Show Synopsis:
A poor Cockney flower girl named Eliza Doolittle begins to take lessons in speech and manners from Henry Higgins so that she can get a job in a shop instead of selling flowers on the street. The linguist Colonel Pickering, who is staying with Henry, bets Henry that he cannot transform Eliza into a woman fit for society. Eliza's father Alfred wants money for drinks, and tries to bribe Henry for some, but Henry is amused and impressed by Alfred's and his command for language. Eliza is frustrated with her lessons but begins to make progress, despite a few slip-ups at a public outing, and Freddy begins to fall in love with her. When people begin to congratulate Henry on his work with Eliza, Eliza feels used and angry, and goes back to her old home in Covent Garden with Freddy, where no one recognizes her. Her father has even started to move up in the world and is getting married to be a respectable gentleman. Eliza goes to Henry's mother's house and talks with Henry about her desire to marry Freddy so that she lives with a man who loves her and treats her like a lady. Henry returns home, and though he cannot admit that he may love Eliza, he realizes he will miss her. Eliza appears at his doorway.	

Character:
Eliza Doolittle, a young woman with a Cockney accent who has lived and worked on the streets for some time; easily angered; would love to have more money.

Song Context:
Eliza has begun to grasp the tricky vowel sounds and differences that she must master to improve her speech. Henry and Colonel Pickering are incredibly excited and begin to dance her around the room. Afterward, Eliza is too elated to go to bed, although the maids are trying to get her to go to sleep, and she wishes that she could keep celebrating her triumph.	

Fun Facts:
1. This musical was based on the play Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw, which was in turn inspired by the Greek myth of Pygmalion and Galatea. 
2. Julie Andrews originated the role of Eliza on Broadway when she was 20 years old and was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical for her performance. 
3. In a 2008 interview with the Academy of Achievement, Andrews talked about a weekend when the director Moss Hart worked with her one-by-one on the character of Eliza and "[i]t's hard to say what he did. He created pictures in my head. He helped me understand some of Eliza's dilemma. I don't know which was the hardest part, the first half or the second half because they were both very hard. I was struggling with the Cockney accent. I'm not great at accents, believe it or not. Even though I have a good ear for things, I don't have a great ear for accents. But I was struggling with that, too. He just helped me see what courage this young lady had. Eliza Doolittle that is."