Pygmalion and My Fair Lady (50th Anniversary Edition) (Signet Classics) - Softcover

Lerner, Alan Jay; Shaw, George Bernard

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0451530098 ISBN 13: 9780451530097

Publisher: Signet, 2006

Synopsis

The ancient Greeks tell the legend of the sculptor Pygmalion, who created a statue of a woman of such surpassing beauty that he fell in love with his own creation. Then, Aphrodite, taking pity on this man whose love could not reach beyond the barrier of stone, brought the statue to life and gave her to Pygmalion as his bride.

Centuries later, George Bernard Shaw captured the magic of this legend in his celebrated romantic play, Pygmalion. Pygmalion became Henry Higgins, a professor of phonetics, his statue an untutored flower girl from the streets of London, and the barrier between them the difference in their stations in life.

In My Fair Lady, Alan Jay Lerner takes the legend one step further--the barrier is swept away and Higgins and Eliza are reunited as the curtain falls on one of the loveliest musical plays of our time--winning seven Tonys(R) for its original Broadway production, and seven Oscars(R) for its film adaptation.

About this title

From the Back Cover

'You see this creature with her kerbstone English: the English that will keep her in the gutter to the end of her days. Well, sir, in three months I could pass that girl off as a duchess at an ambassador's garden party. I could even get her a place as lady's maid or shop assistant, which requires better English.'

Following this public boast, Professor Henry Higgins accepts a challenge to teach the flower-seller Eliza Doolittle to speak standard English and launch her into polite society. Through Higgins's triumphant transformation of Eliza into a 'lady', and Eliza's subsequent rebellion against Higgins's attitudes and assumptions, Shaw's provocative comedy explores questions of speech and class in England.

First performed in London in 1914, 'Pygmalion' quickly established itself among the classic English comedies. On this lively recording, which offers the complete text of the definitive script of 1I39, the play is performed by a distinguished cast led by Sir Michael Redgrave, Sir Michael Hordern, Lynn Redgave and Donald Pleasence.

About the Author

Henrik Ibsen (1828-1906) was a Norwegian playwright and poet whose realistic, symbolic and often controversial plays revolutionised European theatre. He is widely regarded as the father of modern drama. His acclaimed plays include A Doll's House, Ghosts, Hedda Gabler, An Enemy of the People and The Pillars of the Community. His centenary is celebrated in 2006.

Edition details

• Publisher: Signet
• Publication date: 2006
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0451530098
• ISBN 13: 9780451530097
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• Number of pages: 240