IT WAS the role Julie Andrews was meant to play, and one she’s owned ever since. But as it turned out, she’s glad Audrey Hepburn beat her to it.
HER cutglass tones are instantly recognisable and haven’t dulled over the years, so when news.com.au speaks to Dame Julie Andrews we’re half expecting a rendition of “Supercalifragilistic” to explode from the lips of the living legend at any given moment.
But unlike her alter-ego, Mary Poppins, everything in Julie’s sprawling LA home is far from ‘practically perfect.’ During our chat dogs continually bark and phones ring, to both our amusements. “It’s one of those nights,” says the star apologetically. “Everything is going crazy here!”
At 81, Julie is a mother to a natural daughter, her late-husband’s two children, and two adopted children — who she adopted from an orphanage in Vietnam — and she’s also a grandmother ten times over and a three-time great-grandmother. So, it’s understandable that the uncertain times we live in give her cause for concern.
“I do worry,” she says. “In some way it’s the same as back during the Second World War, when my parents worried for me and my brothers and sisters. I do worry a lot … I worry that values are changing. It sounds a bit Pollyanna-ish, but I do mean it, most sincerely.”
SHE once kept her Oscar for My Fair Lady (Mary Poppins!!!) in the attic because she felt it wasn’t deserved. Now, at almost 82, Julie Andrews knows her worth.
The stage version of My Fair Lady you directed has toured Australia for a year, and is now back in Sydney where it opened. Musicals come and go — why has this one endured?
Well, for several reasons. At base, it’s a Cinderella story and a love story that emerged at the height of the great golden era of Broadway musicals. And it has everything it needs to have: gorgeous songs and lyrics, phenomenal books, great costumes, incredible choreography and a big, sweeping story of importance about society.
Last year, cast member Robyn Nevin told a journalist you “smell delicious”. Did you know this?
[Laughs.] Oh, no! I wasn’t aware of that, but I’m glad she thought so. I do love perfume — I don’t lather it on, believe me. But if she smelled it on me and liked it, I’m thrilled.
People consider you a legend, and can become flummoxed in your presence. Do you find that a little ridiculous?
Why do you think that is? I mean, it’s not ridiculous to me, but it’s sad. Because I think of all people — well, I hope I’m very approachable. I love talking to people. It’s hard to shut me up, as you’ll probably find within the next several minutes.
You have said two of your most famous roles — Mary Poppins and Maria in The Sound of Music — served as feminist icons for generations. Growing up, who played that role for you?
Really early, it was a singing teacher who was a wonderful mentor and a very kind lady — who taught me a great deal about not just singing but also life. I loved the great sopranos, and admired some great movie stars.
I’ll never forget when I did My Fair Lady on Broadway, [actor] Ingrid Bergman came to see our show, as did [opera singer] Maria Callas. And the ladies asked if they could borrow my bathroom after such a long show — which it is — and I hardly dared sit on the toilet seat for weeks after that, I was so impressed.
The Helpmann Award nominations, honouring Australia’s live performances, have been announced and they’re just lovely.
Simultaneous events in Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney on Monday night have revealed the nominees across 42 categories, with Dame Julie Andrews’ classic production of My Fair Lady leading the way with nine nominations.
Andrews came to Australia last year to direct the production, for Opera Australia and John Frost, in keeping with the original Lerner and Loewe production in which she made her Broadway debut as Eliza Doolittle 60 years ago.
My Fair Lady is up for best musical against strong contenders The Book Of Mormon, with eight nominations, and Kinky Boots and Aladdin with seven each.
Local theatre productions, Belvoir’s The Drover’s Wife and Melbourne Theatre Company’s Jasper Jones, have both been nominated several times including in the Best Play category.
WE HAVE grown accustomed to her face. Accustomed to the blossom in her cheeks, the bluish twinkle in her eyes.
But Dame Julie Andrews still has the sort of star power no amount of familiarity can erase.
Slipping into her seat at the opening of My Fair Lady in Brisbane, wearing dark glasses, the beloved stage and screen star was easily spotted. And, as the lights dimmed ahead of the overture, ripples of applause swelled into a tsunami of affection.
Julie Andrews is directing My Fair Lady in Australia. Picture: Mark Cranitch.
A sustained roar that had the original Eliza Doolittle — not to mention Mary Poppins and Maria von Trapp — standing briefly and waving back with embarrassed thanks.
“Goodness me, what an ovation,’’ the 81-year-old says the morning after.
But Andrews — directing an Australian revival of Lerner and Loewe’s classic Broadway musical — is quick to swivel the spotlight.
“This Australian company, they work so hard and give me everything I could possibly ask for,’’ she says. “I think of them almost as my second family.’’
Andrews — sauntering into a hotel anteroom in floral jacket, black slacks and suede shoes — seems especially taken with Anna O’Byrne, the Melbourne singer (Love Never Dies) cast as Eliza in her acclaimed 60th anniversary production.
“Anna is wonderful,’’ she says. “Her voice is gorgeous and she’s finding things in the role that I’m thrilled about, things I would never have thought of.’’
Andrews was only 20, with just one big show under her belt (The Boyfriend), when she landed the coveted role of Eliza opposite Rex Harrison’s Professor Henry Higgins. They were the toast of Broadway after My Fair Lady opened in New York on March 15, 1956. Audiences seeing the show on London’s West End were just as ecstatic.
“I did My Fair Lady for almost 3½ years, eight performances a week,’’ Andrews recalls. “It was a marathon.’’
No archival record remains of that astounding production. Eliza — the Covent Garden flower seller transformed from a “squashed cabbage leaf’’ into an English rose — was defined instead by Audrey Hepburn in the Oscar-winning 1964 Hollywood movie My Fair Lady.
Julie Andrews as Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady.
“Audrey and I became good friends and one day she said to me, ‘Julie, you should have done the role (on screen) … but I didn’t have the guts to turn it down’,” Andrews says. “In fact, that’s not the reason I didn’t do it. Not because Audrey wanted it but because I wasn’t known at that time. On Broadway I was known but they (Hollywood producers) wanted a huge box-office name.’’
Born on October 1, 1935, Dame Julie Andrews is an British actor. You may known her for her roles as Maria in 'The Sound Of Music' or Mary Poppins in the Disney film 'Mary Poppins'. Or, as the queen Queen Clarisse in 'The Princess Diaries'.
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Welcome to Simply Julie Andrews, a fan site dedicated to Dame Julie Andrews, best known for her roles in Sound Of Music, Mary Poppins and The Princess Diaries. Here you can find more information about Julie and her career through the years. We want to keep you up to date with news about Julie, upcoming events, new releases and so on..
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