Pros: Lerner patches some holes in Shaw's earlier work, his lyrics are great.
Cons: It's based on the Pygmalion movie more than the play.
The Bottom Line: The Bottom Line will stick to reading the original Pygmalion script and watching the My Fair Lady movie, but he won't demand the time he spent reading this back.
Guildencrantz's Full Review: Alan J. Lerner - My Fair Lady: E-z Play Today Volu...
Euterpe is the Greek Muse of music and lyric poetry; Pygmalion was a Greek sculptor. Pygmalion is also the basic story behind George Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion. In My Fair Lady Alan Jay Lerner has adapted that story into the musical which tends to be much better known than the original play.
I should make it clear here that this is a review of the script for My Fair Lady. While songs are indented and aligned so that you can tell where they are the music is not present. There is no score in this book so if you aren't familiar with the production there are very few clues as to the form of the songs, just the lyrics. If you want to hear more about the Frederick Loewe's music you might want to read my review of the movie My Fair Lady.
For those of you who unfamiliar with the story of Pygmalion let me give you the "Guilden Scribbles" version: Pygmalion was a Greek sculptor who fell in love with one of his statues. He was so much in love with her that he prayed to Aphrodite for a woman like his statue. So touched by his plead for a woman like his statue, rather than the statue itself, and by the statues likeness to herself, Aphrodite brought the statue to life for Pygmalion.
George Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion is a bit different. This is the story of a phoneticist, Henry Higgins, and a Cockney flower girl, Eliza Doolittle. Rather than being the story of physical sculpture this is the story of social sculpture. Higgins sculpts Eliza's speech and style such that she changes from being knocked down in the street to being widely adored.
Lerner actually does a very good job of adapting Pygmalion into a musical; much of Shaw's original
dialog is even maintained. One thing that I don't really care for is the fact that this script is more based on the Pygmalion movie than the original Pygmalion play. If you read my review of the Pygmalion movie I go over my grievances there pretty heavily. While I'm sure that some of those issues will come out here I'm really going to write this review as if My Fair Lady is simply a variation of the movie rather than the play.
As in the Pygmalion movie the play starts outside the Royal Opera House with Higgins, Eliza and Colonel Pickering (a phoneticist who studies Sanskrit rather than English) first meeting. Higgins over hears Eliza's "lowly" Cockney accent and boasts to Pickering that in six months he could mould Eliza in such a way that she would pass for a duchess at an Embassy ball. The play is centered around just this: the moulding of Eliza, her presentation at the ball and the resolution of everything that happens.
One of the things that Lerner does insert in to My Fair Lady is a sequence at the beginning of the play where Eliza and the other street sing "Wouldn't It Be Lovely". While it's a good sequence that shows the lowly state of these street vendors it makes Eliza more doe-eyed. She's supposed to start as fiery and realistic, not dreamy (okay, that's my interpretation, but it's the one I get from Pygmalion). Of course when they bring the same song back at the end of the film it doesn't have the meaning is changed, even though it has a similar dreamy effect. Honestly, I love the song but don't like the effect it has on Eliza's character.
One thing that I do like about Lerner's version of the story is that more time is spent around the training of Eliza. Phonetic practice lends extremely well to singing and so Lerner expands on the "the rain in Spain" sequences found in the Pygmalion movie. Honestly Lerner's lyrics, even without the music, lend an added rhythmic tone to the play that greatly enhances pronunciation variations.
Unfortunately Lerner doesn't always maintain Shaw's descriptions. In the Pygmalion play Shaw clearly demonstrates his mastery of the playwright's craft by not only delivering the story through dialog, but also through character and scene descriptions. An actor could read the descriptions and know exactly where his motivation is coming from, even if that exact motivation was well beyond what any viewing audience could possibly interpret. Lerner has taken many of these magnificent descriptions and pared them down to the detriment of the reader, if not the theatrical audience.
Fans of Pygmalion (either version) will probably notice that one of the descriptions has been altered quite a bit. That is the description of Higgins' study. Those familiar with the movie My Fair Lady would most likely recognize the description instantly. Lerner has added the ladder and balcony that get utilized by Rex Harrison in the movie. While I'm sure that both the movie and my own biases towards lofted ceilings and balconies have effected my judgement I must say that I prefer Lerner's version description over Shaw's.
Another adaptation to the script is that Higgins is more receptive to scolding about his mistreatment of Eliza in My Fair Lady than he was in eitherPygmalion. In and of itself this really ends up having a neutral effect on my interpretation of the play. Since the Pygmalion movie already started removing the thread of Higgins' general caustic nature as a polar measure for Eliza's complacency this acceptance of criticism fits with the character and the plot without problem. However, as an indicator of the erosion of this polar bias I'm quite unhappy (damn it, the original script was the best).
Another thing that I really like is that Lerner introduces Ezra D. Wallingford (who's referred to as Wannafeller in both versions of Pygmalion) before popping him up at the end. You actually see Higgins say that Mr. Doolittle is the most moral man in England. I hate stupid little surprises at the end of stories, so I really appreciate the addition of this detail.
Yet another alteration that Lerner makes is that instead of going to Mrs. Higgins' house for Eliza's first social appearance they go to her box at Ascot. This provides a much larger crowd of observers and Eliza's lack of social understanding is still exhibited. What makes the change of venue so great is that Lerner is able to have Eliza watch a horse race and get excited; he shows her get completely wrapped up in the excitement that all social graces end up being forgotten and even her linguistic training cracks. This shows just where Eliza is: she's on her way to being ready for society, but's still a Cockney under the veneer.
Even though there is a blowout at Ascot there is no second round of training shown — as there is in the Pygmalion movie. It's merely hinted that there has been a discussion about socially acceptable behavior. My Fair Lady simply skips right along to the Embassy ball. While minor changes are made to this sequence the outcome is the same as in all versions of the play: Eliza is a hit.
Unfortunately the bet is over and now the relationships between Higgins, Eliza, and Pickering must be sorted out. While I love the ending of the original Pygmalion play even Lerner succumbs to the romantic shmaltz that Shaw introduced in the Pygmalion movie. Honestly, because of the outcome of the stories, the original Pygmalion play should have been titled My Fair Lady and all the other versions (the movie, this script, and the My Fair Lady movie) should have been titled Pygmalion.
While I think that this script is better than the one used for the Pygmalion movie it's not on par with the original Pygmalion play. The bastardization of the polar characters of Eliza and Higgins is played down and the ending is changed, which are fundamental flaws in my mind. Even so the dialog is good, the concept is interesting, and Lerner's lyrics are excellent. Besides that Lerner patches a few holes that were in the Pygmalion movie that allow this script to rise above its predecessor. It's an enjoyable read and I do recommend it to others.
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