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My Fair Lady
The complete vocal score to the classic musical with 14 songs: Ascot Gavotte * Embassy Waltz * Get Me to the Church on Time * I Could Have Danced All Night * I've Grown Accustomed to Her Face * Just You Wait * On the Street Where You Live * Ordinary Man * The Rain in Spain * Why Can't the English? * With a Little Bit of Luck * Without You * Wouldn't It Be Loverly * You Did It.
128 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1956
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1783 people want to read
About the author
Alan Jay Lerner
223 books12 followersAlan Jay Lerner was an American lyricist and librettist whose work helped define the golden age of musical theatre, on stage and on screen. Born in New York City to a cultured and well connected family, he was educated in England and the United States, studying at Bedales School, Choate, and Harvard, where his lifelong love for musical theatre took shape through the Hasty Pudding productions. Like several of his contemporaries, Lerner began his professional path while still a student, combining literary wit with an instinctive feel for character and song. An accident during his Harvard years left him blind in one eye, preventing military service during World War II and redirecting him toward writing for radio before he entered the theatre world full time. His career changed decisively after meeting composer Frederick Loewe in the early 1940s, a partnership that would become one of the most celebrated in musical theatre history. Together they created works that blended romance, intelligence, and emotional clarity, beginning with early efforts and achieving major success with Brigadoon, Paint Your Wagon, and later the landmark My Fair Lady. Their adaptation of George Bernard Shaw’s Pygmalion became a cultural phenomenon, breaking box office records and later winning multiple Academy Awards in its film version. The Lerner and Loewe collaboration continued with the film musical Gigi and the Arthurian epic Camelot, whose themes of idealism and loss came to resonate far beyond the stage. Outside this partnership, Lerner worked with composers such as Kurt Weill, Burton Lane, André Previn, Leonard Bernstein, and Charles Strouse, experiencing both triumphs and notable disappointments. His career was marked by ambition, perfectionism, and frequent personal turmoil, including health struggles and financial instability. Lerner also played an important role as an advocate for writers’ rights, serving as president of the Dramatists Guild of America in the early 1960s. He received numerous honors, including multiple Tony Awards, Academy Awards, and induction into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. In his later years he reflected on his career in books that combined memoir, criticism, and affectionate insight into the art of musical theatre. Despite professional decline and personal difficulties, his influence endured. Alan Jay Lerner died in 1986, leaving behind songs and stories that remain central to the musical theatre repertoire, admired for their elegance, emotional honesty, and enduring humanity.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 94 reviews
August 11, 2008
The only reason I write this is because, unlike the movie, this holds the true ending, in which the woman leaves. Who in their right mind would stay with that odious man. He treats her like crap!
To the play, NOT the movie!
To the play, NOT the movie!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 10, 2023
Overall: 3.5/5 I think I like the movie more than the book.
Recently, I watched the movie My Fair Lady, filmed in 1964. It is an American musical comedy-drama film adapted from the 1956 Lerner and Loewe stage musical based on George Bernard Shaw's 1913 stage play Pygmalion. The main characters include Eliza Dolittle, who was acted by Audrey Hepburn, while Professor Henry Higgins by Rex Harrison.
I enjoyed the movie a lot. An 8 out of 10. Especially since I know the songs in this musical. I also like the character development of Eliza, which props to the scriptwriter and learned to be independent. In the original play, the name of it was Pygmalion. It originated from Greek mythology, where a God fell in love with a sculpture, and it eventually came alive. So in the musical and the movie, Eliza was the sculpture that came alive as she fought for her freedom and independence. She became more human and less like a figure sculpted and crafted by Higgins. However, the dubbing was a little weird, and I did not enjoy that the actress didn't sing the songs herself.
The movie followed precisely with the stage musical. Initially, the scriptwriter Shaw ended the play by Higgins laughing to himself at the idea of Eliza marrying Freddy, another nobleman. However, popular audiences, looking for pleasant entertainment, wanted a happy ending for the characters they liked so well. On the other hand, Shaw explained precisely why the story couldn't end with Higgins and Eliza getting married because of the tremendous difference in their mindsets. Shaw insisted on protecting the play and Eliza's integrity by keeping the last scene. In my opinion, I am leaning towards the original script. I also think that there was too much history and differences between Eliza and Higgins. There was too much badness between them for there to ever be anything more.
There was an enormous controversy over the lead actress in My Fair Lady. The director chose Audrey Hepburn instead of Julie Andrews, who played the first Eliza Dolittle on Broadway. Julie Andrews was also known for acting in The Sound of Music and Mary Poppins. Also, the songs sung by Eliza in the movie were dubbed by another person. It was estimated that only 10% of the songs were sung by Audrey. This is really sad, as she put a lot of effort into practising her singing skills and taking vocal lessons every day. All the while the director had already decided to dub her voice without telling her. It was said that Audrey was extremely upset by this fact and that she definitely shed tears over this topic. Audrey ended up didn't even being nominated for the Oscars.
Recently, I watched the movie My Fair Lady, filmed in 1964. It is an American musical comedy-drama film adapted from the 1956 Lerner and Loewe stage musical based on George Bernard Shaw's 1913 stage play Pygmalion. The main characters include Eliza Dolittle, who was acted by Audrey Hepburn, while Professor Henry Higgins by Rex Harrison.
I enjoyed the movie a lot. An 8 out of 10. Especially since I know the songs in this musical. I also like the character development of Eliza, which props to the scriptwriter and learned to be independent. In the original play, the name of it was Pygmalion. It originated from Greek mythology, where a God fell in love with a sculpture, and it eventually came alive. So in the musical and the movie, Eliza was the sculpture that came alive as she fought for her freedom and independence. She became more human and less like a figure sculpted and crafted by Higgins. However, the dubbing was a little weird, and I did not enjoy that the actress didn't sing the songs herself.
The movie followed precisely with the stage musical. Initially, the scriptwriter Shaw ended the play by Higgins laughing to himself at the idea of Eliza marrying Freddy, another nobleman. However, popular audiences, looking for pleasant entertainment, wanted a happy ending for the characters they liked so well. On the other hand, Shaw explained precisely why the story couldn't end with Higgins and Eliza getting married because of the tremendous difference in their mindsets. Shaw insisted on protecting the play and Eliza's integrity by keeping the last scene. In my opinion, I am leaning towards the original script. I also think that there was too much history and differences between Eliza and Higgins. There was too much badness between them for there to ever be anything more.
There was an enormous controversy over the lead actress in My Fair Lady. The director chose Audrey Hepburn instead of Julie Andrews, who played the first Eliza Dolittle on Broadway. Julie Andrews was also known for acting in The Sound of Music and Mary Poppins. Also, the songs sung by Eliza in the movie were dubbed by another person. It was estimated that only 10% of the songs were sung by Audrey. This is really sad, as she put a lot of effort into practising her singing skills and taking vocal lessons every day. All the while the director had already decided to dub her voice without telling her. It was said that Audrey was extremely upset by this fact and that she definitely shed tears over this topic. Audrey ended up didn't even being nominated for the Oscars.
July 30, 2018
My Fair Lady is very similar to Pygmalion, only with songs, but a few other notable changes it was odd seeing after having just re-read Pygmalion. Doolittle gets more of a part, and Freddy gets less (and his sister completely disappears!). I like both versions, and while I like the original better for the most part, I completely agree with the latter playwright that Eliza and Higgins are meant for each other!
Read
February 26, 2015good
January 26, 2026
Loved it. Now I immediately have to go watch the movie.
December 27, 2023
Horrifyingly bad due to the screaming, hollering, and the Eliza Doolittle character (Audrey Hepburn) screaming like a cat and putting forth an unbelievable Cockney accent.
🗑 Pas pour moi. Abandoned.
🎥
🗑 Pas pour moi. Abandoned.
🎥
November 21, 2014
Loved the book, loved the movie, loved the play, loved the soundtrack. (Enough love said?) I was in High School when I was obsessed with this. I can still sing all the songs. . . now that's scary.
February 23, 2013
Even though I hate the ending, I LOVE this play. I get the songs stuck in my head all the freaking time. This is also the only move I love Rex Harrison in.
June 16, 2021
link to the soundtrack:
https://www.what-song.com/Movies/Soun...
https://www.what-song.com/Movies/Soun...
June 18, 2025
Henry Higgins can go to Hertford, Hereford, and Hampshire.
November 21, 2014
I really enjoyed this book and I recommend it to any girls and women who love romantic musicals. The thing I found interesting was that it was written like a play; I have never read a book in that format. I also love Miss Doolittle's personality,and how she was very feisty even though she was somewhat ignorant. Eliza was a very open spirit and I think that's why I like her o much. She's not afraid to say her feelings!
March 3, 2016
As I've seen the original movie, with Audrey Hepburn (magnificent, I might add!) the book wasn't as good. As English isn't my mother tounge, it was hard to understand why she said things wrong, and why he said them right. Especially because my book was an older, Swedish copy! I didn't understand much, but as I'd seen the movie I understood it all anyway. Still, it was fun to read an act. I'd just wished I had read the original, English version!
July 16, 2014
One of my favorite musicals. With my unerring sense for the inappropriate, I used "Wouldn't It be Loverly?" for an audition piece.
February 17, 2026
One of those adaptations that mostly just makes me really want to read the original. From what I've read about Pygmalion, George Bernard Shaw might have understood his characters a good deal more than the writers of this musical version. That said, this was far from as bad as I expected. I mean, the Cockney is godawful, and the treatment of Eliza is abhorrent, but by and large it doesn't feel like we're supposed to like or forgive Higgins for his treatment of her. This is complicated by the ending (mercifully ambiguous, but unnecessary), and by the description of Higgins as fundamentally likeable (I wanted to beat him about the head with a metal pipe), but Eliza's statements that he has only changed something superficial about her, while her transformation is really about how others' (explicitly not Higgins') respect for her has made her respect herself, ring true. Also loved the scene where she equates marriage to prostitution, and says it was more respectable to sell flowers. Basically, the play gets halfway towards saying something I find compelling about class, but undercuts it by fundamentally being a romantic comedy musical.
Ideology aside, as a play this felt unfinished. There were a number of scenes I wish we'd have seen, and time skips where characters changed in ways that could have been a pivotal moment. This might have been a matter of time - long comedy songs taking space away from plot - but not being a huge fan of those songs, to me that was unjustified.
Ideology aside, as a play this felt unfinished. There were a number of scenes I wish we'd have seen, and time skips where characters changed in ways that could have been a pivotal moment. This might have been a matter of time - long comedy songs taking space away from plot - but not being a huge fan of those songs, to me that was unjustified.
May 30, 2025
I think it would work way better as a drama, and not a romantic comedy. There's nothing romantic: Higgins is an old misogynist self-centered professor. I don't get why Eliza ends up with him (and in Shaw's "Pygmalion" Eliza ends up with Freddy, which is slightly better).
On the other hand, the social commentary about the inequalities and language is relevant. Eliza should be more adamant about her ideas, what she says is true and even kinda feminist but she lets Higgins reject her opinions, for example :
Higgins (saying she can marry a guy) - I daresay my mother could find some chap or other who would do very well.
Eliza- We were above that in Covent Garden.
Higgins- What do you mean?
Eliza- I sold flowers. I didn't sell myself. Now you've made a lady of me, I'm not fit to sell anything else.
Higgins- Tosh, Eliza!
See what I mean? A dramatic ending would have given credit to what she says (and it would have been very satisfying to see Higgins get what he deserves).
On the other hand, the social commentary about the inequalities and language is relevant. Eliza should be more adamant about her ideas, what she says is true and even kinda feminist but she lets Higgins reject her opinions, for example :
Higgins (saying she can marry a guy) - I daresay my mother could find some chap or other who would do very well.
Eliza- We were above that in Covent Garden.
Higgins- What do you mean?
Eliza- I sold flowers. I didn't sell myself. Now you've made a lady of me, I'm not fit to sell anything else.
Higgins- Tosh, Eliza!
See what I mean? A dramatic ending would have given credit to what she says (and it would have been very satisfying to see Higgins get what he deserves).
December 1, 2025
基於習慣與依賴的愛情
據說此片：《窈窕淑女》赫赫有名，女主角也赫赫有名，是奧黛莉赫本。但在我看來，它的劇情就像古代版的“麻雀變鳳凰”，天真、膚淺又不合理。
女主角為了學習標準英語，矯正他的倫敦土腔，竟然需要“住”到“陌生教授”家裡，未免匪夷所思。而男主角對女主角的感情，說穿了，也不過是“習慣”和“依賴”而已。可笑的是，男主角卻把它赤裸裸的唱了出來：
I've grown accustomed to her face!
She almost makes the day begin.
I've grown accustomed to the tune.
She whistles night and noon.
.............
Like breathing out and breathing in.
.............
I've grown accustomed to her looks;
Accustomed to her voice;
Accustomed to her face.
男主角Higgins是個年輕、有自信的專業人士，他的一些自大、歧視女性的言論，頗能代表某一類型及階段的男性想法，很有意思。例如，“I just don't think very much of women, that's all, and I like to live in my way. I've had a nice quiet time without women up to now, and no woman is ever going to change that!”。又例如，“Women are never sensible! They've got heads full of wool, stupid things! Why can't women be more like men, that's what I want to know? Why can't women be like us?”。
這個簡易讀本仍維持歌唱劇的風格，並保留了好幾首歌的歌詞。不知道別人如何？依我的程度來看，相對於其他文本，歌詞的翻譯是更要費心琢磨的。
據說此片：《窈窕淑女》赫赫有名，女主角也赫赫有名，是奧黛莉赫本。但在我看來，它的劇情就像古代版的“麻雀變鳳凰”，天真、膚淺又不合理。
女主角為了學習標準英語，矯正他的倫敦土腔，竟然需要“住”到“陌生教授”家裡，未免匪夷所思。而男主角對女主角的感情，說穿了，也不過是“習慣”和“依賴”而已。可笑的是，男主角卻把它赤裸裸的唱了出來：
I've grown accustomed to her face!
She almost makes the day begin.
I've grown accustomed to the tune.
She whistles night and noon.
.............
Like breathing out and breathing in.
.............
I've grown accustomed to her looks;
Accustomed to her voice;
Accustomed to her face.
男主角Higgins是個年輕、有自信的專業人士，他的一些自大、歧視女性的言論，頗能代表某一類型及階段的男性想法，很有意思。例如，“I just don't think very much of women, that's all, and I like to live in my way. I've had a nice quiet time without women up to now, and no woman is ever going to change that!”。又例如，“Women are never sensible! They've got heads full of wool, stupid things! Why can't women be more like men, that's what I want to know? Why can't women be like us?”。
這個簡易讀本仍維持歌唱劇的風格，並保留了好幾首歌的歌詞。不知道別人如何？依我的程度來看，相對於其他文本，歌詞的翻譯是更要費心琢磨的。
July 3, 2022
I love the various incarnations of G.B.S.'s tale. I came across this paperback book of the Alan Lerner adaption of 'Pygmalion'. It's mostly was in seen in the film version, with a few edits. Meaning: It's still brilliant.
The pacing of the story is really what makes the entirety work so well. The wonderful balance of dialogue and storytelling is outstanding. The songs could be placed better, but the quality of the tunes are also exemplary. I've known these tunes since a wee boy. Back in the '70s, when classmates were talking of various rock songs, I was humming 'On the Street Where You Live'.
It is hard to read this, knowing the theater or movie version, and not sing the lyrics included instead of just reading the words. :)
I almost didn't purchase this, but now very glad to have this on my shelf.
Bottom line: I recommend this book. 10 out of 10 points.
The pacing of the story is really what makes the entirety work so well. The wonderful balance of dialogue and storytelling is outstanding. The songs could be placed better, but the quality of the tunes are also exemplary. I've known these tunes since a wee boy. Back in the '70s, when classmates were talking of various rock songs, I was humming 'On the Street Where You Live'.
It is hard to read this, knowing the theater or movie version, and not sing the lyrics included instead of just reading the words. :)
I almost didn't purchase this, but now very glad to have this on my shelf.
Bottom line: I recommend this book. 10 out of 10 points.
August 14, 2024
I loved how quick this read was! I rate it 3.5, just because the ending was a little confusing for me. It wasn’t bad though, I love how she grew into her independence throughout the book. I didn’t feel as connected to her as I usually do to main characters, but I think that’s just because I read the book in a script format and it was only 127 pages. I wish I could watch the movie or musical, and I’m sure i could find it online somewhere, but I’m scared that it will be disappointing after reading the book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 16, 2018
There is one honest answer to this book and why it got one star: Dutch translation. It was horrible, it was disasterous and I hated it with whole my heart. The implications that they made and so on.
Would I ever try to read the original if I get my hands on it: definitely.
The play was in town and I wanted to go, was sad I couldn't get tickets and so on but if they do it exactly as the translation: I'm glad I didn't go. It's butchering of art, it's a shame. Of course there is a need for accents but the Dutch way of it, the way of writing and so on, it killed me. Rather try the English version one day.
Would I ever try to read the original if I get my hands on it: definitely.
The play was in town and I wanted to go, was sad I couldn't get tickets and so on but if they do it exactly as the translation: I'm glad I didn't go. It's butchering of art, it's a shame. Of course there is a need for accents but the Dutch way of it, the way of writing and so on, it killed me. Rather try the English version one day.
June 5, 2023
The summer musical for JHS! I will be playing Alfred Doolittle and I needed to read up on what the musical was about. Very interesting characters, but has a lot of dated references and many of the men are not nice to the women in the show. As much as Golden Age shows are timeless, they’re also slightly problematic.
September 28, 2023
Picked this up on a whim in a Paris bookshop. Overall love the movie (and therefore this screenplay) but hate the ending, in which Eliza winds up in an undefined relationship with Higgins. And the author of the screenplay (Lerner) says in a note that George Bernard Shaw's original had her end up with Freddy, NOT Higgins. Damn! At least I don't have to blame Shaw!
February 17, 2021
I give this book 4.5. My dad always mention this book to me all the time but I haven't got a chance to read it. However i read the Penguin Readers level 3 version and fall in love with the book. I just can't wait to read the complete version of the classic pieces. Just love it
June 17, 2017
Just wonderful. 4.75 stars!
July 30, 2017
It has some pacing problems, in my opinion, but it's just so entertaining!
September 18, 2018
Script.
October 29, 2018
used to watch the film with my ma and sing along to the songs :)))
February 22, 2019
I have no idea if it is a "good" play, but it is such a part of my childhood that reading it was like a hug.
December 17, 2019
(Lectura facultativa).
Estoy un poco confundida con el final de la historia. Pero debería releerla.
Estoy un poco confundida con el final de la historia. Pero debería releerla.
March 24, 2020
We enjoyed the 1964 version with Audrey Hepburn and Rex Harrison. It is very close to Bernard Shaw's book, Pygmalion.
May 23, 2020
ANOTHER PLAY! It's a good script for musical theatre play.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 94 reviews