I own I double edition of Pygmalion and My Fair Lady, and I believe that this is the book I have read the most in my life. I have read it at least 100 times, if not more. It was actually the first book I ever bought at Stratford, after viewing my first production there (My Fair Lady). So my last post on Anna and the King of Siam was slightly out of chronological order, but what can you do.
I think the reason I adore My Fair Lady and Pygmalion is because of Stratford. as mentioned, it was the first production I saw there, and to add to that, it was on the festival stage, which is beyond magical. In Stratford Gold, which I will discuss a few posts from now, many actors talk about their first experiences viewing theatre at Stratford, and how the experience was utterly life changing. And I think that viewing My Fair Lady was similar for me-although Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat already made me fall in love with theatre- it was My Fair Lady that devoted me to the Stratford Shakespeare Festival. When I discuss the book Stratford Gold I will share some of those quotes, but for now I will share a quote from a recent newspaper article written my Richard Ouzounian (my favourite theatre critic) in memoriam to Michael Langham: "I had been in modified thrust theatres before, but this was the thing itself, an almost kabbalistic geometric design that Tanya Moiseiwitsch and Tyrone Guthrie had concocted between them. My apologies to the nuns and priests who had tried to turn me into a good Catholic, but that stage seemed like more of a sacred altar to me than any of the countless structures I had knelt before in prayer" (2011).
But back to Pygmalion/My Fair Lady, and I will continue to use both titles, because almost every time I read my edition, I go through all of Pygmalion (sometimes interjecting My Fair Lady's songs in between) but skip to the ending of My Fair Lady-because although it isn't practical and doesn't really work in the traditional sense, I don't like the idea of Eliza and Henry not together.
I have read this book so many times in this fashion that I have a great number of it's lines memorized-this was problematic when I saw My Fair Lady a second time a few years after Stratford at a small community theatre. I knew the lines from Pygmalion so well, that I was sure the actor playing Henry Higgins was forgetting parts of his speech-it was only after the production that I realized I was remembering the lines from Pygmalion and not My Fair Lady.
If you have the chance I highly recommend seeing and reading either My Fair Lady or Pygmalion.
References
Ouzounian, R. (January 21, 2011). Michael Langham made me love Stratford. Retrieved from http://www.thestar.com/article/926426--michael-langham-made-me-love-stratford
I think the reason I adore My Fair Lady and Pygmalion is because of Stratford. as mentioned, it was the first production I saw there, and to add to that, it was on the festival stage, which is beyond magical. In Stratford Gold, which I will discuss a few posts from now, many actors talk about their first experiences viewing theatre at Stratford, and how the experience was utterly life changing. And I think that viewing My Fair Lady was similar for me-although Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat already made me fall in love with theatre- it was My Fair Lady that devoted me to the Stratford Shakespeare Festival. When I discuss the book Stratford Gold I will share some of those quotes, but for now I will share a quote from a recent newspaper article written my Richard Ouzounian (my favourite theatre critic) in memoriam to Michael Langham: "I had been in modified thrust theatres before, but this was the thing itself, an almost kabbalistic geometric design that Tanya Moiseiwitsch and Tyrone Guthrie had concocted between them. My apologies to the nuns and priests who had tried to turn me into a good Catholic, but that stage seemed like more of a sacred altar to me than any of the countless structures I had knelt before in prayer" (2011).
But back to Pygmalion/My Fair Lady, and I will continue to use both titles, because almost every time I read my edition, I go through all of Pygmalion (sometimes interjecting My Fair Lady's songs in between) but skip to the ending of My Fair Lady-because although it isn't practical and doesn't really work in the traditional sense, I don't like the idea of Eliza and Henry not together.
I have read this book so many times in this fashion that I have a great number of it's lines memorized-this was problematic when I saw My Fair Lady a second time a few years after Stratford at a small community theatre. I knew the lines from Pygmalion so well, that I was sure the actor playing Henry Higgins was forgetting parts of his speech-it was only after the production that I realized I was remembering the lines from Pygmalion and not My Fair Lady.
If you have the chance I highly recommend seeing and reading either My Fair Lady or Pygmalion.
References
Ouzounian, R. (January 21, 2011). Michael Langham made me love Stratford. Retrieved from http://www.thestar.com/article/926426--michael-langham-made-me-love-stratford
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