ABSTRACT
The play Sayīdatī al-Gamīla (My Beautiful Lady, 1961), an adaptation of Bernard Shaw’s Pygmalion, is a unique example of the Egyptianization of European literature. It was written by Samīr Khafāgy, directed by Ḥasan ‘Abd al-Salām, and presented in Cairo in 1961, starring Fu’ād al-Muhandīs and Shūwīkār. Interestingly, the Egyptian play borrows the title of My Fair Lady, the musical adaptation based on Shaw’s play, but hardly anything else from the musical. It is quite possible that the reason behind the choice of the title of the musical adaptation was because the title of Shaw’s play Pygmalion is based on the Greek myth of Pygmalion, which is not known among the Egyptian audience and would not have attracted much attention except among a relatively small number among the Western-educated middle class, whereas the audiences would be familiar with a Hollywoodized Broadway musical as opposed to a literary work in English.
