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Camelot
Seven vocal selections from Lerner and Loewe's Broadway musical, including: Camelot * Follow Me * How to Handle a Woman * I Loved You Once in Silence * If Ever I Would Leave You * The Lusty Month of May * The Simple Joys of Maidenhood.
115 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1960
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About the author
Richard Harris
292 books8 followersThis is the disambiguation profile for otherwise unseparated authors publishing as Richard Harris
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
March 27, 2009
Dad first introduced me to White's The Once and Future King and to the recording of the original Julie Andrews, Richard Burton musical. In 1967 I took Chicago Public Transit downtown with friends to see the filmed version. In 1978 I picked up a copy of the original's "sequel", The Book of Merlin, in Oslo. In 1980 my girlfriend and I went to see the revival, one of Burton's last performances, at the McCormick Place Theatre. In the meantime, inspired by White's book, I got into the Matter of Britain as an intellectual hobby, reading Tennyson, Chretian, Wolfram, Malory, Weston and many other books on the subject. Like the vampire legends, Arthur and the Grail have proved inexaustible.
May 31, 2009
Perhaps reading a musical is not the best way to experience it. Perhaps reading it while walking around town is also not optimal. But it was enjoyable nonetheless. It's prompted me to check The Once and Future King out of the library and give that another shot, too.
side note: The Arthur legend is so sad. I always want it to have a happier ending. But it never really does.
side note: The Arthur legend is so sad. I always want it to have a happier ending. But it never really does.
January 5, 2016
I haven't actually seen this musical, but I want to, especially because Julie Andrews.
I enjoyed reading it. I didn't think I was in any danger of encountering worrisome spoilers because I have read The Once and Future King, and I was right. It was a fun and quick read.
I enjoyed reading it. I didn't think I was in any danger of encountering worrisome spoilers because I have read The Once and Future King, and I was right. It was a fun and quick read.
July 16, 2014
I was seventeen when I first read this, and I don't care what flaws it may have, I still love it.
November 13, 2019
I thought I knew the story of King Arthur but, boy, I was wrong! This musical is a lot more complex than I thought it was—and the writers (of course) are brilliant. The musical is more about how a government, a society, should be run as opposed to a Disney romp. I’m seeing it on the stage in a month, and I’m definitely looking forward to it now!
October 3, 2018
Problematic, but beautiful.
July 17, 2023
What a messy script, and what a gorgeous score
February 16, 2025
“In short there’s simply not a more congenial spot for happy-ever-aftering than here in Camelot.”
The best way to read through a libretto is to listen along to the soundtrack while you go through it to create a sense of the story in your mind. Now, I’ve listened to the original Broadway recording of Camelot (which this libretto is for) so many times, that for this read-through I decided to pair it with the 2023 Broadway revival for comparison, which I was lucky enough to see in person. I listened to the revival soundtrack as I read, picking out scenes and songs that were missing or different or added, and looking at where the adjustments came in. After all of that, I can honestly say…nothing can ever quite top the original. Both productions are good, and the film as well, but there is a sense of mythological fantasy in the original script that was lacking in the revival, a sense of whimsy and romance set apart from our reality that drew me in line after line. I will never not love Lerner and Lowe's Camelot.
The best way to read through a libretto is to listen along to the soundtrack while you go through it to create a sense of the story in your mind. Now, I’ve listened to the original Broadway recording of Camelot (which this libretto is for) so many times, that for this read-through I decided to pair it with the 2023 Broadway revival for comparison, which I was lucky enough to see in person. I listened to the revival soundtrack as I read, picking out scenes and songs that were missing or different or added, and looking at where the adjustments came in. After all of that, I can honestly say…nothing can ever quite top the original. Both productions are good, and the film as well, but there is a sense of mythological fantasy in the original script that was lacking in the revival, a sense of whimsy and romance set apart from our reality that drew me in line after line. I will never not love Lerner and Lowe's Camelot.
November 27, 2022
An ultimately forgettable production with mediocre music, lengthy and boring scenes, little to no character development (other than Lancelot), a hurried and sporadic script that fails to deliver any sort of character development, dull and uninteresting dialogue. It ultimately left me feeling nothing. The production that I saw had excellent actors, and singers, though the writing and script were just too great a wall to overcome in order to provide anything memorable.
There is some power here and some very interesting ideas, likely inherited from the source material, though the writers failed to capture its power or raw intensity in any enrapturing and captivating way.
There is some power here and some very interesting ideas, likely inherited from the source material, though the writers failed to capture its power or raw intensity in any enrapturing and captivating way.
April 8, 2012
I took this out of the library because I was writing a quiz about the song lyrics, but I ended up reading the whole script (not just the songs). It was surprising because at least one of the songs on the Original Cast Album isn't included in the book and one of the songs in the book isn't on the album. Apparently changes were made between when the recording was made and when the script was published.
I had forgotten about the character of King Pellinor. He is in a lot of scenes, but doesn't have any songs.
I had forgotten about the character of King Pellinor. He is in a lot of scenes, but doesn't have any songs.
December 7, 2012
This edition includes the best songs from the musical, but, obviously, not all. If the song has a verse or other musical business not essentially part of the song, it will not appear in this text. Otherwise it is a good edition, the arrangements very similar to those found in the original score.
And, of course, this is one of the greatest musicals of all time, so no comment need be made on the quality of the songs or words themselves.
And, of course, this is one of the greatest musicals of all time, so no comment need be made on the quality of the songs or words themselves.
July 30, 2012
This was good but could have been a lot better. I think that the main problem, was that it was not sure if it wanted to be a dark story, or a comedic, light story, so it tried to be both at the same time. Best to see on stage.
August 19, 2015
The music I listened to along with this was good. There were moments that were great. However, by the end I felt something had been missed. Things weren't as satisfying as they could be. More telling the audience things and less showing throughout.
December 6, 2010
What a great musical!!! I love Julie Andrews!!!
April 13, 2014
Always loved the Richard Harris film, and it was enjoyable to read the play again. <3
May 18, 2025
Musical version of King Arthur and the Round Table
December 27, 2011
Chorus & Dancer in this. One of my favorite musicals, but who can't love King Arthur?
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews