by Nathaniel R
Tony season is (nearly) upon us so we're reviving the Stage Door column toward the end of March. But before we start reviewing shows, a history lesson.
Julie Andrews and Audrey Hepburn as Eliza Dolittle
My Fair Lady began its classic life in 1956 as a Broadway musical. No, that's not quite right. It began its life as George Bernard Shaw's play Pygmalion, which premiered way back in 1913, over a century ago! That play inspired the stage musical by Lerner & Loewe. On March 15th previews will begin for the latest Broadway revival. Lauren Ambrose (Six Feet Under) headlines as Eliza Dolittle, with Harry Hadden-Paton as Professor Henry Higgins, two time Tony winner Norbert Leo Butz (♥︎) as Eliza's father, and showbiz legend Dame Diana Rigg (The Avengers, On Her Majesty's Secret Service, Game of Thrones, etc...) as Higgins' mother.
This will be the sixth major incarnation of the hit musical. Let's recap...
March 15th, 1956 The first incarnation of My Fair Lady opens on Broadway starring Julie Andrews as Eliza, Rex Harrison as Professor Higgins, Robert Coote as Colonel Pickering, Cathleen Nesbitt as Higgin's mother and Stanley Holloway as Eliza's father. The following year at the Tonys it received 10 Tony nominations and 6 wins. Curiously and famously it (and the concurrent TV musical Cinderella) made Julie Andrews a major star but she lost the Best Actress Tony (to Judy Holliday in Bells Are Ringing). She would then be denied the opportunity to recreate the role on the big screen! Andrews stayed with the stage run for two years. The show closed in 1962, which was, back then, a gargantuanly long run -- Broadway shows didn't used to stay open for 20-30 years as some hits do now.
Christmas 1964 My Fair Lady opens in movie theaters starring Audrey Hepburn. Rex Harrison and Stanley Holloway are the only cast members to transfer from Broadway and both are Oscar nominated. Repeating their fates at the Tonys, Harrison wins and Holloway loses the Oscar in their respective categories. The film took Best Picture and 7 other Oscars, divvying up the statues with 1964's OTHER blockbuster musical Mary Poppins. Both were bonafide sensations at the box office.
March 21st, 1976 The first Broadway revival hits but it's not as big of a deal with awards securing only 2 Tony nominations and 1 win (this time for Mr Dolittle, rather than Higgins, played by George Rose). In this first revival Eliza Dolittle (Christine Andreas) wasn't nominated -- in fact, only one woman since Julie Andrews has been nominated for a major showbiz prize for playing that role. Crazy right? That was Liz Robertson at the Oliviers in 1979 across the pond. You'd think Eliza would be one of those awards-magnet roles, but it's actually not. The first revival closed one year after opening.
August 14th, 1981 The second revival, starring Rex Harrison (again) and Nancy Ringham as Eliza receives only one Tony nomination (Best Revival back when the category was shared between plays and musicals). This was the least successful of the My Fair Lady runs, closing a little over three months later.
November 26th, 1993 Though this production ran a month longer than the '81 revival, it also wasn't a hit. It received zero Tony nominations (coincidentally the winner for Revival that year was Carousel, which is ALSO back on Broadway for this Tony season so they're competing again). Richard Chamberlain and Melissa Errico led the cast.
March 15th (previews) / April 19th (opening), 2018 The new production with Lauren Ambrose as Eliza Dolittle. She apparently has a stellar singing voice but I've only seen her onstage in a straight play. She played Juliet in Shakespeare in the Park some years ago (and was the best Juliet I've ever seen, full stop).
Will this fourth revival be the charm for Tony Awards and can Lauren Ambrose beat the odds and get a Tony nomination for it? This will be her third Broadway show. She was snubbed in the 2006 Tony season despite winning the Drama Desk Best Actress for "Awake and Sing!" a show which Tony voters actually loved (it received 8 other nominations).
Lastly, will they ever remake the movie? Remember years ago when they were supposed to remake it with Anne Hathaway or Carey Mulligan?