hammerstein, but was refused by both (after all, as already mentioned, he had little money), but young authors agreed - composer Frederick Lowe and librettist Alan Jay. Lerner. When reworking the libretto, the plot of Shaw's play underwent some changes. The afterword, which reported on future fate Eliza (marriage to Freddie, opening her own store) - this was in the spirit of Shaw, who was skeptical about romantic love, but Broadway audiences would not have accepted such an ending. In addition, the life of the opposite “poles” of society - the inhabitants of the poor quarter and the aristocrats - was shown in more detail than in Shaw. In structure, the work, entitled “My Fair Lady,” is close to a musical comedy. Lowe's music is full of dance rhythms - there is a polka, a waltz, a foxtrot, and even a habanera and jota.
Even before the completion of the work, the famous artist Mary Martin, who performed on Broadway, became interested in the work of Lowe and Lerner. After listening to the finished material, she exclaimed: “How could it happen that these sweet boys lost their talent?” These words plunged Lerner into despair - however, not for long, and they were not going to invite Martin to the role of Eliza anyway.
The premiere of My Fair Lady, which took place in March 1956, was a true triumph. The popularity of the musical was fantastic, and Lowe was so shocked by the success that he treated coffee to people who had been lining up for tickets since the night. In 1964, the musical was filmed and won an Oscar in eight categories, including music, but the award went to... the person who arranged the music for the film adaptation, and Frederick Loewe was not even nominated.
In 1965, the musical was staged for the first time in the USSR, at the Moscow Operetta Theater. The role of Eliza was played by Tatyana Ivanovna Shmyga.
- (eng. My Fair Lady) may mean: “My Fair Lady,” a musical by Frederick Loewe, based on Bernard Shaw’s play “Pygmalion.” “My Fair Lady,” a 1964 comedy film based on the musical of the same name... ... Wikipedia
My Fair Lady (film)- My Fair Lady My Fair Lady Genre musical film ... Wikipedia
My Fair Lady (film, 1964)- This term has other meanings, see My Fair Lady. My Fair Lady ... Wikipedia
MUSICAL- MUSICAL, musical (English musical, from music music), a genre of musical film, the basis of which is singing and choreographic numbers, representing a single whole and united by a single artistic design. Musical as a stage genre... ... Encyclopedia of Cinema
MUSICAL, OPERETTA- Operetta is a great comforter. Operetta is good because it allows even the smartest person to be an idiot for three hours. Lord, how wonderful this is! Sylvia Cheese the Musical: conversational genre for those who cannot sing and musical for those who cannot speak. Charles... ... Consolidated encyclopedia of aphorisms
MUSICAL Modern encyclopedia
Musical- (English musical), a musical stage genre that combines elements of dramatic, choreographic and opera arts. Formed in the USA at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries. based on the combination of various independent types of spectacles (revue, show,... ... Illustrated encyclopedic Dictionary
Musical- (English Musical) (sometimes called musical comedy) musically stage work, in which dialogues, songs, music are intertwined, and choreography plays an important role. Plots are often taken from famous literary works,... ...Wikipedia
musical- a, m. 1) A musical theater genre of a comedic nature, which combines elements of dramatic art, operetta, ballet, and pop. 2) A musical stage work or film of this genre. The French brought films of different genres... ... Popular dictionary of the Russian language
Musical- (from the English musical comedy, musical play musical comedy, musical play) musical theater genre. Originated in the 20s. 20th century on Broadway, became a symbol new theater. aesthetics and new theater. management (during the years of the great depression, total... ... Russian humanitarian encyclopedic dictionary
Books
- , Shaw Bernard. The collection includes three plays by Bernard Shaw. Among them, the most famous is “Pygmalion” (1912), based on which many films were made and the legendary Broadway musical “My Fair Lady” was staged... Buy for 265 rubles
- Pygmalion. Candida. The Dark Lady of Sonnets, Shaw B.. The collection includes three plays by Bernard Shaw. Among them, the most famous is “Pygmalion” (1912), based on which many films were made and the legendary Broadway musical “My Fair Lady” was staged.…
On October 21, 1964, the premiere of George Cukor's film My Fair Lady starring Audrey Hepburn took place in New York. leading role. Musical comedy was a film adaptation of the Broadway musical of the same name, based on Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion. The plot of the film largely repeated the famous play. The music for the film "My Fair Lady" was created by composer Frederick Lowe, and the screenplay and lyrics were written by Alan Jay Lerner. The film turned out to be bright, emotional, rich in warm colors. Even now - more than 50 years later - it looks like a pleasure. Where did it all start?
Of course, from the story of phonetics professor Henry Higgins - an inveterate bachelor. He made a bet with his colleague, Colonel Pickering, that in three months he could turn the illiterate London flower girl Eliza Doolittle into a real lady. The professor undertook to teach the girl, who spoke street slang, high-society manners and ideal correct speech. After the expiration of the stated period, Eliza was supposed to be presented at the embassy ball, and if none of those present would guess about her low origin, the colonel would recognize the professor’s victory and would pay all the expenses for the girl’s education. Eliza herself hoped that good pronunciation will allow her to get a job in a flower shop. This, in a nutshell, is the content of the musical, presented on Broadway on March 15, 1956. The show, by the way, was incredibly popular, and tickets were sold out six months in advance.
Working on My Fair Lady and creating the sets and costumes was an outstanding project. A lot of time was spent developing Audrey's style, shoes and costumes. “I pray every day to be worthy of this wonderful role"Hepburn said. The film was to be filmed at Warner Studios in Burbank. The visuals of My Fair Lady make this film the greatest achievement in the field of popular, spectator cinema.
The main roles in the musical were played by Rex Harrison and aspiring singer Julie Andrews. When starting to film the film, director George Cukor chose to replace Andrews with the more famous Audrey Hepburn, which initially caused disappointment among fans of the musical. There was no replacement for the leading male role in the musical, and Rex Harrison successfully moved from Broadway to the big screen. This work became finest hour actor - he received a well-deserved Oscar for the best male role in the movie "My Fair Lady".
When Audrey arrived in Los Angeles and met with the director, she suddenly asked: “Will I sing in the film myself?” The director replied that her voice was quite good for most vocal numbers, but for some notes she would have to use a different voice. This calmed Audrey a little.
Under the terms of the contract, the studio had the right to use a different voice. And on May 16, 1962, the director of the film met with singer Marni Nixon, who had already dubbed some actresses in films. After a short audition, Nixon was invited to dub Audrey, but this decision was to remain secret. Audrey continued to take singing lessons and was unaware of the studio's plans. Recording songs for the film was a difficult ordeal for Audrey.
Meanwhile, Marni Nixon recorded all of Eliza's vocal numbers. “In the end, we decided to use Marnie’s voice,” recalled Harper MacKay, who played Previn’s assistant. No one dared to tell Audrey about this. The worst part was that Cukor, Previn and Lerner listened to Audrey sing and constantly praised her. “Audrey, unfortunately, began to believe them.” But even for the sake of peace of mind Audrey, the studio did not change its decision. All of Eliza's songs in the film were performed by Marni Nixon. Having learned the truth, she felt humiliated, and yet she did not show her resentment in any way. Audrey continued to work as before.
The film was designed by Cecil Beaton, who won an Oscar for his work. In designing the main setting of the film (the library in the house of Henry Higgins), Beaton was inspired by the rooms at the Château de Grousset, located in Montfort-l'Amaury in France, and artistically furnished by its owner Carlos de Beistegui. Beaton and director George Cukor were longtime friends, and Beaton was given complete creative freedom. However, during the labor-intensive work on the film, Cukor often clashed with Beaton, and, in the end, actually removed him from work. Beaton's name was already in the credits and contract, so Cukor turned to his close friend and assistant designer Gene Allen to take Beaton's place and finish the set.
A few more facts. The film's title does not appear in any dialogue or song.
The film takes place in 1912.
27A Wimpole Street in London is the address of Professor Higgins, such a street does not actually exist, there is 27 Wimpole Street.
Shirley Jones was one of the actresses that Jack L. Warner planned to offer the role to if Audrey Hepburn turned it down. Julie Andrews was rejected because the producers didn't think she was well known enough. Elizabeth Taylor also really wanted to play Eliza.
The film was released on October 21, 1964 and was a huge success at the box office, winning 8 Oscars out of the 12 for which it was nominated. Today, the film is considered one of the classic musicals in Hollywood history, along with Singin' in the Rain (1952) and The Sound of Music (1965).
But not everything was smooth sailing. For example, in the musical, Eliza is 21 years old, and Audrey Hepburn was 34 years old at the time of filming (this fact outraged fans of the Broadway production).
Audrey Hepburn later admitted that she would never have accepted the role of Eliza Dolittle if she had known that Jack L. Warner would want to dub all of her songs. In addition, she once told Julie Andrews personally that she should have played Eliza instead of her. During a talk at the University of California, Los Angeles in 2008, Julie Andrews confirmed this fact.
Audrey Hepburn and Julie Andrews
When Jack Warner signed a contract with Audrey Hepburn to play the leading role, journalists were very surprised. Since the film starred Rex Harrison and Stanley Holloway, who participated in theatrical production and everyone thought that the role of Eliza would go to Julia Andrews. But history has proven Warner right. At the time, replacing theater stars with movie stars, especially in musicals, was very common.
Working on My Fair Lady and creating the sets and costumes was an outstanding project. A lot of time was spent developing Audrey's style, shoes and costumes. “I pray every day that I will be worthy of this wonderful role,” Hepburn said.
The film was to be filmed at Warner Studios in Burbank. The visuals of My Fair Lady make this film the greatest achievement in the field of popular, spectator cinema.
When Audrey arrived in Los Angeles and met with the director, she suddenly asked: “Will I sing in the film myself?” The director replied that her voice was quite good for most vocal numbers, but for some notes she would have to use a different voice. This calmed Audrey a little.
Under the terms of the contract, the studio had the right to use a different voice. But from the moment Audrey began studying with a professional teacher, Warner and Cukor decided that she would perform all the vocal numbers herself (with minor overdubs in some places). Since all vocal numbers had to be recorded in advance, and only precise articulation was required from the actress on set, all vocal adjustments could be made later, right in the studio. “I will work on my voice,” Audrey said and added: “I am ready to take as many lessons as you deem necessary. The ability to sing and dance is an integral part of the acting profession.”
At the end of June, it seemed to Beaton that Audrey had finally stopped worrying about her singing. “Since the day she arrived, she has worked hard, and her voice has strengthened so much that she could easily cope with most of Eliza’s vocal numbers.” George Cukor and Jack Warner shared the same opinion. But this was ordinary self-deception, in to a large extent influencing the success of the film as a whole and the character of Eliza in the film.
On May 16, Cukor and Lerner secretly met with singer Marni Nixon, who had already dubbed some actresses in films. After a short audition, the director invited Nixon to dub Audrey, but this decision was to remain secret for now. Audrey continued to take singing lessons and was unaware of the studio's plans. Recording songs for the film was a difficult ordeal for Audrey.
Meanwhile, Marni Nixon recorded all of Eliza's vocal numbers. “In the end, we decided to use Marnie’s voice,” recalled Harper Mackay, who played Previn’s assistant. No one dared to tell Audrey about this. The worst part was that Cukor, Previn and Lerner listened to Audrey sing and constantly praised her. “Audrey, unfortunately, began to believe them.” But even for the sake of Audrey's peace of mind, the studio did not change its decision. All of Eliza's songs in the film were performed by Marni Nixon. Having learned the truth, she felt humiliated, and yet she did not show her resentment in any way. Audrey continued to work as before.
André Previn claimed that Marni Nixon was invited because “Audrey Hepburn couldn’t handle the vocal part.” main character should have chirped like a bird Rex Harrison has already confirmed his mastery of parlando, a special style of singing close to melodic recitation.” But all the efforts of Previn, Cukor, Warner and the rest led the film to a complete disaster. As a result, Audrey Hepburn's subtle and deep performance was hopelessly spoiled by an alien vocal part.
"My Fair Lady" was released in the fall of 1964. The London press responded particularly unfavorably to the first part of the film. The prim Englishmen did not like Audrey's folk accent, as if in the East End there was only one, once and for all, manner of speech. But they praised Audrey’s performance, noting that she plays much better than Julia Andrews (who played the role of Eliza in the theatrical production).
And despite everything, I love this movie, it always helps me break away from the everyday world and immerse myself in another world, a world full of wonders. And of course, the main advantage of the film is the wonderful actors and, first of all, Audrey Hepburn she is absolutely natural in all scenes of the film. She managed to play a touching and funny flower girl, which Eliza Doolittle could never have become on a stage where there was no close-ups. How she spoke to the condescending and indifferent professor - ingenuously, but with a considerable amount of ambition. And at the ball a completely different Eliza appears but even here, through the style and grace, every now and then the features of the poor flower girl slip through in her gaze, in her smile, in her movements All this makes the heroine Audrey so alive that you live the entire film with her from the beginning and to end
* During filming, Audrey and Cukor were approached by a man with a radio and at that moment they learned about the assassination of President Kennedy. “I was too shocked to tell the crew,” Cukor recalled. None of us dared to say anything. And then Audrey simply said, “I’ll do it.” She took the microphone and said, “The President of the United States has been assassinated. Let’s be silent for a couple of minutes so we can pray or somehow honor the memory of the president.”
*Audrey wrote to her father during filming: “We are barely surviving because of the hellish heat. We've been literally out of breath for the past week. At the studio it was 110-118 degrees (Fahrenheit, i.e. 43-48 degrees Celsius) This temperature remained all day, even in the evening it did not get cooler. We toss and turn in our beds all night, and in the morning even hotter air hits our faces. We spend all weekend in the pools. The only suitable clothing is wet swimsuits. But I can't help Eliza's heavy woolen skirts and laced boots. And then there are thousands of kilowatts of lighting! I’m just melting!”
* Film review from The New York Times: “Miss Hepburn has a unique sensitivity and a phenomenal comic acting talent (essential for such a role) She is strikingly beautiful and funny in the sharply satirical scene at Ascot, calm and noble at the embassy ball and incredibly moving V last scenes, where she really wants true love.”
* Review from The New Yorker: "Her acting and personality helped make Eliza completely different, and no less attractive and interesting than Miss Andrews's was."
* A carefully restored and re-recorded/digital recording of My Fair Lady was released in 1994, featuring Audrey's performance. Unfortunately, except for two issues, the remaining records were destroyed during a fire at the WB warehouses
Imagine a story as old as time: a simpleton from the slums, sharp-tongued and a little rude in her manners, but kind and smart inside, and an arrogant, smart phonetics professor. It all starts with a difficult relationship between a student and a student, continues accompanied by disputes, and ends with true love.
The peculiarity of the musical is that it is light, simple, while watching it you can relax and not think about anything. Great songs, dances and dialogues take you far, far away from reality.
Poster New York recommends "My Fair Lady" as a timeless adventure in any company and state of mind.
Plot:
Professor of Phonetics Higgins During an evening walk, he makes a scientific bet with his linguist colleague. He undertakes to teach a sharp-tongued London flower girl they meet named Eliza and turn her in six months into a real lady, completely eliminating her common pronunciation and teaching her manners.
And in half a year she will have to appear at the embassy ball and make such an impression that no one will guess about her simple origin. In this case, his colleague will pay all training costs, and she Eliza will have the opportunity to get a job in a good flower shop.
Eliza moves to the professor's house, where her father, a garbage collector by profession, also comes in search of his daughter. He extremely wittily, using logic, begs the professor for money because he, with his bet, deprived “his family of a wet nurse.”
Learning is not easy, the main characters push each other a lot, sometimes driving each other crazy. But in the end, the student begins to make progress, however, her first appearance in the world is unsuccessful, even having lost her common speech Eliza continues to speak in street slang, which shocks the professor's mother and delights the young aristocrat Freddie.
But after some time, the professor solves this problem too. At the ball, no one was able to identify him. Elise street flower seller. Higgins rejoices and completely forgets about his student, which causes her protest.
She tries to return home, and is surprised to discover that her father has become rich and has even finally married her mother. Since the professor, amazed by his oratorical gift, wrote a letter to one famous philanthropist recommending his father Eliza as "the most original moralist in history."
However, left alone, the professor suddenly clearly understands that even being a convinced bachelor, he is still very accustomed to Elise. This means the story is not over yet.
Historical reference
The musical is based on the play Bernard Shaw "Pygmalion", however, unlike the play in the libretto, the main action is connected with the transformation of the heroine, and not with the philosophical reasoning of the author.
Also in the original play Eliza marries Freddie since she wasn't too keen on the professor's mentoring role. She opens her flower shop and then vegetable shop, as a symbol of the author’s disbelief in the duration of romantic love.
Broadway premiere of the musical took place on March 15, 1956. The show immediately became wildly popular; tickets were sold out six months in advance.
The musical was performed on Broadway 2,717 times. It was translated into eleven languages, including Hebrew, and was successfully shown in more than twenty countries.
The recording of the original Broadway cast sold more than five million copies, and a film of the same name was released in 1964 George Cukor. Many fans of the musical were disappointed that the role Eliza Broadway performer missed the cut Julie Andrews. Her role went to a more famous Audrey Hepburn.
- Duration of the show on Broadway: 2 hours and 15 minute intermission.
- The musical cannot be classified as Russian concerts in New York To enjoy the production, a good knowledge of English is required.
- The production is quite suitable for family viewing, although very young viewers will probably be a little bored, the recommended age is 10 years old and you need to remember that children under 4 years old will not be allowed into the theater.
- Ticketsto a musical in New York It is recommended to purchase in advance, as for other most popular performances.
- You can stand in line at the cash register the old fashioned way, but the easiest way is to do as others Russians in New York And to buy tickets to the performance Online Posters.