Editing My Fair Lady (section)

===Original Broadway production===
[[Image:MusicalTheater3.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Program from Mark Hellinger Theatre]]
The musical had its pre-Broadway tryout at [[New Haven]]'s [[Shubert Theatre (New Haven)|Shubert Theatre]]. At the first preview Rex Harrison, who was unaccustomed to singing in front of a live orchestra, "announced that under no circumstances would he go on that night...with those thirty-two interlopers in the pit".<ref>Lerner, p. 104.</ref>  He locked himself in his dressing room and came out little more than an hour before curtain time. The whole company had been dismissed but were recalled, and opening night was a success.<ref>{{cite book| last=Schreiber| first=Brad| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8W-8DgAAQBAJ&q=harrison| title=Stop the show!: a history of insane incidents and absurd accidents in the theater| date=May 2, 2017| publisher=Hachette Books| isbn=978-0306902109| pages=137–138}}</ref> ''My Fair Lady'' then played for four weeks at the Erlanger Theatre in [[Philadelphia]], beginning on February 15, 1956.

The musical premiered on [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] March 15, 1956, at the [[Mark Hellinger Theatre]] in New York City. It transferred to the [[Broadhurst Theatre]] and then [[The Broadway Theatre]], where it closed on September 29, 1962, after 2,717 performances, [[List of the longest-running Broadway shows|a record]] at the time. [[Moss Hart]] directed and [[Hanya Holm]] was choreographer. In addition to stars [[Rex Harrison]], [[Julie Andrews]] and [[Stanley Holloway]], the original cast included [[Robert Coote]], [[Cathleen Nesbitt]], [[John Michael King]], and [[Reid Shelton]].<ref name=showtune>Suskin, Steven. [https://books.google.com/books?id=Z_usBBxC_TQC&dq=%22Ian+Richardson%22+%22My+Fair+Lady%22+%22St.+James+Theatre%22&pg=PA224 "''My Fair Lady'', 1956, 1976, and 1981"], ''Show tunes: the songs, shows, and careers of Broadway's major composers'' (2010, 4th ed.), Oxford University Press, {{ISBN|978-0195125993}}, p. 224.</ref> Harrison was replaced by [[Edward Mulhare]] in November 1957 and [[Sally Ann Howes]] replaced Andrews in February 1958.<ref>Vallance, Thomas. [https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/obituary-edward-mulhare-1263753.html "Obituary: Edward Mulhare"] ''The Independent'' (UK), May 27, 1997.</ref><ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=FVYEAAAAMBAJ&dq=%22Sally+Ann+Howes%22+%22My+Fair+Lady%22&pg=PA51 "A Fiery 'Fair Lady' Takes Over"] ''[[Life (magazine)|Life]]'', March 3, 1958, p. Front Cover, 51–54.</ref> By the start of 1959, it was the biggest grossing Broadway show of all-time with a gross of $10 million.<ref>{{cite news| work=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]| date=December 3, 1958| title='Fair Lady' Radiant $10,000,000| pages=1, 92| url=http://www.archive.org/stream/variety213-1958-12#mode/1up| access-date=May 22, 2019| volume=213| number=1| via=[[Archive.org]]}}</ref>

The [[My Fair Lady (Broadway cast recording)|''Original Cast Recording'']], released on April 2, 1956, was the best-selling album in the United States in 1956.<ref>[https://www.allmusic.com/album/my-fair-lady-original-broadway-cast-r84804/charts-awards/billboard-album/year-desc "Billboard Albums, 'My Fair Lady'"], ''[[AllMusic]]'', accessed December 5, 2011.</ref>