Camelot (musical)
|
|
The 1960 musical, Camelot, was written by Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe and is loosely based on the King Arthur legend as adapted from the T.H. White novel The Once and Future King. The main thrust of the novel and the play is the illicit romance between Arthur's wife, Guinevere, and his great friend, Sir Lancelot. Notable songs include:
- "I Wonder What the King Is Doing Tonight" (Arthur)
- "The Simple Joys of Maidenhood" (Guinevere)
- "Camelot" (Arthur and Guinevere)
- "Follow Me" (Nimue)
- "C'est Moi" (Lancelot)
- "The Lusty Month of May" (Guinevere and Company)
- "Then You May Take Me To the Fair" (Guinevere, Sir Lionel, Sir Sagramore, and Sir Dinadan)
- "How To Handle a Woman" (Arthur)
- "If Ever I Would Leave You" (Lancelot)
- "Before I Gaze at You Again" (Guinevere)
- "The Seven Deadly Virtues" (Mordred)
- "What Do the Simple Folk Do?" (Arthur and Guinevere)
- "Fie on Goodness!" (Knights)
- "I Loved You Once In Silence" (Guinevere)
- "Guinevere" (Company)
In the stage version, the original stars were Richard Burton as Arthur, Julie Andrews as Guinevere, and Robert Goulet as Lancelot. The original Broadway production opened on December 3, 1960, and played 874 performances. After initially faltering at the box office, the show became a notable hit when it was publicized that the show's original cast album was favorite bedtime listening in the White House of President John F. Kennedy. Forever afterward, the name "Camelot" has been associated with the Kennedy administration.
The show was revived on Broadway in 1981 and 1987. In the 1967 film version, Richard Harris played Arthur, Vanessa Redgrave was Guinevere and Franco Nero was Lancelot. The film was directed by Joshua Logan.
The movie adaptation won three Academy Awards for Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Best Costume Design, and Best Music-Scoring of Music (Adaptation or Treatment). It was also nominated for the awards for Best Cinematography and Best Sound. It also won three Golden Globe Awards and was nominated for an additional three.
External link
- The IMDb entry for Camelot (http://us.imdb.com/Title?0061439)