Talk:My Fair Lady

Doolittle
Is there any reason why two characters here have the last name of doolittle and then the main guy character goes on to play dr. doolittle 3 years later? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 63.196.1.35 (talk) 07:49, 13 July 2004 (UTC)

Coincidence, most likely. ---J. Passepartout — Preceding undated comment added 10:34, 22 September 2004 (UTC)

Different spellings, though an amusing coincidence: Doctor Dolittle and Eliza Doolittle. Also, maybe in both cases, they wanted a guy who couldn't sing, as the leading man in a musical. (That might sound like POV, but in Rex's case, it worked). Wahkeenah 00:27, 26 July 2005 (UTC)


 * Lots of contemporary material about the new Doctor Dolittle production spelled the title character's name with the double-oh, no doubt influenced by the other character in the earlier Rex Harrison film. Or maybe it was the James Bond influence. ;) WHPratt (talk) 03:49, 3 May 2012 (UTC)


 * A very old thread this, but the temptation to comment is irresistable! Rex Harrison was not selected for his inability to sing - but for being a very good actor with a passible (although quite untrained) singing voice. His parts in both the musical and the children's movie were specifically written within his limited vocal range, as a (very effective) disguise for the fact that he really wasn't a singer as such. This often happens in musicals - if you want to know more it is dicussed in the Musical theatre article. As for the names of characters; "My Fair Lady" is a musical version of the Bernard Shaw play Pygmalion, while Doctor Dolittle is based on children's novels by Hugh Lofting. In both cases the writers used character names unchanged (as is most generally done). So the real question is did Hugh Lofting have Eliza (or, rather more likely) her dustman father in mind when he wrote the Doctor Doolittle books, perhaps subconciously conflating the Professor Higgins character with the Dolittle name? Just possible, although I think this is really frightfully unlikely. As for Harrison getting both parts - well they do both suit him very well. I don't think anything else was at play here. As for "oo" sneaking into the Doctor's name - this strikes me as pure carelessness. --Soundofmusicals (talk) 04:32, 4 May 2012 (UTC)
 * Had some studio filmed Doctor Dolittle in the 1940s, maybe they'd have cast Stanley Holloway in the role. Wouldn't that have made things interesting later on? WHPratt (talk) 18:21, 15 May 2012 (UTC)

Title
Nobody's mentioned where the title came from. I've heard that it's how Cockneys would say Mayfair Lady. User: Chris — Preceding unsigned comment added by 81.86.79.144 (talk) 21:54, 25 July 2005 (UTC)


 * That's an interesting bit of trivia, if true. I'm trying to recall if the actual expression "My fair lady" was used even once in the play or the movie.  I don't think so. Wahkeenah 00:27, 26 July 2005 (UTC)
 * There are a number of references to that question on the Internet. Somewhere in Thespian Heaven, Shaw and/or L&L are laughing at us and saying, "What took you so long to figure that out?" Wahkeenah 00:31, 26 July 2005 (UTC)


 * No, the expression does not feature in either the play Pygmalion or in the musical. Conventional 'wisdom' suggests that it is indeed a play on words, as that's how a Cockney would pronounce 'Mayfair lady', although I have never seen any conclusive proof that this is what Lerner was thinking of. It is also, of course, the last line in the famous nursery rhyme, 'London Bridge is falling down', so it's a term that is perhaps associated from early childhood in the minds of many people with London. ChristopherW, 29 May 2006


 * The origin of this play is complicated and hard to track. It would be hard to know who created the title -- that would be a great addition. It certainly wasn't Shaw who died in 1950 (6 years earlier) and forbade a musical of his play. Gabriel Pascal owned "the musical" until his death in 1954 and apparently sought out Lerner and Loewe originally. But of course he also died before it came to the stage. It might have been Pascal or it might have been Lerner and Loewe who crafted the title and changes to the ending. Such a history with citations, if anyone can find it, would make this a great article. Chris 14:13, 4 July 2006 (UTC)

Please some one add more to this article
There is no mention off of what orginal story this movie/play it was even based on. Or what they thesis, message, it was even trying to convey to audience.

This article is too plain, and doesn't live up to wiki standards. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 65.115.141.10 (talk) 21:15, 26 November 2005 (UTC)

Spoiler warnings
A lively debate about the spoiler warning! I agree that the spoiler warning is unnecessary. Surprise: they fall in love. Besides, the fact that the section is a plot summary already alerts the reader that there will be spoilers. -- Ssilvers 22:35, 15 May 2007 (UTC)

Vague school image from User:Herrick
Dear Herrick: Thanks for your contribution, but per Image use policy and WP:Images, the image that you keep trying to add to My Fair Lady from a school production does not illustrate the article well and is both non-notable and un-encyclopedic. You cannot tell, from looking at the image, what show is being performed or what scene is depicted. It could be any school play. In addition, a school play photo of this famous musical is not a good illustration of its importance in theatre history. This article needs more images of famous productions, such as Broadway or West End productions, showing some of the famous actors who have appeared in it, or images of R&H at work creating the musical, etc. Best regards, -- Ssilvers (talk) 14:30, 11 December 2007 (UTC)

Fair use rationale for Image:Myfairlady.jpg
Image:Myfairlady.jpg is being used on this article. I notice the image page specifies that the image is being used under fair use but there is no explanation or rationale as to why its use in this Wikipedia article constitutes fair use. In addition to the boilerplate fair use template, you must also write out on the image description page a specific explanation or rationale for why using this image in each article is consistent with fair use.

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BetacommandBot (talk) 21:23, 2 January 2008 (UTC)

Potential Synopsis Expansion
I would like to expand the plot synopsis by adding more details, especially regarding song placement. If no one has any major objections, I will do that soon.MarianKroy (talk) 21:23, 11 March 2008 (UTC)


 * Thanks again! -- Ssilvers (talk) 21:48, 11 March 2008 (UTC)

Act Two
Someone has moved the break between Act One and Act Two earlier in the plot synopsis. I think the original placement was correct; can anyone verify that? MarianKroy (talk) 14:00, 1 July 2008 (UTC)


 * I have no idea, but I'd trust you more than an anonymous editor. -- Ssilvers (talk) 14:31, 1 July 2008 (UTC)

New Film Version
Various editors (mostly IP's) have been adding information about the new film. There will definately have to be a seperate article eventually. My Fair Lady is my second-favorite musical, and I am very unhappy with the idea of a new movie version. Unfortunately, it will be made, but it would be nice if information about it could be neatly seperated from the legitimate Broadway musical page. MarianKroy (talk) 20:06, 5 August 2008 (UTC)


 * Yes, there will need to be a new article about the new film, but summary information about it and the original film can be presented together under a films heading in this article, with a "Main article" cross-reference to each film article. Best regards, -- Ssilvers (talk) 18:39, 17 August 2008 (UTC)

"Nixon had provided the singing voice of Audrey Hepburn in the film version."
Julie Andrews was the voice that Audrey Hepburn was lip-syching to in the film version. Andrews played Eliza on broadway. The casting directors cast Audrey instead of Julie because they thought Julie was too butch too play Eliza. Therefore they used Audrey for her likeness and Julie for her singing. Modul8r (talk) 01:36, 9 January 2009 (UTC)


 * No, that's wrong. Marni Nixon did the singing.  -- Ssilvers (talk) 03:45, 9 January 2009 (UTC)


 * OK I'll concede. At the risk of sounding strange, the comments above were from a friend who "believed" what I (she) typed to be true.  So I introduced her to Wikipedia that night and told her to reply with what she "was told" (thought to be true).  I since shared your reply with her and gave her an option to back what she said with sources but she couldn't/wouldn't.  So until someone else says/offers sources suggesting otherwise, we'll trust what you say to be accurate.  So, what are your sources ;) ?  Cheers, mod - Modul8r (talk) 06:18, 14 January 2009 (UTC)


 * It's pretty much common knowledge, but if your friend would like a straightforward source, you could try the 2-disc dvds of the film, where in the documentaries it's detailed how Hepburn's singing was dubbed over by Nixon and the controversy that caused at the time. Annie D (talk) 06:45, 14 January 2009 (UTC)


 * Plus, note that this is the article for the musical, not the film. The film article is at: My Fair Lady (film).  So, if your friend wants to contribute in this area, tell her to check to make sure whether she means to contribute to a Film article or a musical article.  That way she can argue with the right editors.  :-)  -- Ssilvers (talk) 07:27, 14 January 2009 (UTC)

Lamplighters?
The references to Lamplighters Musical Theatre seemed irrelevant, so I removed them. Any thoughts or objections? Patrickcolvin (talk) 06:23, 7 March 2010 (UTC)

The "critical reception" section only contains positive criticism...throw in some negative as well...someone had to hate it! —Preceding unsigned comment added by 163.11.216.224 (talk) 18:12, 16 March 2010 (UTC)

Synopsis says Covent Garden, links to Opera House
In the beginning of the synopsis, Higgins and Pickering are said to be waiting under the arches of Covent Garden, but the link takes you to the Opera House. I don't know which is right, but I assume the link and the info had better be the same... — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2.65.145.157 (talk) 09:56, 27 December 2012 (UTC)

Pygmalion help welcome
I have been attempting to refine improper linking to Pygmalion (play) and Pygmalion (mythology), and I could use some assistance cleaning up Pygmalion, Pygmalion navbox, and My Fair Lady (the latter two which I have recently created). I have posted some particular issues at Talk:Pygmalion (play). Please feel free to jump in and edit the templates or leave comments there.--TonyTheTiger (T/C/BIO/WP:CHICAGO/WP:FOUR) 15:44, 23 February 2013 (UTC)

Fiddles of sad old man with hatnote and first paragraph of lead
It's VERY late at night - and I've been fiddling a bit with these - but I really think the result is a little better than it was - I'm tempted to put "lady" into inverted commas, even... Point is that the "well-born" bit is Higgins' idea, not Eliza's. Higgins himself points out that a florist's assistant needs to be better spoken than a "real" lady anyway! ---Soundofmusicals (talk) 15:33, 21 May 2014 (UTC)

Are you missing a UK production directed by Simon Callow?
I've found several references to a Simon Callow production of 1992, with costumes by Jasper Conran. It's said to have opened in 1992 and toured, closing in 92-3 (suggests not a big hit). References on Callow's Wiki page and also here,. There's a bit more about it in this book. Says it was a revisionist production and Edward Fox played Higgins and Helen Hobson was Eliza Doolittle, so perhaps notable enough for a mention? Libby norman (talk) 08:36, 8 July 2014 (UTC)

Educating Rita
I was going to include "Educating Rita" under adaptions, but I see that the entry on ONE film is so lenghty that it would look disproportionate to enter a few lines on "Educating Rita" play and film. I leave the challenge to those more involved with the page. Regards, Rui &#39;&#39;Gabriel&#39;&#39; Correia (talk) 12:28, 18 July 2014 (UTC)

Dubbing Audrey Hepburn
I have reverted a well-meant ("good faith") edit on this subject as not really adding anything useful to this article. "Dubbed using vocals of", for instance, is not a good description of how this kind of thing is done - the dubbing singer follows the lips of the actor rather than vice versa (just use your imagination a bit - how else would you manage it?). In any case the film has its own article where this kind of detail belongs. --Soundofmusicals (talk) 04:47, 30 September 2016 (UTC)

Removed "Plot" Template
Plot summary streamlined. Word count is about 400 words, down from about 1450 words. Please revert or correct as necessary. Maintenance templates are not meant to be in articles permanently. Any user without a conflict of interest may remove a maintenance template. Template has fulfilled its intended purpose and is no longer relevant. For more information, see WP:WTRMT and WP:PLOTBLOAT. B'H. 172.250.246.150 (talk) 18:34, 28 November 2018 (UTC)

Cancelled "2008" film version
Can we remove the paragraph about the cancelled "2008" film version? It was never made, and it never really got close to being made. I think that, with respect to the musical, it is not noteworthy. -- Ssilvers (talk) 15:02, 26 April 2022 (UTC)