Changes to CAMELOT

[frontrowcentre2]

Posted: 1/12/07 at 2:36am

From Playbill on Line: "Among songs cut are "Fie on Goodness," "I Loved You Once in Silence" and Mordred's salty-comic number, "The Seven Deadly Virtues."


"Take Me to the Fair," on the cast album but subsequently cut from the score, has been added to this revival. "They put it in the film," Casale said. "It really helps Guenevere — you see another side to her, and it's great."

While I applaud the restoration of "Take me to the Fair" - It does help advance the plot - but I am disappointed that they are cutting "I Loved You Once in Silence", one of the most achingly beautiful sad songs L & L ever wrote. And it does sum up the Guenevere - Lancelot relationship.

Elsewhere in the piece it mentions Act One is cut down to 1 hour 25 min and Act Two is just 45 minutes!

[Link Larkin Wanabe]

Posted: 1/12/07 at 2:37am

Awwww...I loved Mordred's songs.

Akiva

[toomeytwopiece]

Posted: 1/12/07 at 2:42am

Mordred's song is a fun song and cutting it makes the character an even LESS thankless role to play! That is a bad choice.

[D2]

Posted: 1/12/07 at 8:11am

I'm not sure what the director meant by changes to the second act concerning the song "Guenevere." According to the stage directions in the original script published in the early 60's, seeing Guenevere on trial, her being led to the pyre and Arthur in the tower torn by his decision has always been a part of the show, and the Burton revival certainly staged it that way. And according to Lerner's biography, attempts to actually stage the trial as a separate scene bogged the second act even further while adding substantially to the running time. I'm curious about how this new production has solved that IF they are adding an actual trial scene.

Updated On: 1/12/07 at 08:11 AM

[Gothampc]

Posted: 1/12/07 at 8:24am

I'm also disappointed that they cut "I Loved You Once in Silence." It really has become a classic song and one of the reasons people go to see the show.

Updated On: 1/12/07 at 08:24 AM

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 1/12/07 at 8:40am

I actually agree with the cutting of "I Loved you Once in Silence" - "Before I Gaze at You Again" basically says the exact same thing and is a far superior more emotionally driven song.

The only problem I see with this production is the casting: everyone is way too old for these roles - especially Michael York.

[Gothampc]

Posted: 1/12/07 at 9:00am

"The only problem I see with this production is the casting: everyone is way too old for these roles"

Obviously you missed Richard Burton doing it at 55 and Richard Harris at 52+++.

[JohnBoy2]

Posted: 1/12/07 at 9:05am

I find it absurd that any numbers are cut from CAMELOT. All it really has going to it, is its score. However, if you have to cut, then I agree, 'Silence' over "Before I Gaze At You Again."

[lovesclassics]

Posted: 1/12/07 at 9:09am

Why don't we wait till we see it, hmm? Everything in context.

lc

[nobodyhome]

Posted: 1/12/07 at 9:11am

Ah, Burton and Harris were mere babes compared to York, soon to be 65. (Though their years of heavy drinking made them look older than they were.)

The oddest thing, and it may just be a misleading choice of wording, is that it sounds like "Guenevere" will be the final song. Much as I think the show actually could use intelligent revision (though I also think the problems are probably unsolvable), one thing that the original version got surpassingly right is that final scene.
Updated On: 1/12/07 at 09:11 AM

[nobodyhome]

Posted: 1/12/07 at 9:30am

I thought I'd repost, with a couple of small changes, an old post of mine from an earlier thread about this production:

I would guess that this production will be using parts of the revision that Lerner created for the Burton revival, which was then used when Harris did it and probably when Goulet did it, in which (as in the film) the bulk of the show is a flashback. It helps a bit to justify an older Arthur.

But still it seems to me that the first scene only makes sense if Arthur is not much older than Guenevere. In the show, Arthur was crowned as king when he was a teenager. Well, at least I think that's the idea, no age is given, but he tells the sword in the stone story. It sounds like he was pretty young when that happened.

Also, the way he talks to Merlyn and the way Merlyn talks to him in the first scene, the fact that he hides in a tree, and the way Guenevere flirts with him before she knows who he is all suggest that he's young. I don't think she'd suggest that he run away with her if he were 45. And she might wonder why a man of 45 still had a teacher, as he himself describes Merlyn to her.

There is one thing in the show that suggests that he might be older and that is the story that Mordred tells about how his father hated him so much because his true father is Arthur that his father gave him a potion when he was 9 to make him 10 years younger. This would mean that Arthur would have had sex with Mordred's mother at least . . . oh, 26, 27 years before. I don't think you can play Mordred much younger than 16 or 17, though around that age does make sense to me.

Even if you want to take that story seriously as a clue to Arthur's age, Mordred does say that his mother described Arthur as having been an "attractive lad" when she met him. so he might have been no more than 14 or 15. Wouldn't be unheard of. It's the middle ages, after all.

Still, I think that the whole show (which is problematic in the writing, after all) makes most sense if Arthur seems quite young at the beginning and even fairly young at the end. These are youngish people dealing with huge problems as best they can and feeling inadequate to the challenge.

[singingshowgirl]

Posted: 1/12/07 at 10:04am

my friend at school JUST got into the national tour of this. we are all so excited!

[misto625]

Posted: 1/12/07 at 1:23pm

Wow I don't know if I like the cuts. I like long shows so that I get my money's worth, not short ones. I'm just glad that James Barbour is still playing Lancelot. I was worried after he was arrested that he would have to drop out.

[WonderBoy]

Posted: 1/12/07 at 3:07pm

I don't think I will care for the cuts either. "I Loved You Once In Silence" is my favourite song in that show.

[JohnBoy2]

Posted: 1/12/07 at 3:41pm

one thing that the original version got surpassingly right is that final scene

Well, having seen the original, I can state that they also got the cast right! It remains the single greatest cast of any show, I've ever seen; and that includes MY FAIR LADY.

[best12bars]

Posted: 1/12/07 at 3:55pm

When I did the show, we started out doing the whole thing as written, but during our run we ended up cutting things, bit by bit.

It's too dang long in its entirety for most audiences (today or any day).

Something like 3 1/2 hours, as I recall.

"Gone With the King"

Updated On: 1/12/07 at 03:55 PM

[BobbyBubby]

Posted: 1/12/07 at 3:55pm

"I Love You Once in Silence" is cut? Wow, that makes no sense. As a gay male, I've always been drawn to that lovely, fragile song.

[best12bars]

Posted: 1/12/07 at 3:56pm

I agree...

That's not the one to cut.

[bare_nakedlady]

Posted: 1/12/07 at 4:03pm

Count me among the Mordred fans. Why cut his stuff? There's other boring things in the show.

So if James Barbour can do this while awaiting trial or whatnot, what happened to 'Tale of Two Cities'?

[SeanMartin]

Posted: 1/12/07 at 4:08pm

>> Still, I think that the whole show (which is problematic in the writing, after all) makes most sense if Arthur seems quite young at the beginning and even fairly young at the end. These are youngish people dealing with huge problems as best they can and feeling inadequate to the challenge.

... save that one of the points of the TH White novels that CAMELOT is based on is that these people are looking back on the failures of their lives. Yes, Arthur is young in the opening scene, probably not more than 18 (if White's source material is being used), but he's considerably older in the final scene, because many years have passed. The play is vague on the timeline, but again, if we look at White's books, Arthur was perhaps 50 when he fought the final battle with Mordred.

I think it's important that we see these people age and become more and more aware of the consequences of their actions.

[BroadwayBaby6]

Posted: 1/12/07 at 4:15pm

I'm going to the premiere on Saturday in La Mirada, CA. As much as I will miss "I loved you once in Silence", I trust Glen Casale's instincts with the material. His Peter Pan revival was very good and he directed the best production of Anything Goes I've ever seen (infinitely better than the Trevor Nunn revival)- a production which starred Rachel York as Reno.

Most of you may have never heard of Eric Anderson who will be playing Merlyn but he's an amazing performer.

Don't be surprised if this production ends up going to Broadway for a limited run. The Nederlanders put money into the production and they will take it to Broadway for a limited run if the reviews are raves.

[lovesclassics]

Posted: 1/12/07 at 4:21pm

Thanks for the insights, BroadwayBaby6. You must promise to post your review!

Thanks.

LC

[Weez]

Posted: 1/12/07 at 6:19pm

RARGH! Those are three of my favourite songs. Did they cast a Mordred who couldn't sing or something?

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 1/12/07 at 6:49pm

Sounds like the cutting would make it ready to open in Vegas

[BroadwayBaby6]

Posted: 1/12/07 at 6:55pm

Shannon Stoeke who plays Mordred can sing and well! He played Tom Sawyer in Paper Mill.

The cuts were made because the songs did not advance the plot. As you know, very often good songs are cut from shows because they don't advance the plot.