V&A puts musical theatre centre-stage in new exhibition

Eliza Doolittle's sparkling dress is one of 100 items that celebrate transformative power' of musicals

Weighed down by diamante, rhinestones, pearls, crystal beads, sequins and long, pale gold bullion fringe, it is a miracle that Julie Andrews ever managed to navigate the stairs she descended at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane while singing I Could Have Danced All Night.

The dress she wore when playing Eliza Doolittle in the 1958 production of My Fair Lady won acclaim for its designer, the legendary Cecil Beaton. The show ran in London for five and a half years, and was thought to be the most expensive then staged in the West End.