CAMELOT Returns to Broadway - Reviews Thread- Page 17

[FranklinDickson2018]

Posted: 3/10/23 at 12:53pm

Was about to hit "click" to buy a ticket and then I read that Lancelot sings "I Loved You Once in Silence."   If I can't hear Phillipa Soo sing this --- one of my favorite Lerner and Loewe songs --- I am not sure I want to see this . That is a major change for me.  Other changes I can more easily live with.  I admired Donica's intensity in "My Fair Lady" -- -but I find his singing too pitchy to want to hear him in yet another slow ballad.  I would welcome hearing how this song went over as assigned to another character.  Maybe there is still time to re-stage as a duet?  Ah well. Huge fan of Sher's work, but I am on the fence about this one. 

[Miranda3]

Posted: 3/10/23 at 12:53pm

Thanks for posting the merch pics. I’m sure I’m not the only one who would like to see a t-shirt with Jordan’s pic on it!  ❤️

[JasonC3]

Posted: 3/10/23 at 12:57pm

FWIW, I felt like I got plenty of Soo's singing ... which I quite enjoyed.  She doesn't lack air time.

[NYadgal]

Posted: 3/10/23 at 1:09pm

I actually loved that Lancelot sings “I Loved You Once in Silence” - it works beautifully.   And Guenevere has so many other beautiful songs to shine in.  From a story standpoint, I think it makes sense.  (A duet could have worked, also, but not necessary)  The vulnerability that Lancelot shows in singing this song is moving   

Jordan Donica’s voice works beautifully in the range of the songs he sings in this   Rich and robust, he is at his best.  I enjoyed him in MFL, but loved him in this - and suspect he will only grow stronger in the role.

For what that’s worth in deciding to buy a ticket or not.  

 

Updated On: 3/10/23 at 01:09 PM

[NYadgal]

Posted: 3/10/23 at 1:11pm

Also - even trimmed down, it’s too bad this isn’t a 7pm curtain.

 

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 3/10/23 at 1:40pm

FranklinDickson2018 said: "Was about to hit "click" to buy a ticket and then I read that Lancelot sings "I Loved You Once in Silence." If I can't hear Phillipa Soo sing this --- one of my favorite Lerner and Loewe songs --- I am not sure I want to see this . That is a major change for me."

Oh stop being so dramatic. You (and me, and most everyone here) don't even know how it fits into the revised book of the show. Not that the production NEEDS your single ticket purchase. This is a revision and an adaptation.

Updated On: 3/10/23 at 01:40 PM

[FranklinDickson2018]

Posted: 3/10/23 at 1:50pm

Thanks, love.  I appreciate your response.  Helpful, welcoming and kind.

Big hugs to you! 

 

PS  Don't dimiss the value of single ticket purchases!!!  Lots of singles out there add up to a lot of seats sold.  Again I really welcomed your response.  

Updated On: 3/10/23 at 01:50 PM

[morosco]

Posted: 3/10/23 at 2:39pm

First preview curtain call. (They should paint this set black and move Sweeney Todd onto it.)

Curtain Call

 

[PipingHotPiccolo]

Posted: 3/10/23 at 2:48pm

Massive Sorkin fan but wasn't wild about the idea that he was wokifying this-- by all means, lets revise and update our classics but if you start with "how do i make this woke" god help us.

So, what'd he do? 

[Dropscrim]

Posted: 3/10/23 at 3:06pm

PipingHotPiccolo said: "Massive Sorkin fan but wasn't wild about the idea that he was wokifying this-- by all means, lets revise and update our classics but if you start with "how do i make this woke" god help us.

So, what'd he do?"

 

I can't be the only person who was there last night going "What the hell are these comments talking about".

There is nothing in this show that i would call "woke".  Genuinely don't know what those comments are referring to.

 

Updated On: 3/10/23 at 03:06 PM

[PipingHotPiccolo]

Posted: 3/10/23 at 3:29pm

happy to hear. i thought HE had said he updated the relationships to make them more modern which made alarm bells go off that the main characters would enjoy a three way screaming their consent at one another.

[Auggie27]

Posted: 3/10/23 at 3:30pm

I was waiting for “woke” to surface; as if any update to an early sixties created text - recognizing significant changes to the cultural prism on gender and power in almost sixty years - would be pejoratively framed thus. The book was creaky when I saw the first national tour in ‘64. Critics found it wanting. The need for a new take on the myth - score and influence on Kennedy mystique aside - was dire. It was never considered a fully satisfying show.

Updated On: 3/11/23 at 03:30 PM

[SusaninBaltimore]

Posted: 3/10/23 at 3:38pm

So did Sorkin change the relationships as we knew them in the 1960 version? He said he was going to create a triangle for the current era. I had no Idea what he meant. 

[Musical Master]

Posted: 3/10/23 at 3:58pm

It's nice to hear that Bartlett Sher has once again used is magic touch on a musical revival. Typically, Sher's revivals do run a bit long when the first previews begins but they do iron themselves out by the time opening comes. Between this and the Sweeney Todd revival, it's going to be pretty hard to choose which one I want to watch, which is a very good sign in my book.

The one thing I am wondering about is how Aaron Sorkin handles not only the new revisions, but the characters of Merlin, Morgan Le Fay, and Mordred. Those three in particular are just there in the original book who all have nothing to do but move the plot along; especially Morgan who was just there for silly "comedy relief" in Act 2.

[NYadgal]

Posted: 3/10/23 at 7:50pm

Where did this notion of “woke” come from?

What has been updated is the way each character reacts to their own story - to bring the reasons for their behavior to a clearer light.  No new plot has been added (a three-way?!). 

Arthur, Guenevere, and Lancelot are more fully realized.  They are no longer simply a King who wants to rule the land, a reluctant maiden queen, and an ego-defined knight.  They are a King without a drop of royal blood who wants to make a difference, an independent thinker of a Queen who has been sent to England by her unenlightened father/king, and a man devoted to the ideals of the Round Table and the people who started it.  
 
Grounding the show in a real age and time, and taking away the “magic” moves Merlyn to the role of former teacher and guide which is enough. Mordred is a chip-on-his-shoulder troublemaker who doesn’t “get it”, and Morgan Le Fey becomes a scientist - with a mind and life of her own.  (I love Marilee Talkington in the role.  Mesmerizing!). It’s also interesting how her presence in Arthur’s life affects Guenevere and could explain aspects of their relationship.
 
The updates are both subtle and obvious and I guess it’s clear from the number of posts I’ve shared today that they completely worked for me.  I’m devoted to this show - and with this production I’ve never loved it more.  

Updated On: 3/10/23 at 07:50 PM

[JasonC3]

Posted: 3/10/23 at 8:05pm

I may not articulate this well after a long day of travel, but I'll give it a try.

While I wouldn't agree, I think some who use the term "woke" pejoratively could see some of Arthur's aspirations for justice, equality, et al as falling under that label, as well as the closing scene of the show. I heard one person say something to that effect after the first preview.

I think this becomes more likely for those who know Sorkin worked on this and already think of him as a bleeding heart liberal because of The West Wing.  It would be a confirmation bias of sorts.

In a sense they would be voicing in their own way some of what we hear the knights articulate (too much change too fast; are we the same as peasants?) which illustrates the timelessness of the tension embedded within the show.

Updated On: 3/10/23 at 08:05 PM

[NYadgal]

Posted: 3/10/23 at 8:13pm

Perfectly articulated - thank you!  

[bear88]

Posted: 3/10/23 at 9:33pm

‘Woke’ has truly become a meaningless pejorative if it’s now being applied to anything written by Sorkin, who must be the most successful writer/director of his era associated with conventional white liberalism.

[iluvtheatertrash]

Posted: 3/10/23 at 10:06pm

If that was your reaction, you might need to take more time reflecting on yourself than on the theatre.

[SusaninBaltimore]

Posted: 3/10/23 at 10:27pm

Thanks for all the detailed insights into Sorkin’s approach to the main trio and their dilemmas. The production sounds modern and hard-hitting. I look forward to seeing it after all the tweaks have been made during previews. 

[Dollypop]

Posted: 3/10/23 at 10:39pm

NYadgal said: "I actually loved that Lancelot sings “I Loved You Once in Silence” - it works beautifully. And Guenevere has so many other beautiful songs to shine in. From a story standpoint, I think it makes sense. (A duet could have worked, also, but not necessary) The vulnerability that Lancelot shows in singing this song is moving

Jordan Donica’s voice works beautifully in the range of the songs he sings in this Rich and robust, he is at his best. I enjoyed him in MFL, but loved him in this - and suspect he will only grow stronger in the role.

For what that’s worth in deciding to buy a 

 

Ironically,  "I Loved You Once In Silence" was written for Julie Andrews. It was obvious that Goulet's rendition of "If Ever I Would Leave You" was the musical highlight of the show so the composers wrote "Silence" to give Andrews another chance to shine.

"

 

[MCfan2]

Posted: 3/10/23 at 11:08pm

NYadgal said: "Arthur, Guenevere, and Lancelot are more fully realized. They are no longer simply a King who wants to rule the land, a reluctant maiden queen, and an ego-defined knight. They are a King without a drop of royal blood who wants to make a difference, an independent thinker of a Queen who has been sent to England by her unenlightened father/king, and a man devoted to the ideals of the Round Table and the people who started it."

But ... that's what they always were. All of them. I've read and watched the play multiple times, and they've always been just as you describe them.

[NOLAguy]

Posted: 3/11/23 at 12:11am

Was at second preview tonight, will post more tomorrow. I agree they need to trim the length. Overall, splendid. I truly loved it. 

[Jonathan Cohen]

Posted: 3/11/23 at 2:04am

I also caught the second preview tonight, overall there was a lot I liked about it. 

While I haven't seen previous versions, I got a kick out of what appeared to me being Aaron Sorkin rewriting Merlyn to be a very Jed Bartlet like figure. The smartest guy in the room, constantly trying to take the piss other officials, in this case Arthur and the knights. 

I thought Phillipa Soo was fabulous. This is the fourth musical I've seen her in (after Hamilton, Amélie, and Into The Woods) and she's never really connected for me as a performer before. Maybe that's not really fair because Eliza Schuyler is an underwritten part and Amélie just wasn't good, but anyway I thought Soo was really charming and nailed the Julie Andrews style vocals.   

I also loved the Arthur/Geunevere meet-cute, thought how Bartlett Sher used shadows in the set was really cool, and thought both Burnap and Donica were well cast as the other leads. 

Not as great, the show didn't end until 11:11pm and more specifically the second half of the first act really drags. For instance, when Lancelot gets knighted, Arthur knights 3 or 4 other people first, which serves no purpose what so ever in pushing the story forward. There's a lot of fat along those lines that can be trimmed. 

Additionally, a lot about the central love triangle just confused me. Did Arthur and Geunevere ever have sex in their marriage? Arthur eventually reveals he's been concealing his feelings because of the power misbalance in their relationship. If that bothered him, he would likely view sex as an ever bigger consent issue.   

If sex was a component missing from Geunevere's marriage, that might explain her intense attraction to  Lancelot a little more clearly. In the first act, I kept expecting to learn that they had been secret lovers before she was promised to Arthur, and they broke things off for the good of French-English relations. But no, as written it's just lust at first sight. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

    

 

[RippedMan]

Posted: 3/11/23 at 8:11am

Don't lump me in with this crazy. I didn't care for his singing in My Fair Lady, but I have noted his voice sounds much better in this style. 

And, I'm going to ask how, how is the design/production? I know it's minimal, but anything interesting? King and I at least had the boat at the beginning, My Fair Lady had the house reveal, etc.