This story is about a very wealthy, English man who placed a bet with his business partner. The bet was that he could not take a poor, homeless girl off of the streets and turn her into a fine, proper lady. Being the man that Henry Higgins was, he took on the bet.
Higgins took in a girl named Eliza Doolittle. He attempted to make her into a new lady. It was very difficult to do because she was stubborn, dirty, and defiant.
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      Through the process, Henry got to know Eliza very well. He fell in love with her. He fell in love because she transformed into a beautiful, well-mannered woman. 

      After Henry realized that he had fallen in love with Eliza he tried to ignore it because he didn't want to be in love with someone off of the streets. With that, he kicked Eliza out of the house and said good-bye.

     Realizing his mistake, Henry took Eliza back in and they lived happily ever after!

 
     
 This show was based on the play "Pygmalion" by George Bernard Shaw. "My Fair Lady" opened on Broadway in 1956. It opened in London in April of 1958 in the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, England. The show ran 2,717 times and was the longest run musical in history. Julie Andrews played Eliza alongside Rex Harrison as Henry Higgins. 
     The screen rights for the musical were granted to Warner Brothers for a cost of $5.5 million on top of a $17 million budget. It was the most expensive Warner Brothers film to date.
     Casting for the film was difficult. Julie Andrews wanted to portray Eliza on screen, but Jack Warner feared that casting an actress only known on the English stage would not work. Audrey Hepburn took the female lead and was paid one and a quarter million dollars. Her singing voice was unsuitable, so Marni Nixon was called upon. (She also dubbed to Deborah Kerr in "The King And I" and to Natalie Wood in "West Side Story.") Rex Harrison portrayed Henry Higgins on screen. (He also played the character with Julie Andrews on stage.)
"My Fair Lady" won 8 Academy Awards including:

 

*Best Picture (1964)

*Best Actor (Rex Harrison)

*Best Director (George Cusok)

*Best Cinematography

*Best Art/Set Design

*Best Music

*Best Sound

*Best Costume Design

 

Eliza Doolittle...Audrey Hepburn (sung by Marni Nixon)

Henry Higgins...Rex Harrison

Colonel Hugh Pickering...Wilfrid Hyde-White

Alfred P. Doolittle...Stanley Holloway

Mrs. Higgins...Gladys Cooper

Mrs. Pearce...Mona Washbourne

Freddy Eynsford-Hill...Jeremy Brett (sung y Bill Shirley)

Mrs. Eynsford-Hill...Isobel Elsom

Prince Gregor...Henry Daniell

Jamie John Alderson...Harry John McLiam

Zoltan Karpathy...Theodore Bikel

 
 

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