CAMELOT (2023) - Reviews- Page 4

[Voter]

Posted: 4/14/23 at 1:53pm

I am seeing the matinee tomorrow. Does anyone know if all 3 leads are scheduled to perform?

[Mr. Wormwood]

Posted: 4/14/23 at 2:04pm

ColorTheHours048 said: "As revivals go, I’d say likelihood of winning the Tony is Into the Woods, Sweeney Todd, or Parade. In that order. Camelot would be lucky to get nominated at this point, but I’m in agreement that the nomination for Dancin’ seems more likely at this point.

Sweeney may be a box office juggernaut, and the bigger production, but Into the Woods was perhaps the most universally acclaimed production of the season, not just revival. It was at the top of too many best of lists to count and it’s on a cross country tour, delighting audiences and critics, as we speak."

I adored ITW but I think too many people are overselling its Tony chances. It closed long ago and the original cast left well before that. Closed musicals and musical revivals tend to not do well in terms of wins and with two acclaimed currently running revivals (Sweeney and Parade), I think ITW has an uphill climb. It'll get nominated for sure but I just don't see it winning.

[poisonivy2]

Posted: 4/14/23 at 4:14pm

I feel like Sweeney Todd's dislike is very specific to this board. I'm on reddit and facebook groups and most people seem to really like the revival.

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 4/14/23 at 4:30pm

I think Into the Woods is in a similar place as the 2011 Follies revival which ultimately lost to The Gershwin's Porgy and Bess... Closed shows just don't tend to do as well, sadly. Yes, there is a tour going on, but I don't think that's going to make a huge difference.

[quizking101]

Posted: 4/14/23 at 4:32pm

People forget that ITW is also touring - so there is always a chance that voters could catch it on the road to judge the technical elements (as well as if they were considering Gavin Creel for a nod).

Oddly enough, when I did my predictions for all musical categories this afternoon, there was quite a bit of spread.
(* includes nomination for Best Musical Revival)

• Camelot - 3
• 1776 - 0
• *Dancin' - 5
• *Into the Woods - 9
• *Parade - 5
• *Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street - 5

[Fan123]

Posted: 4/14/23 at 5:18pm

darquegk said: "It’s now occurring to me that the Camelot I want to see is either a new show on the Arthur storyline that isn’t Lerner and Loewe’s… or a Shuffle Along style meta musical about Camelot, “Camelot” and the Kennedy era."

Personally, I wouldn't mind seeing another take on 'The Once and Future King' book series, musical or not. I've only read some of it, but it was interesting. For example, Lancelot in the books is a man who secretly struggles with getting enjoyment out of watching people suffer, and who becomes a heroic knight because preventing suffering is his way of fighting against his own darker impulses. So he always feels himself a fraud with regard to the 'knight in shining armour' thing. (It's weird comparing that to the character that the musical adaptation came up with, ha.) Somebody could do a dark TV miniseries of the books or something.

[Dollypop]

Posted: 4/14/23 at 8:25pm

THE ONCE AND FUTURE KING was a series? In my high school days I remember reading a single book but it was rather lengthy.

[MemorableUserName]

Posted: 4/14/23 at 9:00pm

Huh. I didn't know that either, but apparently yes.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Once_and_Future_King

"The Once and Future King is a collection of fantasy novels by T. H. White about the legend of King Arthur.... It was first published in 1958 as a collection of shorter novels published from 1938 to 1940, with some new or amended material." Updated On: 4/14/23 at 09:00 PM

[Dollypop]

Posted: 4/14/23 at 9:11pm

Perhaps the book I read was a compendium of all the shorter works. If my.memory is correct the volume was about 900 pages long.

Updated On: 4/14/23 at 09:11 PM

[Up In One]

Posted: 4/14/23 at 10:13pm

Kad said: "Can’t help but wonder what Tony Kushner would’ve done with this."

Doubtful anyone could craft a workable book for todays audiences around the Camelot score. Yes pretty at times. But dull and untheatrical by todays standards. Why is it revivals allow tinkering with books but never the music and lyrics?

[pethian]

Posted: 4/15/23 at 1:23am

Up In One said: " Why is it revivals allow tinkering with books but never the music and lyrics?"

Excellent question!

Though the revival of ON A CLEAR DAY... did some unfortunate tinkering with that lovely score.

[MCfan2]

Posted: 4/15/23 at 8:45am

Oh, that's ALL we need. I'd as soon paint a mustache on a Degas dancer as let Sorkin mess with a Lerner lyric. 

[Kad]

Posted: 4/15/23 at 8:54am

It’s not so uncommon for some lyrics to be rewritten, but it’s usually not so seamless (see: the revised “Shipoopi” in The Music Man, Amanda Green’s new lyrics in On the Twentieth Century). I think generally people are reluctant to change the lyrics in better known shows because… well, audiences often know the original lyrics. 

[Shalfoard]

Posted: 4/15/23 at 9:39am

"The Once and Future King" is only one book, unlike the Chronicles of Narnia or the Lord of the Rings.  It was published in 1958 and became a bestseller.  It retells the King Arthur myth for a post-WWII audience.  It is made up of four parts or books, the first being the Sword in the Stone.  The Sword in the Stone, in a slightly different form, had been published in 1938 as a children's book.  "The Book of Merlyn" was published after T.H. White's death.  It was originally supposed to be the final part of "The Once and Future King."

[Dollypop]

Posted: 4/15/23 at 12:54pm

Shalfoard said: ""The Once and Future King" is only one book, unlike the Chronicles of Narnia or the Lord of the Rings. It was published in 1958 and became a bestseller. It retells the King Arthur myth for a post-WWII audience. It is made up of four parts or books, the first being the Sword in the Stone. The Sword in the Stone, in a slightly different form, had been published in 1938 as a children's book. "The Book of Merlyn" was published after T.H. White's death. It was originally supposed to be the final part of "The Once and Future King.""

 

Thanks for clearing that up.

 

[Voter]

Posted: 4/15/23 at 8:42pm

Saw the matinee today. I thoroughly enjoyed this production and show (I have never seen the movie or any other productions).

Andrew Burnap, Phillipa Soo and Jordan Donica were in the matinee today. 

It started at 2:05pm and ended around 4:55pm

[Shalfoard]

Posted: 4/15/23 at 11:24pm

Kad said: "It’s not so uncommon for some lyrics to be rewritten, but it’s usually not so seamless (see: the revised “Shipoopi” in The Music Man, Amanda Green’s new lyrics in On the Twentieth Century). I think generally people are reluctant to change the lyrics in better known shows because… well, audiences often know the original lyrics."

The dreadful revisal of GIGI re-wrote some of Lerner's lyrics.  The new lyrics for 'The Night They Invented Champagne" were particularly bad. But then everything in that show was terrible.

[Phillyguy]

Posted: 4/15/23 at 11:37pm

Saw the performance tonight and agree with the critics. It was quite boring. There was way too much dialogue for a musical and the tempo of the score felt slow. I was restless throughout the second act. It feels as if Aaron Sorkin turned this into a play with music. 
 

The stage felt huge given the minimalist set. I love the projections, especially the park scene in the first act. But it made everything else feel smaller. I know Phillipa can project but all of her songs felt dull. 
 

Finally all the magic/ mythical elements are gone and you are left with nonstop preaching about justice and equality. That took all the fun out of Camelot. 

[pethian]

Posted: 4/16/23 at 1:29am

Phillyguy said: "There was way too much dialogue for a musical and the tempo of the score felt slow. I was restless throughout the second act. It feels as if Aaron Sorkin turned this into a play with music."

 

I don't think the ratio of book to score has changed much if at all. CAMELOT has always been long and always had substantial books scenes.

 

[BETTY22]

Posted: 4/16/23 at 9:28am

I saw the show yesterday and it was a slog.

I was so looking forward to a golden age musical afternoon - unfortunately all the changes did not work. 

Too bad. 

[BroadwayBaby6]

Posted: 4/16/23 at 1:04pm

Review: A Lusty Camelot, With Shades of The West Wing, From Aaron Sorkin

Sorkin rewrites Lerner and Loewe’s oft-derided musical for a sumptuous production at Lincoln Center Theater.

I have two tickets for sale to Camelot on 4/22 Saturday at 2pm.  They are listed on STUBHUB and I'm pricing them at $185, way below the $250 and up for tickets in that section. Please go on STUBHUB directly to buy. 

 

[MemorableUserName]

Posted: 4/16/23 at 1:11pm

Helen Shaw:

A More Congenial Spot

In a new production of “Camelot,” reimagined by Aaron Sorkin and directed by Bartlett Sher, Arthur is more perfect than ever. But this iteration of the hero’s kingdom isn’t worthy of him.

https://www.newyorker.com/culture/the-theatre/review-camelot-aaron-sorkin-bartlett-sher

"The physical production is unfailingly pretty yet surprisingly un-sumptuous, perhaps because the projections offer an image but no tactility. Any single dress the costume designer Jennifer Moeller gives Guenevere to wear—say, the red velvet number with the drop shoulder, or her cloth-of-gold throne-room attire—contains ten times the set’s luxury. But the most serious absence here is the dream of Camelot itself. Sorkin’s particular Great Man idealism insures that Arthur is more perfect than ever, a man betrayed but kind, clear-eyed about the smallness of his contribution, hopeful that it will be part of humanity’s advance. But the Sorkin-Sher iteration of his kingdom isn’t worthy of him. “Once there was a fleeting wisp of glory / called Camelot,” Arthur sings to a little boy, whom he asks to tell their story. But this particular spot was never truly glorious. What kind of inspiration could it provide? Maybe let that part be forgot."

[PipingHotPiccolo]

Posted: 4/16/23 at 1:58pm

I appreciate what Sorkin was trying to do more than most, but once again Helen Shaw *nails* it, identifying exactly what ultimately didnt work like very few others can. What a treasure she is.

[david merrick]

Posted: 4/16/23 at 3:33pm

Merlin/more Pelli/Nimue

and magic were there for a reason -this has always been the problem with this musical.  We could use a lot less of the turgid drama and maybe a little more of the fairytale fantasy until reality sets in at the end.  Remember the lyric - one there was a spot......

 

[briansb]

Posted: 4/16/23 at 10:20pm

Maybe I've gone crazy, but this is probably the first time that I've sharply disagreed with critics. I really loved this production. I thought it was witty, thoughtful and entertaining throughout. Andrew is a star, Phillipa and Jordan were great as well, and I'm so glad I fought my initial gut instinct to just sell my tickets after seeing the reviews to come out. Perhaps it's a function of not being super familiar with the original musical, as my partner also loved despite him not being a big musical/Broadway person (more so than Sweeney Todd which we had just seen last week), but I hope this production finds the love I believe it deserves.