On December 3rd in 1960, the musical Camelot debuted at the Majestic Theatre on Broadway and ran until January 5, 1963, for a total of 873 performances. Alan Jay Lerner wrote the book and lyrics for the production and Frederick Loewe wrote the music. The show is based on the King Arthur legend as adapted from the T. H. White tetralogy novel The Once and Future King. The production was directed by Moss Hart and orchestrated by Robert Russell Bennett and Philip J. Lang. The show won four Tony Awards and spawning several revivals, foreign productions and a 1967 film version. The original cast album was America's top-selling LP for 60 weeks. The musical has become associated with the Kennedy Administration, which is sometimes referred to as the Camelot era, stressing its glamorous, media culture image.
The early days of the production did not foreshadow its eventual success. The show premiered in Toronto, at the O'Keefe Centre on October 1, 1960. It overran drastically--it was supposed to last two hours forty minutes. Instead, it clocked in at four and half hours, with the curtain coming down at 12:40 AM. Lerner later noted that "Only Tristan and Isolde equaled it as a bladder endurance contest." In spite of this, the morning papers gave generally positive reviews, but hinted that the show needed much work in order to succeed. Soon afterwards, Lerner was hospitalized for three weeks with a bleeding ulcer. After he was discharged, Hart suffered his second heart attack, and Lerner stepped in as temporary director for the rest of the out-of-town run. Camelot then moved to Boston, edited, but still running well over the intended length. The production team tried to find another director, even phoning Jose Ferrer, who could not undertake the job. Lerner and Loewe disagreed on how to proceed with the show, as Loewe did not want to make any major changes without Hart's guidance. Lerner wrote: "God knows what would have happened had it not been for Richard Burton." Accepting cuts and changes, he radiated a "faith and geniality" and calmed the fears of the cast. Guenevere's song "Before I Gaze at You Again" was given to Andrews at the last minute before the first New York preview, which provoked her famous quote, "Of course darling, but do try to get it to me the night before." After the show opened on Broadway, Hart was released from the hospital, and he and Lerner began cutting the play even further. Two songs, "Then You May Take Me To the Fair" and "Fie on Goodness," were cut a few months into the run (though they remain on the cast album, and the former featured in the 1967 film).
The New York critics' reviews of the original production were mixed. Fortunately for the show, Ed Sullivan approached Lerner and Loewe to create a segment for his television variety program, celebrating the fifth anniversary of My Fair Lady. They decided to do very little from their previous hit and instead to perform four highlights from Camelot. The show stimulated ticket sales, and Camelot achieved an unprecedented advance sale of three and a half million dollars. Robert Goulet received favorable reviews, most notably for his rendition of the show-stopping romantic ballad "If Ever I Would Leave You", which became his signature song.
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The early days of the production did not foreshadow its eventual success. The show premiered in Toronto, at the O'Keefe Centre on October 1, 1960. It overran drastically--it was supposed to last two hours forty minutes. Instead, it clocked in at four and half hours, with the curtain coming down at 12:40 AM. Lerner later noted that "Only Tristan and Isolde equaled it as a bladder endurance contest." In spite of this, the morning papers gave generally positive reviews, but hinted that the show needed much work in order to succeed. Soon afterwards, Lerner was hospitalized for three weeks with a bleeding ulcer. After he was discharged, Hart suffered his second heart attack, and Lerner stepped in as temporary director for the rest of the out-of-town run. Camelot then moved to Boston, edited, but still running well over the intended length. The production team tried to find another director, even phoning Jose Ferrer, who could not undertake the job. Lerner and Loewe disagreed on how to proceed with the show, as Loewe did not want to make any major changes without Hart's guidance. Lerner wrote: "God knows what would have happened had it not been for Richard Burton." Accepting cuts and changes, he radiated a "faith and geniality" and calmed the fears of the cast. Guenevere's song "Before I Gaze at You Again" was given to Andrews at the last minute before the first New York preview, which provoked her famous quote, "Of course darling, but do try to get it to me the night before." After the show opened on Broadway, Hart was released from the hospital, and he and Lerner began cutting the play even further. Two songs, "Then You May Take Me To the Fair" and "Fie on Goodness," were cut a few months into the run (though they remain on the cast album, and the former featured in the 1967 film).
The New York critics' reviews of the original production were mixed. Fortunately for the show, Ed Sullivan approached Lerner and Loewe to create a segment for his television variety program, celebrating the fifth anniversary of My Fair Lady. They decided to do very little from their previous hit and instead to perform four highlights from Camelot. The show stimulated ticket sales, and Camelot achieved an unprecedented advance sale of three and a half million dollars. Robert Goulet received favorable reviews, most notably for his rendition of the show-stopping romantic ballad "If Ever I Would Leave You", which became his signature song.
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