Editing Lerner and Loewe (section)

===''My Fair Lady''===
{{Main|My Fair Lady}}
''My Fair Lady'' opened on Broadway at the [[Mark Hellinger Theatre]]. While both Lerner and Loewe were interested in adapting [[George Bernard Shaw]]'s play [[Pygmalion (play)|''Pygmalion'']] into a musical, early on in the process they struggled significantly with creating a musical that would fit the musical constructs in place at the time, i.e. a flashy chorus and large ballet sequences.<ref name=LernerLahr>Lerner, Alan Jay, and John Lahr. ''The Street Where I Live: a Memoir.'' W. W. Norton & Company, 2018.</ref>
After many frustrated work sessions and the input of [[Oscar Hammerstein II|Oscar Hammerstein]], who had also tried to adapt the play with [[Richard Rodgers]] and failed, Lerner and Loewe abandoned the project.<ref name=LernerLahr />

During their break from what would be regarded by many as their most successful musical, Lerner concentrated his efforts on a musical based on the ''[[Li'l Abner]]'' comic, but was one day reminded of ''Pygmalion'' when he came across news of the passing of [[Gabriel Pascal]], the film producer who had brought the opportunity to the duo in the first place.<ref name="McLamore">{{Cite book |last=McLamore |first=Alyson |title=Musical Theater |chapter-url=https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/9781317191049/chapters/10.4324/9781315563770-28 |chapter=Lerner and Loewe |date=2017-09-18 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-315-56377-0 |edition=2 |pages=276–287 |language=en |doi=10.4324/9781315563770-28}}</ref>

After reevaluating the state of the musical theater "rules"—or, rather, the new lack of them—and determining that it was no longer necessary to have a subplot or a larger-than-life ensemble, in 1954 both Lerner and Loewe resumed the project and continued their efforts on the adaptation.<ref name=LernerLahr />

The main goal of Lerner and Loewe was not simply to do justice to the original text, but to create the right songs to emphasize character. It took many failed attempts, tossing out unneeded songs and long hours at the piano before coming across the style they both wished to utilize, the dramatization of characters' inner turmoil.<ref name=LernerLahr /> It was during work on this musical that Lerner and Loewe spent the most time perfecting songs. This came not just from playing music at the piano, but of talking out moments in the musical and what they both wanted to achieve from these moments.<ref name="McLamore" />

Lerner has said of Loewe's style that, when they were at the piano, he would often enter dreamlike states where he would continuously play until a musical moment appeared that they were both overjoyed with.<ref name=LernerLahr />

It wasn't until the tail end of the process, with previews looming, that Lerner and Loewe finally decided on a name for the musical. Loewe's vote was for "Fanfaroon," but Lerner believed that bore too close a resemblance to ''Brigadoon''. He, along with the rest of the creative team, decided that out of all their options, they disliked ''My Fair Lady'' the least.

The year it opened ''My Fair Lady'' won 6 of the 10 [[Tony Award|Tony]] Awards for which it was nominated and also won the [[Theatre World Award]] for Outstanding New York City Stage Debut Performance.<ref name=Lees1990 /> During the time it played it set the record for the longest running Broadway musical, and has had numerous revivals since the original production.<ref name=Mordden>Mordden, Ethan. "Rodgers and Hammerstein and Lerner and Loewe." ''When Broadway Went to Hollywood,'' Oxford University Press, 2017, pp. 126–183.</ref>