A substantial portion of material at the end of Act I including the "Dress Ballet," "Come to the Ball," and "Say a Prayer for Me Tonight" were all cut between the preview performances in New Haven and opening night on Broadway. Like most musicals, My Fair Lady underwent a considerable revision process before hitting the Great White Way. In the case of My Fair Lady, it is the absent material that may perhaps reveal more about the thought process of its creators. Following the closing lines of the play he writes, "The rest of the story need not be shown in action, and indeed, would hardly need telling if our imaginations were not so enfeebled by their lazy dependence on the ready-mades and reach-me-downs of the ragshop in which Romance keeps it stock of ‘happy endings’ to misfit all stories.” 3 Shaw goes on to explain that Eliza does indeed marry Freddy, although he admits that Higgins remains "one of the strongest personal interests in her life." 4 Appalled to learn that the public envisioned a romantic union between Eliza and Higgins, Shaw penned a scathing response - an epilogue to accompany the play that would clarify in no uncertain terms the fate of Miss Eliza Doolittle. Indeed, audiences began to assume a little too much for Shaw's taste. Although the original play provides no overt reconciliation or reunion for our central characters (the famous "where the devil are my slippers" scene being notably absent) one is left to assume that Eliza will eventually reunite with her former mentor and friend. What does Shaw have to say about Eliza and the men who loom large in her life? 2 How is it possible that two critics reviewing the same production with the same actors on the same evening could have come away with two such different interpretations of the show's central relationship? The answer, perhaps, can be found in Lerner and Loewe's treatment of the material, but first let's return to the source.
Brooks Atkinson of the New York Times described Higgins as "a bright young man in love with fair lady." 1 Rival critic, John Chapman of the New York Daily News, referred only to the teacher/student dynamic between Higgins and Eliza and the transformation of flower girl into "hightoned lady" in his opening night review. Even among the original reviewers there is no clear consensus. Is this the tale of a burgeoning romance or a heartfelt friendship? Strong feelings certainly exist between Eliza and Higgins, but does her return at the end of Act II indicate the beginning of a new, romantic phase of their relationship? Strangely enough, audiences have never agreed on this point.
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