Seconding "Roar of the Greasepaint", which feels like such a half-baked joke title, and not only that, it's a terrible mouthful that has apparently little to do with the show itself.
I believe the creators of "Grease" chose their title to capatalize on the success of "Hair" at the time. They seemed to be saying, "Here's another show like Hair - young energetic cast, rock music, etc."
Indeed, when the original version of Grease premiered in Chicago, the national tour of Hair had been in town for a year or so.
Next year in Chicago, we're getting a new musical entitled "N - The Queen of Paris" (world premiere in Toronto next autumn). Apparently, it's an adaptation of Nana by Zola. It's like they WANT it to flop.
"What can you expect from a bunch of seitan worshippers?" - Reginald Tresilian
Re: My Fair Lady. It probably comes from the old folk song "London Bridge is Falling Down." It's been suggested that it is a corruption of or a pun on Mayfair Lady, relevant to a musical based on Shaw's Pygmalion. Old versions of the song have different lyrics, including "with a gay lady." In the 1920's a Gershwin musical previewed out-of-town under the title "My Fair Lady" and included a song of that name. The title and the song were both gone by the time it opened in New York but I forget which show it was.
Re: Sunday in the Park with George. I told this story in a different thread a while ago. Back in the 1980's I was standing in line at the Times Square TKTS booth and when the woman in front of me got to the window, I heard her ask whether they had tickets for "Barefoot in the Park with George."
^^^^^^ There's a song called "My Fair Lady" on the Gershwins' TELL ME MORE studio cast recording. I don't know if that's the show, if it was recycled as they tended to do or if it was restored for the recording.
I'm pretty sure you're right about the Gershwin show being Tell Me More, Mr. N. And I could be wrong about the song being cut. It's been so long since I read about it I don't remember the source.