Camelot

B

It has been over 62 years since I saw Lerner and Loewe’s (My Fair Lady, Gigi) Arthurian musical during its pre-Broadway Boston run. My memories are dim, but I do recall enjoying the wonderful music and clever lyrics sung by its three stars (Richard Burton, Julie Andrews and Robert Goulet). I don’t remember much about the book, which is probably significant. The fact that it has not had a Broadway revival since 1993 has usually been blamed on its less-than-satisfying book. Now Lincoln Center Theater has engaged Aaron Sorkin (To Kill a Mockingbird) for a do-over and the result is in previews on the Vivian Beaumont stage. I don’t remember the details of the original clearly enough to say whether the revised book is a step forward or backward, but I will say that the material remains largely intractable. While the more intimate scenes work well, the attempt to squeeze in so much exposition, particularly in the second act, weighs heavily on the show. And it all leads to an ending that I found musically and dramatically unsatisfying. Nevertheless, I was grateful for the opportunity to hear the gorgeous songs again, sung by three fine singing actors (Andrew Burnap (Inheritance), Phillipa Soo (Hamilton) and Matias de la Flor (u/s for Jordan Donica), accompanied by a large orchestra. Burnap not only sings well, but is a fine actor. While I liked Soo, I thought she presented as more womanly than girlish. I was sorry to miss Donica, but de la Flor sang and acted convincingly. The set by Michael Yeargan (My Fair Lady) resembles the interior of a cathedral with props dragged in as needed. Since they did introduce a largish table, I was surprised it was not round. Jennifer Moeller’s costumes for the knights were initially rather drab in charcoal and black until colored capes were added later. The costumes for Guenevere were quite lavish. The choreography by Byron Easley (Slave Play) did not make a strong impression. Director Bartlett Sher’s musical winning streak at LCT (South Pacific, My Fair Lady, The King and I) led me to arrive with expectations that were too high. A word about seating – don’t get center seats in the first few rows because the jutting stage is quite high. I have heard complaints that from these seats the orchestra, which is underneath the stage, sounds too loud and the voices sound too weak. I was glad to have seen the show even though it disappointed in some respects. Running time: two hours 50 minutes including intermission.

My Fair Lady

A

Bartlett Sher and Lincoln Center Theater have done it again. With their wonderful revivals of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s South Pacific and The King and I, they had set the bar for musical revivals very high. Nevertheless, they have managed to outdo themselves with this spectacular production of Lerner and Loewe’s much-loved musical based on George Bernard Shaw’s Pygmalion. In the roles created by Rex Harrison and Julie Andrews, Sher boldly cast two actors whose names are not instantly recognizable and who had not previously been seen in musicals, Harry Hadden-Paton ("Downton Abbey," "The Crown") as Professor Henry Higgins and Lauren Ambrose (Awake and Sing!; "Six Feet Under") as Eliza Doolittle. Sher’s gamble has paid off handsomely. In addition to her considerable acting chops, Ms. Ambrose turns out to have a lovely voice. Mr. Hadden-Patton is a fine actor who negotiates the transition between speaking and singing with great skill. As Eliza’s father Alfred P. Doolittle, the ever-enjoyable Norbert Leo Butz (Catch Me If You Can, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels) threatens to steal the show. Allan Corduner (Titanic, "Topsy-Turvy"), a stalwart of the London theater scene, is excellent as Colonel Pickering. Theater icon Diana Rigg (Medea, The Misanthrope) lends dignity and warmth to the role of Mrs. Higgins. Jordan Donica (The Phantom of the Opera) makes a handsome, vocally adept Freddy Eynsford-Hill, a role I find underwritten. Linda Mugleston (Beautiful, On the 20th Century) is properly unflappable as Higgins’s housekeeper Mrs. Pearce. Manu Narayan (Bombay Dreams) seems a bit too broad and effete as Hungarian linguist Professor Zoltan Karpathy. In addition to his wonderful two-level revolving main set for the interior of 27A Wimpole Street, Michael Yeargan (Oslo, The King and I) has created an evocative Covent Garden, an opulent embassy ballroom, a minimalist but clever setting for Ascot, for Mrs. Higgins’s solarium and for the interior of Doolittle’s favorite pub. The period costumes by Catherine Zuber (Junk, Oslo, The King and I) are superb. The choreography by Christopher Gattelli (The King and I, Newsies) is fine, although I didn’t understand why there were gender-bending chorines in the pub scene. The large orchestra under Ted Sperling is wonderful and gets to appear onstage en masse at the ball. The music, lyrics and book remain among the best ever written for a musical. Bartlett Sher (also Oslo, Golden Boy, Fiddler on the Roof) has brought it all together seamlessly and satisfyingly. It’s a near-perfect production of what many have called the perfect musical. My only reservation is about the ending, where Sher has chosen to follow Shaw rather than Lerner and Loewe (Camelot, Brigadoon, Gigi). Without that quibble, I would have given it an A+. Running time: two hours 55 minutes including intermission.