Tuesday, May 20, 2008

It's Eliza Doolittle Day!

"...on the twentieth of May, I proclaim 'Liza Doolittle Day!" (from the song "Just You Wait"). Thought I'd celebrate it by proclaiming my love for the musical by Lerner and Loewe. Below, the cover of a souvenir program hardbound book about the film - the person who bought it at the time taped their ticket stub inside from the Coronet Theatre dated Jan. 2nd 1965 (approx. a week after the film's release).
Of course I have the DVD and the soundtrack album:
But I also have some of the sheet music, too:
And even a copy of this book by the great Cecil Beaton , who was responsible for the costumes, scenery, and production design of the film:
BUT - I have to say that as fabulous as the movie is, and as much as I LOVE Audrey Hepburn, there will always be a part of me that is sorry Julie Andrews didn't have the chance to star in the film. She would have been wonderful, too. And she'd have done her own singing. I have a couple of pieces of sheet music from the play as well:
And the original cast album, recorded in 1959:
(P.S. I just saw Ms. Andrews last night on "Conversations With Michael Eisner", and she said "I understood why I wasn't chosen" ... "I wasn't known.." and this is what she said recently in another interview about Audrey Hepburn, that she "..later became a great friend of mine" and "she once said to me...she said - Julie - you should have done the role, but I didn't have the guts to turn it down." How sweet is that? If she had made this film, she may not have been available for Mary Poppins - and I am VERY happy that she made that movie - and she did win the Oscar for that role, after all!)

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Are you saying that Audrey did not sing her own songs? I never knew that . . . could've fooled lil' ol me!

Heidi Ann said...

It may have fooled a lot of people. Marni Nixon dubbed the singing voice of Eliza in the film.

Anonymous said...

What about "Breakfast at Tiffany's?" Did she sing "Moon River?"

Tina Dawn said...

My Fair Lady was one of the movies that we went to see for my birthday at the old Alhambra Theatre in Sacramento. I remember we girls sang the "Loverly" song for months with the accent. What a great memory. Love T

Heidi Ann said...

Hi Kari!! Audrey DID sing Moon River, and I think it's beautiful. Probably my favorite scene in that film.

Anonymous said...

Me too!! Makes me cry every single time I see it. I am so glad to know that she was really signing that one . . .I think I may have just kept right on thinking so, even if it weren't true!

Anonymous said...

I love My Fair Lady- one of many movies that remind me of my mom. I"m glad Audrey was in it because her looong neck has encourged me many times. ;> (I have a long neck.)