Here's one of those "goose pimple" moments from the stage, and this may take a bit of explanation. But bear with me. It's worth it.
As we all know, My Fair Lady opened on Broadway in 1956 with Rex Harrison and Julie Andrews. It was only the biggest hit in the history of musical comedy, chock full of delights. One that was often singled out as the most thrilling was the number, "The Rain in Spain" — in particular, the instant when Liza (Andrews) finally masters the language exercise and speaks that phrase properly. Librettist-lyricist Alan Jay Lerner cited it as the greatest "tingle" he ever wrote, meaning a moment when the audience just went crazy with emotion and excitement. And he was right: It is a wonderful moment. In every production.
Now, flash forward to Carnegie Hall in the year 2000. A special is being taped for PBS. It's called My Favorite Broadway: The Love Songs and it consists of star after star singing great show tunes with a romantic bent. Julie Andrews is the host, and it breaks the heart of the audience that she cannot be among the singers. Ms. Andrews, they all know, suffered a severe injury to her vocal cords in 1995 as a result of some botched routine surgery. It was said she would never be able to sing again…so she can only function as emcee for the proceedings.
It's the final number. Michael Crawford comes out and sings "I've Grown Accustomed To Her Face"…and he's almost too good a singer for that song, the one that Henry Higgins warbles at the end of My Fair Lady. In the musical, Liza enters near the end and performs a few bars of "The Rain in Spain" to remind Higgins of how he taught her and who she was when she first came to him. On the stage that night at Carnegie Hall, Julie Andrews stepped back into the role of Liza and re-created that moment and…
Well, watch the video. You'll see an audience that's about as thrilled at what happens as any audience has ever been over anything. (You'll also see PBS harm the mood somewhat by inserting an announcement and rolling credits at an inopportune point. But what comes just before it is so good, nothing can ruin it.)
Here it is…