Lolita, My Love was initiated by Lerner, the well-known lyricist of My Fair Lady and other major hits, who recruited Barry to write the score.
Nabokov, who had several times refused to allow adaptations of his novel, stated that "Mr. Lerner is a most talented and excellent classicist.
"[1] Like most musicals of the time, the production was scheduled for a multi-city "tryout" tour, during which rewrites could be done as needed, before opening on Broadway.
Lorna Luft was cast as supporting character Mona in what would have been her Broadway debut but was fired during rehearsals without an explanation.
The show reopened in Boston but did lukewarm business and received mixed reviews, although critics acknowledged good performances by John Neville as Humbert and Dorothy Loudon as Lolita's vulgar mother, Charlotte, and found the music and lyrics strong.
The production closed before its scheduled opening at the Mark Hellinger Theatre, the site of many previous Lerner triumphs; it lost $900,000.
In a monologue to the audience, he reflects that he has been a teacher for the past 18 years of his life, and seeks to answer how it is possible that he could commit murder.
After teaching at a girls’ school from Switzerland, and having a nervous breakdown, he decides to start a new life in America giving lectures to the Adult Education Group.
Humbert is initially disgusted by Charlotte's faux-European taste, looking for the first opportunity to leave, until he sees Lolita.
Humbert explains that she is Anabell, a young girl that he was in love with years ago (“In the Broken-Promise Land of Fifteen”).
Charlotte tries to spend time with Humbert and flatter him by talking about how much she and the Adult Education Group are looking forward to his lecture on poets.
He explains that he will be lecturing on Dante Alighieri, Petrarch, and Edgar Allan Poe, all of whom had fixations on prepubescent girls.
Charlotte invites the group over for a picnic the following weekend, where he explains to them the poets’ inspiration: nymphets (“Dante, Petrarch, and Poe”).
Later, Charlotte reflects on her love for France, how she has attempted to make her own version of it here in Ramsdale, and her dream for a better life (“Sur Les Quais”).
The Headmistress meets with Humbert to express her concerns about Lolita: that she has not been properly educated about sex, and needs more social interaction with her peers.
During rehearsal, Quilty meets Lolita and becomes fascinated with her; he admits that his uncle, a dentist and friend of Charlotte's, told him she was at school.
Lolita does not want them to fight anymore, and asks for them to leave that night and take a road trip, as long as she can choose the stops along the way (“How Far Is It to the Next Town?”).
At each stop, Humbert grows increasingly suspicious of Lolita's disappearance and the persistence of the red car.
While the plot is unpleasant, Humbert eventually emerges as a near-tragic figure, and there is much witty explication of the American culture that both encourages and condemns such behavior.