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 In an era marked by the outstanding quality of its musicals, and the greater integration of the book and songs, My Fair Lady stood out as the most perfect expression of the genre. Based on George Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion, it starred Rex Harrison as the language expert and confirmed bachelor, Prof. Henry Higgins, who, on a bet with his friend Col. Pickering, offers to change a Cockney flowergirl, Eliza Dolittle (Julie Andrews), into a socialite. Higgins succeeds beyond his dreams, and transforms Eliza to the point where she is mistaken for a Hungarian Princess at the embassy ball. In the process, however, he also discovers that he has "grown accustomed" to her presence, a revelation that shakes the very foundations of his fastidious existence.With a score by Frederick Loewe and Alan Jay Lerner, the show had the longest run of any musical up to that time (2,717 performances), following its premiere on March 15, 1956, and has frequently been revived. It received a sensational screen transfer in 1964, with Harrison reprising his role opposite Audrey Hepburn. Columbia, which helped finance the show, released not only the original cast album, but the film soundtrack recording as well, with Audrey Hepburn's voice dubbed by Marni Nixon.
From My Fair Lady; (F. Loewe/A.J. Lerner); Produced by Goddard Lieberson; orchestra conducted by Franz Allers; Rec. March 25, 1956. Columbia OL 5090; Originally Released 1956
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