Remembering CAMELOT in the Lusty Month Of May

Gorgeous photos!

I did not see the original - but was fortunate to see Rickard Burton reprise the role in 1980 when a revival played at the New York State Theater at Lincoln Center.

I then saw the next revival in 1981 with Richard Harris as Arthur.

I did not see the Robert Goulet revival - but loved the New York Philharmonic staged concert of it with Nathan Gunn and Marin Mazie. (Though critics were not kind to Gabriel Byrne as Arthur.)

. . . and I don't know how many times I've watched the film. Countless.

Adore CAMELOT!

Beautiful photos! Love the sets and costumes, and what a cast!

Taz, I would LOVE a revival of CAMELOT!

Now and then PBS runs a retrospective of Broadway numbers performed on the "Ed Sullivan Show," which includes Julie Andrews and Richard Burton doing "What Do the Simple Folk Do?"--such a charming number.

Thank you so much for those! I adore the original cast album of Camelot. I've long wished I could take a time machine to 1960 and see it with that wonderful cast.

I don't think the book to CAMELOT is terrible, either. Unbalanced, sure. And I don't think it's able to top itself after that first absolutely magical scene. But it's perfectly fine. The score is lovely, too. The cast album is a prime example of the magic Goddard Lieberson created on record-- even if he did insanely cut the dialogue bridge between refrains of "Camelot." I understand why he did it, but it still makes me mad. He was famous for cutting dialogue on recordings, but interestingly enough, he spearheaded Columbia recording the entire original MOST HAPPY FELLA on 3 LPs and produced his crowning glory of a cast album.

Now that I think about it, Lerner and Loewe must've had a fascination with the month of May. Not only is the month given a whole song in Camelot, but May is also referenced in My Fair Lady during "Just You Wait".

Here's the Ed Sullivan performance:

And Robert Goulet in costume. with the same backdrop so I assume from the same show:

I love "Simple Folk," and all of Arthur and Guenevere's other scenes and numbers together. For me, the great weakness of the show is that I can't fathom how Jenny could fall for Lance when Arthur was around. Okay, Lance was good-looking and had a great ballad to sing, and he could work a miracle or two , but that's it. Arthur was a much more well-rounded, self-aware, honest, and funny character. No contest, IMO!

Updated On: 5/1/15 at 04:53 PM

Here's Richard Burton in CAMELOT during the famous "Proposition" soliloquy. He is one of the best actors who have ever played King Arthur. After watching this I just think, why wasn't he in the movie instead of Richard Harris who tired way to hard.

They cut "fie on goodness" during previews of the original production. Back then many shows recorded the cast album before the shows opened .

Saw the original production at the end of its long run (two years was considered a long run then), but after the original cast was long gone. Still William Squire, a Welsh actor very much like Burton in looks and speech, was a great Arthur, although Kathryn Grayson, of the 40s MGM musicals, was not very good as Guenevere (they interpolated too many trills and runs into her songs, her long-ago specialty). Saw Burton 20 years later (too old by then) and Goulet on tour as Arthur (ditto), but so many wonderful songs in the score that I will always have a fondness for this show.