Alan Jay Lerner, Rex Harrison, Julie Andrews, Frederick Loewe - My Fair Lady (1956 Original Broadway Cast)

The 2,700 performances of Lerner and Loewe's musical adaptation of George Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion gracefully spanned the Eisenhower and Camelot eras, then begat a wildly popular film version, whose 1965 Best Picture Oscar capped the show's decade of prominence. The crowning achievement of Lerner and Loewe's rich body of work began its recording life on this 1956 cast recording, a collection of performances that long ago became a ubiquitous and indispensable fixture of American musical theater. Indeed, it's hard to imagine anyone else but Julie Andrews and Rex Harrison in the roles of the cockney Eliza Doolittle and her long-suffering mentor, Henry Higgins, delivering definitive versions of the show's embarrassment of riches: "Why Can't the English?," "Wouldn't It Be Loverly," "The Rain in Spain," "I Could Have Danced All Night," and "I've Grown Accustomed to Her Face." This new edition offers a digitally burnished take of the already glorious recording, now supplemented with a post-recording conversation track featuring Harrison, Andrews, Lerner, conductor Franz Allers, and original producer Goddard Lieberson, as well as a 1961 audio interview with Lerner and Loewe. --Jerry McCulley Amazon.com

Break On Through

In a watershed moment for Columbia Records, this original Broadway cast recording began the rapid climb of the company into the stratosphere of pop culture consciousness.

Produced by company president Goddard Lieberson, it sold five million copies and spent a staggering 480 weeks on the Billboard 200 album chart. To place the album in an accurate historical perspective, it was the Thriller of its generation.

It is timeless music - due to the rich arrangements & performances - with the numbers encapsulating the musical for those who only have the album as the point of reference.

There are few albums that truly define the American music industry. This is certainly one which has space on that lofty mantel. March 21, 2008

My Fair Lady

I love the musical MY FAIR LADY. The video is helping me accomplish something musically. The video is well done, and I got it at such a wonderful price. February 23, 2008

Another purchase as promised.

I received the cd as I was told I would. Perfect in every way. February 6, 2008

My Fair Lady (1956 Original Broadway Cast)

The music CD of the 1956 Original Broadway Cast of My Fair Lady is truly excellent. The recording is crisp and clear and the music is tops. We all love the movie with Audrey Hepburn and Rex Harrison, but I must say that the soundtrack of the original Broadway play is superb. Julie Andrews' voice is clear as a bell, especially her high notes, her cockney accent is perfect. The other songs are extremely entertaining and fun.

The whole production is wonderful. I recommend it wholeheartedly. If you enjoy musicals with a lot of fun and gorgeous music, I suggest you acquire this soundtrack. I just wish that there was a film recording of this play. I would have loved to own it. I know it would be as good if not better than the motion picture version. January 28, 2008

the very best recording of a great musical

This is a fabulous recording. The ebullient, joyful energy of the Broadway cast comes across magnificently: this was recorded, as the notes indicate, shortly after the show opened and the cast was thrilled by the stunning success of one of the greatest musicals of all time. Wonderful music, witty words, excellent production. Perhaps best of all is hearing Julie Andrews--very, very young-- in prime form in this role, which she really defined. (In the movie, starring Audrey Hepburn, the singing was dubbed by Marnie Nixon, though most of the other original stars besides Andrews were in the movie.) You will be delighted and amazed by the Andrews range, expressiveness, vibrancy, and skillful hints of Eliza's guttersnipe depths. These make this version a special thrill, not to be had in any of the film versions. Love it!! December 8, 2007

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