CAMELOT Returns to Broadway - Reviews Thread — Page 17

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! ❤️

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

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

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

Curtain Call

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.

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

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.

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.

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.