'''Pygmalion''' is a Play by George_Bernard_Shaw, written in 1913. {{spoiler}} Shaw completed ''Pygmalion'' and later that same year it was translated into German. This is important because the very first performance was played by English actors in Vienna, Austria, with none other than Mrs. Patrick Campbell as Eliza Doolittle. ''Pygmalion'' opened at the Hofburg Theatre on October 16, 1913, however it was moved to England, with the same cast, and opened there, on April 11, 1914 at His Majesty's Theatre. This was the first time Shaw's ''Pygmalion'' was performed in English. It is the story of Professor Henry Higgins, a professor of Phonetics, who wagers that he can turn a Cockney flower girl, Eliza_Doolittle, into the toast of London society merely by teaching her how to speak with an upper-class accent. In the process, he becomes fond of her and attempts to direct her future, but she rejects his domineering ways and marries a young aristocrat. The original stage play shocked audiences by Eliza's use of a swear word. Humour is drawn from her ability to speak well, but without an understanding of the conversation acceptable to polite society. For example, when asked whether she is walking home, she replies, 'Not bloody likely!' The actress Mrs_Patrick_Campbell, for whom Shaw wrote the role, was thought to risk her career by uttering the line. In 1938, a film version of the stage play was released,http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0030637 starring Leslie_Howard as Higgins, Wendy_Hiller as Eliza, Wilfrid Lawson as her father Alfred Doolittle, Scott Sunderland as Colonel George Pickering, and David Tree as Freddy Eynsford-Hill. It was adapted to film by Shaw, W.P._Lipscomb, Cecil_Lewis, Ian_Dalrymple, and Anatole_de_Grunwald from the Shaw play, and directed by Anthony_Asquith and Leslie_Howard. The movie was nominated for the Academy_Award_for_Best_Picture. The play was the basis for the musical play and film ''My_Fair_Lady.''http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0058385 The play, the stage musical, and the film musical have different endings. At the end of the play, Eliza leaves Higgins to marry the aristocrat Freddy Eynsford-Hill. Shaw, annoyed by the tendency of audiences, actors, and even directors to seek 'romantic' re-interpretations of his ending, later wrote an essay for inclusion with subsequent editions in which he explained precisely why it was impossible for the story to end with Higgins and Eliza getting together. In the stage musical, this is left unresolved, and the final scene is of a lonely Higgins. Both the 1938 film and the filmed version of the musical add a final scene with both of them apparently about to reconcile. Shaw used Pygmalion from Roman_mythology as the basis for his play. Contemporary versions of the Pygmalion motif can be found in Willy_Russell's play ''Educating_Rita'' (1980) and "Pretty_Woman". A more recent version of the Pygmalion motif can be found indirectly in many teen movies, such as ''Can't_Buy_Me_Love'' in the 80s (with its 2000s counterpart remake) and more directly in the movie ''She's_All_That''. ==External links== *Pygmalion stories across history *{{gutenberg|no=3825|name=Pygmalion}} Category:Irish_plays Category:1913_books Category:1938_films Category:Best_Actor_Oscar_Nominee_(film) Category:Best_Picture_Oscar_Nominee {{Shaw}} He:פיגמליון_(מחזה)