My daughter and I went to see My Fair Lady on International Women’s Day. Yes, given the themes of the show, it was an odd choice for the day. But we were celebrating her birthday, and her childhood copy of the VHS tape had been worn out by frequent use. We watched lots of musicals in her childhood. She’s 31 now. Who doesn’t love opulent costumes, a two storey set with a winding staircase, and wonderful music, even if the male roles in the show are some of the most misogynistic ever.

So we almost blinked and missed it at the end. In fact, we were walking out when it dawn on us. “Hey, I know we haven’t seen the movie in something like 25 years, but was the movie ending the same as the one we just saw?” I drove the 45 minutes home while she did the research.

The movie we so loved in her childhood was a 1964 production of a 1956 Broadway Musical. The musical was based on a 1912(3) George Bernard Shaw play entitled Pygmalion (based on Greek mythology). If you don’t know the basics, professor Henry Higgins takes on Eliza Doolittle on a bet that he can turn her from a lowly flower seller with a Cockney London accent – into a “proper” lady. When Eliza “passes.” Henry takes all the credit. She leaves. He sings “I’ve Grown Accustomed to her Face.” She comes back. Though there is some indication that the professor has evolved somewhat, as soon as she comes back, he says, “Where the devil are my slippers?” The curtain closes. The implication is that he assumes she will find him the slippers. It is rather inconclusive as to whether they end up together or not, but in the 50s and 60s, chances were pretty good that this is what the viewing public would have wanted. (It’s a 3-hour show – trust me, there’s more to it, but not substantially.)

Something changed in 2018. Perhaps it was #MeToo. Perhaps Broadway was interested in faithfullness to Shaw’s own take on the ending, which has Eliza ambivalently leaving Henry to go to her father’s wedding. She does find her own worth and leaves Professor Higgins behind.

I found a clue in the scene where there is a small suffragette protest in the street. “Votes for Women” read the signs. In 1913, this would have been a current topic just before the beginning of WWI. The suffragette movement was gaining momentum in the US, UK, all over Europe, and worldwide.

The change in 2018, was neither ambivialent nor inconclusive. When Henry says, “Where the devil are my slippers?” Eliza’s response is to walk out on him. The unspoken change? She put in the work. She has learned her worth and value. She can do without Henry Higgins.

Happy birthday to my strong, sweet, and intelligent daughter. I like the new Eliza better. None of us are quite the same as we used to be.