CAMELOT ALWAYS LOOKS better in hindsight. Lerner and Loewe’s musicalization of Arthurian legend first made it to Broadway in 1960 after a rocky out-of-town tryout. In Toronto, Lerner developed an ulcer, and director Moss Hart had a heart attack from which he never fully recovered. By the time they cut it down (from over four hours) and got it to Broadway, reviews were mixed, though ticket sales picked up once Lerner and Loewe showcased a few songs on The Ed Sullivan Show. Camelot ascended into the canon well after that run ended in January 1963, thanks in large part to a Jackie Kennedy interview after her husband’s assassination that conflated Camelot with the Kennedy dynasty and cannily melded JFK’s image with the show’s heroic, democratizing vision of King Arthur. Staging Camelot now means you have to tackle the show as it exists—a somewhat awkward epic with brilliant moments—and address its hazy, nostalgic, one-brief-shining-moment mythos. Enter Aaron Sorkin.
This story is from the April 24 - May 07, 2023 edition of New York magazine.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the April 24 - May 07, 2023 edition of New York magazine.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Enchanting and Exhausting
Wicked makes a charming but bloated film.
Nicole Kidman Lets Loose
She's having a grand old time playing wealthy matriarchs on the verge of blowing their lives up.
How Mike Myers Makes His Own Reality
Directing him in Austin Powers taught me what it means to be really, truly funny.
The Art of Surrender
Four decades into his career, Willem Dafoe is more curious about his craft than ever.
The Big Macher Restaurant Is Back
ON A WARM NIGHT in October, a red carpet ran down a length of East 26th Street.
Showing Its Age
Borgo displays a confidence that can he only from experience.
Keeping It Simple on Lower Fifth
Jack Ceglic and Manuel Fernandez-Casteleiro's apartment is full of stories but not distractions.
REASON TO LOVE NEW YORK
THERE'S NOT MUCH in New York that has staying power. Every other day, a new scandal outscandals whatever we were just scandalized by; every few years, a hotter, scarier downtown set emerges; the yoga studio up the block from your apartment that used to be a coffee shop has now become a hybrid drug front and yarn store.
Disunion: Ingrid Rojas Contreras
A Rift in the Family My in-laws gave me a book by a eugenicist. Our relationship is over.
Gwen Whiting
Two years after a mass recall and a bacterial outbreak, the founder of the Laundress is on cleanup duty.
