Camelot

by Alan Jay Lerner

Camelot is a musical by Alan Jay Lerner (book and lyrics) and Frederic Loewe (music). It is based on the King Arthur legend as adapted from the T. H. White tetralogy novel The Once and Future King.

The original 1960 production, directed by Moss Hart, ran on Broadway for 873 performances, winning 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.

Genres: Plays, Arthurian, Musicals, Theatre, Humor, Fantasy, Romance

115 pages, cloth

First published January 1, 1960

About the author

Alan Jay Lerner was an American lyricist and librettist whose work helped define the golden age of musical theatre, on stage and on screen. Born in New York City to a cultured and well connected family, he was educated in England and the United States, studying at Bedales School, Choate, and Harvard, where his lifelong love for musical theatre took shape through the Hasty Pudding productions. Like several of his contemporaries, Lerner began his professional path while still a student, combining literary wit with an instinctive feel for character and song. An accident during his Harvard years left him blind in one eye, preventing military service during World War II and redirecting him toward writing for radio before he entered the theatre world full time. His career changed decisively after meeting composer Frederick Loewe in the early 1940s, a partnership that would become one of the most celebrated in musical theatre history. Together they created works that blended romance, intelligence, and emotional clarity, beginning with early efforts and achieving major success with Brigadoon, Paint Your Wagon, and later the landmark My Fair Lady. Their adaptation of George Bernard Shaw’s Pygmalion became a cultural phenomenon, breaking box office records and later winning multiple Academy Awards in its film version. The Lerner and Loewe collaboration continued with the film musical Gigi and the Arthurian epic Camelot, whose themes of idealism and loss came to resonate far beyond the stage. Outside this partnership, Lerner worked with composers such as Kurt Weill, Burton Lane, André Previn, Leonard Bernstein, and Charles Strouse, experiencing both triumphs and notable disappointments. His career was marked by ambition, perfectionism, and frequent personal turmoil, including health struggles and financial instability. Lerner also played an important role as an advocate for writers’ rights, serving as president of the Dramatists Guild of America in the early 1960s. He received numerous honors, including multiple Tony Awards, Academy Awards, and induction into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. In his later years he reflected on his career in books that combined memoir, criticism, and affectionate insight into the art of musical theatre. Despite professional decline and personal difficulties, his influence endured. Alan Jay Lerner died in 1986, leaving behind songs and stories that remain central to the musical theatre repertoire, admired for their elegance, emotional honesty, and enduring humanity.

Reviews

[Erik Graff · Rating 5 out of 5]

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.

[Elizabeth McDonald · Rating 3 out of 5]

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.

[Beth E · Rating 3 out of 5]

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.

[Kaethe · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was seventeen when I first read this, and I don't care what flaws it may have, I still love it.

[Mads Doss · Rating 5 out of 5]

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!

[Button · Rating 3 out of 5]

Problematic, but beautiful.

[Pablo López · Rating 2 out of 5]

What a messy script, and what a gorgeous score

[Chelsea · Rating 5 out of 5]

“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.

[Eric · Rating 1 out of 5]

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.

[Julia · Rating 3 out of 5]

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.

[Miriam · Rating 5 out of 5]

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.

[Andrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

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.

[Brendan · Rating 3 out of 5]

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.

[Thomas Propest · Rating 3 out of 5]

What a great musical!!! I love Julie Andrews!!!

[WinterStars · Rating 5 out of 5]

Always loved the Richard Harris film, and it was enjoyable to read the play again. <3

[Dan Blackley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Musical version of King Arthur and the Round Table

[Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Chorus & Dancer in this. One of my favorite musicals, but who can't love King Arthur?