Colin Firth to Take On Henry Higgins in Broadway Revival of MY FAIR LADY?

BROADWAY WORLD
by Caryn Robbins
May 27, 2015



Reports of an upcoming Broadway revival of MY FAIR LADY from James Nederlander Sr continue to surface and according to Page Six of the New York Post, the lead role has already been cast.

The Post quotes Nederlander Sr.: "New generations never saw it. Colin Firth is already set. The female isn't cast yet."

Asked if Firth, who showed off his singing abilities in the big screen adaptation of Broadway's Mamma Mia!, has the vocal chops to pull off the role of Henry Higgins, the 93-year-old theater owner and producer quipped, "Rex Harrison didn't either. And everyone wants to see Colin Firth."


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Colin Firth: MY FAIR LADY Broadway Revival Set for 2014; Ralph Fiennes as a 'Contender' for Henry Higgins? by broadwayworld.com

We reported earlier this year that the Nederlanders and Clive Davis were hard at work planning a 2014 Broadway revival of MY FAIR LADY, to be directed by Bartlett Sher. Sher's recent credits include South Pacific, Golden Boy, and Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown.

At the time, Clive Davis recently announced that he was eyeing LES MISERABLES star Anne Hathaway and Colin Firth to play Eliza Doolittle and Henry Higgins, respectively. Firth has also starred in a big screen musical in the past, taking on Harry in 2008's MAMMA MIA. Neither actor, however, has yet starred in a Broadway production. Today, Michael Riedel reveals in the New York Post that both actors were unable to commit for more than 6 months, so the casting process has moved on elsewhere.

He writes "Ralph Fiennes has emerged as a contender for Henry Higgins. As far as I can tell, he's never done a musical before, but he's a fine actor, and as Rex Harrison famously proved, a good actor can talk-sing his way through 'I've Grown Accustomed to Her Face.'" He additionally notes that producing alongside the Nederlanders and Clive Davis will be producer Roger Berlind.

My Fair Lady is a musical based upon George Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion and with book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe. The story concerns Eliza Doolittle, a Cockney flower girl who takes speech lessons from professor Henry Higgins, a phoneticist, so that she may pass as a well-born lady. The musical's 1956 Broadway production was a hit, setting what was then the record for the longest run of any major musical theatre production in history. It was followed by a hit London production, a popular film version, and numerous revivals. It has been called "the perfect musical".


Read more about MY FAIR LADY Broadway Revival Set for 2014; Ralph Fiennes as a 'Contender' for Henry Higgins? by broadwayworld.com

5 Great Movies About London By Petulia Melideo of CONTEXT TRAVEL (THE DAILY TRAVELER)

Audrey Hepburn as Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady 

British cinematic heritage dates back to 1889, when English inventor William Friese Greene created the first moving pictures on celluloid film. Over the years, award-winning films, actors, directors, and locations (London in particular) have helped keep the UK in the spotlight. Here are five films that showcase London's beauty and unexpected corners of British culture.

Somers Town 
This unique story about a friendship between two boys takes place in London, around the time of the construction of the chunnel and the launch of the first Eurostar train (disclaimer: the movie was partially funded by Eurostar). Even so, it’s a delightful portrait of cross-cultural friendship in London that goes from ugly (Somers Town is still a less-than-idyllic neighborhood) to a joyful playground for Tomo and Marek, the main characters. It's worth watching to see the area around St. Pancras before its overhaul in 2007.

My Beautiful Laundrette 
A very young Daniel Day-Lewis puts on the hat of a troubled Londoner divided between his childhood friends—a group of lazy skinheads—and his love for a first generation Anglo-Pakistani man who is eager to change his fortune. The story is set during the ‘80s, at a time when England was struggling with the Thatcher government and social and racial tensions were high.


READ FURTHER:  http://www.cntraveler.com/daily-traveler/2012/04/Context-London

The magnificent British actors of the past century

It's a Saturday night, the wind is howling outside and there is another rainstorm heading for Florida.  And I began to think about all of the wonderful British Actors and Acresses I have loved my whole life.  This site, and the actors here, are a continuation of a brilliant acting tradition somehow peculiar to the British.  I know I've missed quite a few but here are some of my favorite men:

The one and only Lord Laurence Olivier