Pygmalion

Pygmalion’s audiences in 1914 were both enthralled and scandalized by it. In addition to being a razor-sharp critique of the British class system and a declaration of Shaw’s feminist beliefs, this fantastically funny retelling of the traditional story of the sculptor who falls in love with his ideal female statue. My Fair Lady, the musical version of one of Bernard Shaw’s most well-known plays ’’Pygmalion’’, was a great sensation both on Broadway and in London and New York. An updated and extensively revised version of the Pygmalion and Galatea myth from ancient Greece, the 20th-century fable pokes fun at the antiquated British class system. In Shaw’s skillful adaptation, Professor Henry Higgins, a linguist, accepts a bet that he can transform a clumsy cockney flower seller into an educated young woman by merely teaching her better speech and manners. While convincing society that his construct is a mysterious royal figure, the professor also falls in love with his attractive invention. Pygmalion, one of the most well-known comedies in the English language, blends Shaw’s witty dialogue and great playwriting skills with the alluring idea of the developing butterfly. It continues to be regularly performed and forms the basis of college theater programs.