Editing My Fair Lady (section)

==Critical reception==
According to [[Geoffrey Block]], "Opening night critics immediately recognized that ''My Fair Lady'' fully measured up to the Rodgers and Hammerstein model of an integrated musical&nbsp;... Robert Coleman&nbsp;... wrote 'The Lerner-Loewe songs are not only delightful, they advance the action as well. They are ever so much more than interpolations, or interruptions.'"<ref>{{cite book| last=Block| first=Geoffrey| authorlink=Geoffrey Block|title=Enchanted Evenings: The Broadway Musical from Show Boat to Sondheim| publisher=Oxford University Press| location=New York| year=2004| url=https://archive.org/details/enchantedevening0000bloc/page/226/mode/2up?q=delightful| isbn=978-0195167306| page=226}}</ref> The musical opened to "unanimously glowing reviews, one of which said 'Don't bother reading this review now. You'd better sit right down and send for those tickets&nbsp;...' Critics praised the thoughtful use of Shaw's original play, the brilliance of the lyrics, and Loewe's well-integrated score."<ref>{{cite book| last1=Everett| first1=William A.| author2=Paul R. Laird| title=The Cambridge Companion to the Musical| publisher=Cambridge University Press| url=https://archive.org/details/cambridgecompani0000unse_l7c0/page/176/mode/2up?q=well-integrated+score| date=May 22, 2008| edition=Second| isbn=978-0521862387| page=176| access-date=July 22, 2020}}</ref>

A sampling of praise from critics, excerpted from a book form of the musical, published in 1956.<ref name="book">''My Fair Lady: A Musical Play in Two Acts''. Based on ''Pygmalion'' by George Bernard Shaw. Adaptation and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner, Music by Frederick Loewe. New York: Doward-McCann, Inc., 1956.</ref>
* "''My Fair Lady'' is wise, witty, and winning. In short, a miraculous musical." [[Walter Kerr]], ''[[New York Herald Tribune]]''.
* "A felicitous blend of intellect, wit, rhythm and high spirits. A masterpiece of musical comedy ... a terrific show." Robert Coleman, ''[[New York Daily Mirror]]''.
* "Fine, handsome, melodious, witty and beautifully acted ... an exceptional show." George Jean Nathan, ''[[New York Journal American]]''.
* "Everything about ''My Fair Lady'' is distinctive and distinguished." John Chapman, ''[[New York Daily News]]''.
* "Wonderfully entertaining and extraordinarily welcomed ... meritorious in every department." [[Wolcott Gibbs]], ''[[The New Yorker]]''.
* "One of the 'loverliest' shows imaginable ... a work of theatre magic." John Beaufort, ''[[The Christian Science Monitor]]''.
* "An irresistible hit." ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]''.
* "One of the best musicals of the century." [[Brooks Atkinson]], ''[[The New York Times]]''.
[[Steven Suskin]] wrote that the show was one of only eight musicals that opened on Broadway between 1943 and 1964 to "unanimous raves from the major first-night newspaper critics".<ref>[[Steven Suskin|Suskin, Steven]]. [https://playbill.com/article/on-the-record-spotlight-on-mary-martin-and-beatrice-lillie-com-166077 "On the Record: Spotlight on Mary Martin and Beatrice Lillie"], ''[[Playbill]]'', 21 February 2010</ref>

The reception from Shavians was more mixed, however. [[Eric Bentley]], for instance, called it "a terrible treatment of Mr. Shaw's play, [undermining] the basic idea [of the play]", even though he acknowledged it as "a delightful show".<ref>{{YouTube|Ws-oNJaCxes}}</ref> ''My Fair Lady'' was later called "the perfect musical".<ref>{{cite book |last1=Steyn |first1=Mark |title=Broadway Babies Say Goodnight |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FlWUaU5eo90C&q=my+fair+lady |access-date=7 September 2018|isbn=9780415922876 |year=2000 |publisher=Taylor & Francis }}</ref>