Live From Lincoln Center: Camelot, airs this Thursday on PBS- Page 10
Live From Lincoln Center: Camelot, airs this Thursday on PBS
Dolly_Levi
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/8/04
#225re: Live From Lincoln Center: Camelot, airs this Thursday on PBS
Posted: 5/9/08 at 10:09am
For me, the star of the night was GUNN. Beautiful, powerful singing, funny, great addition of the French vibe and solid acting.
Lloyd was a pleasant surprise, Keach was great, and Drescher's role was small enough that she didn't annoy me.
Also, congrats to esparza 333, you def. held your own with the big dogs.
Laughter is much more important than applause. Applause is almost a duty. Laughter is a reward.
Carol Channing
Updated On: 5/9/08 at 10:09 AM
sparrman
Broadway Star Joined: 2/21/07
#226re: Live From Lincoln Center: Camelot, airs this Thursday on PBS
Posted: 5/9/08 at 10:19am
I didn't want to be the first to say it, but yes, Mazzie looked far too old as well. And she wasn't in the least regal ... the decision to forgo the English accent was a bad one. Plus, her problematic vibrato did indeed frequently drag her below the pitch. That is, in the songs that WEREN'T lowered for her from the original keys.
Updated On: 5/13/08 at 10:19 AM
buddharich
Featured Actor Joined: 3/23/07
#227re: Live From Lincoln Center: Camelot, airs this Thursday on PBS
Posted: 5/9/08 at 10:48am
I've asked around this morning and nobody agrees with some of you who have said Marin was pitchy or flat, for the very simple reason that she wasn't.
Nathan Gunn was the stunner in the cast. I wish there were a recording of his version of "If Ever I Would Leave You" - sigh!
buddharich
Featured Actor Joined: 3/23/07
#228re: Live From Lincoln Center: Camelot, airs this Thursday on PBS
Posted: 5/9/08 at 10:48am
I've asked around this morning and nobody agrees with some of you who have said Marin was pitchy or flat, for the very simple reason that she wasn't.
Nathan Gunn was the stunner in the cast. I wish there were a recording of his version of "If Ever I Would Leave You" - sigh!
sparrman
Broadway Star Joined: 2/21/07
#229re: Live From Lincoln Center: Camelot, airs this Thursday on PBS
Posted: 5/9/08 at 10:55am
buddharich --
Oh, you "asked around"? Well, that convinces me I must be wrong.
Certainly the correct notes were to be found somewhere within her wide, unpleasant vibrato, but it wasn't centered upon them.
Thus endeth my participation in that "argument".
#230re: Live From Lincoln Center: Camelot, airs this Thursday on PBS
Posted: 5/9/08 at 10:58am
While watching it last night, I had to keep asking myself..
"Well, have you EVER seen a good production of CAMELOT???"
Can't say that I honestly have, and I've seen at least half a dozen.
To my thinking the show itself has never really worked.
This version didn't help matters.
What great ones do the less will prattle of
#231re: Live From Lincoln Center: Camelot, airs this Thursday on PBS
Posted: 5/9/08 at 11:50am
I have one question -- the musical is adapted from the book 'The Once and Future King' (which happens to be my favorite book in the whole world, coincidentally)
In the book, by the time this last battle occurs and the 3 of them meet on the battlefield, they really ARE that old
In the beginning of the book, they are young. The book probably spans 25-30 years
So, I'm not sure these actors are really too old for the end, maybe just too old for the BEGINNING?
T H White very specifically says that Lance and Jenny were old, and that their love was that sort that had grown over time and was therefore more meaningful
I guess my question is -- in the play/musical adaptation, is the story supposed to take place in a more condensed timeframe?
And if so, then I assume they are to be younger in the musical?
Sorry to ramble, it just struck me as odd that everyone is saying that Gabriel Byrne is too old, when he's pretty much the perfect age for the source material
(and I thought the 'forgiveness in your eyes' thing REALLY stuck out too -- he really wasn't looking at her. That said, I adore Gabriel Byrne, and I think that this role in this setting maybe just wasn't right for him. I think he really tried, tho)
You don't go to the dragon without a present - Mark Rylance
sparrman
Broadway Star Joined: 2/21/07
#232re: Live From Lincoln Center: Camelot, airs this Thursday on PBS
Posted: 5/9/08 at 11:51am
BigFatBlonde -
But I'm convinced it COULD work. I've seen productions that came very close.
The first step is to cut Morgan le Fay. Much better to have it as in the movie, where Mordred challenges Arthur to stay away from the castle for the night to prove his trust in Jenny and Lance.
The second step is to have a proper Arthur. Okay, maybe this is actually the first step. But I don't think any production could fully recover from Morgan le Fay.
Camelot is a show that starts cheery and magical and just gets darker and darker until it's positively tragic. This might make it a bit "uneven" in tone, but that's just the way it is. Trying to lighten things up in the second act with Morgan le Fay was a terrible idea. Rather than Arthur determinedly trying to prove his trust, he's turned into a silly mime, pretending to be trapped by a wall.
sparrman
Broadway Star Joined: 2/21/07
#233re: Live From Lincoln Center: Camelot, airs this Thursday on PBS
Posted: 5/9/08 at 11:56am
fosca3 -
I seem to remember that the musical occurs within the span of about a dozen years. I think five years pass between Arthur's first and second scenes, and then the script says that seven years pass between acts.
This would put Arthur in his thirties at the end, which is still young enough to pull off the boyishness in the first scene. And as I said earlier, Richard Burton was 35 when he did it.
BrodyFosse123
Broadway Legend Joined: 2/27/06
#234re: Live From Lincoln Center: Camelot, airs this Thursday on PBS
Posted: 5/9/08 at 11:58am
Thank God I missed this and didn't bother to Tivo it.
In my entire theater going life I never cared for this show. Don't own the Original Broadway Cast Recording. Always skip the footage of Julie Andrews and Richard Burton on my Ed Sullivan Show DVD and though I was given the Special Edition DVD of the 1967 film-version, I've yet to even watch that.
Me no like CAMELOT. Period.
The few songs I've been exposed to were simply B-O-R-I-N-G, which has kept me away from this show.
robbiej
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/20/03
#235re: Live From Lincoln Center: Camelot, airs this Thursday on PBS
Posted: 5/9/08 at 11:58am
Ya know what piece of music I missed? THE JOUSTS.
I always thought they were thrilling. Are they no longer in the show? Has that sequence been replaced by the "Joust Ballet"?
"I'm so looking forward to a time when all the Reagan Democrats are dead."
ggersten
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/11/06
#236re: Live From Lincoln Center: Camelot, airs this Thursday on PBS
Posted: 5/9/08 at 12:01pm
I've only seen one production - Richard Burton circa 1979-80 - the tour where I think Richard Harris stepped in as Burton got sicker and sicker. It was ok.
Last night, I was bored, and dozing off and didn't make it to the end of Act I. The camerawork was awful. Too many one shots on people, when others were speaking. Did Price plan out his shots ahead of time? Byrne had no sense of the music as others have noted. It's fine to speaksing, but you have to connect to the music. I thought Mazzie was fine - she certainly was not flat, but instead was rather curvy
I'll try to watch it again or the rest of it later as I did TIVO it. My daughter wants to see it.
buddharich
Featured Actor Joined: 3/23/07
#237re: Live From Lincoln Center: Camelot, airs this Thursday on PBS
Posted: 5/9/08 at 12:07pmWell... again, all i can say is this is one the greatest musical scores of all time and it's ashame that you can't somehow find your way to recognize how beautiful these songs are... but i give up, your bitchiness knows no bounds...
buddharich
Featured Actor Joined: 3/23/07
#238re: Live From Lincoln Center: Camelot, airs this Thursday on PBS
Posted: 5/9/08 at 12:08pmWell... again, all i can say is this is one the greatest musical scores of all time and it's ashame that you can't somehow find your way to recognize how beautiful these songs are... but i give up, your bitchiness knows no bounds...
sparrman
Broadway Star Joined: 2/21/07
#239re: Live From Lincoln Center: Camelot, airs this Thursday on PBS
Posted: 5/9/08 at 12:12pm
buddharich -
Well, if you're going to CHANGE arguments, you'll find we have nothing to argue about there. You're absolutely right, Camelot is one of the greatest scores of all time, and I fully recognize how beautiful the songs are.
ggersten -
I don't think Price directed this for TV. He's responsible for the debacle onstage; the debacle of how it was translated to TV is someone else's burden, I believe.
bwaylvsong
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/28/05
#240re: Live From Lincoln Center: Camelot, airs this Thursday on PBS
Posted: 5/9/08 at 12:24pmI only got to see Before I Gaze/ If Ever I Would Leave You, but in the few minutes I saw, Mazzie was fantastic (not flat AT ALL) and Gunn gave me chills.
lovesclassics
Broadway Star Joined: 10/7/05
#241re: Live From Lincoln Center: Camelot, airs this Thursday on PBS
Posted: 5/9/08 at 12:32pm
This production was excruciatingly painful. Gabriel Byrne made Michael York look good! Marin Mazzie was way too old and just going through the motions as Guenevere. You could almost see her marking out the blocking and gestures she was directed to execute. It was ridiculous not to use a British accent, and her singing was monotonous. There was no rich color to it at all. They should have cast Rachel York. She was magnificent on tour. Spirited and youthful, regal, strong, funny, feisty, heartbreaking and radiant. And her voice was incredibly warm, powerful and pure.
The only bright spot was Nathan Gunn. What a revelation! Christopher Lloyd was okay, but Time Winters on the national tour created a much more colorful and vibrant character. Lloyd was just being his typical self.
Overall this thing was a ridiculous mish mash done at warp speed. The strongest thing about Camelot is its score, and it was not served well here. Even the orchestra sounded colorless.
I'll bet the honchos at PBS are going to have a long talk with the folks at Lincoln Center about wasting their airtime and money.
elmore3003
Leading Actor Joined: 3/31/04
#242re: Live From Lincoln Center: Camelot, airs this Thursday on PBS
Posted: 5/9/08 at 12:33pm
robbiej asked:
"Ya know what piece of music I missed? THE JOUSTS.
I always thought they were thrilling. Are they no longer in the show? Has that sequence been replaced by the "Joust Ballet"?"
No, that was one more bit of the idiocy of this concert.
nmartin
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/3/05
#243re: Live From Lincoln Center: Camelot, airs this Thursday on PBS
Posted: 5/9/08 at 12:36pmCamelot has always had book problems, and this production only seemed to magnify them. As everyone on this board surely knows, if it hadn't been for Ed Sullivan, the original production would not have run nearly as long as it did.
robbiej
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/20/03
#244re: Live From Lincoln Center: Camelot, airs this Thursday on PBS
Posted: 5/9/08 at 12:36pmJust wondering. I really love that piece. It's actually sort of genius, kind of like the ASCOT GAVOTTE flipped on its head. And when Lionel (or is it Dinidan) is carried on and revived by Lancelot. Well...it just works better. The audience is allowed to watch the excitement and horror through the onlooker's eyes. We can see in our minds the nastiness of the wound inflicted. It's maybe my favorite moment in the show.
"I'm so looking forward to a time when all the Reagan Democrats are dead."
elmore3003
Leading Actor Joined: 3/31/04
#245re: Live From Lincoln Center: Camelot, airs this Thursday on PBS
Posted: 5/9/08 at 12:38pm
buddharich wrote:
"Well... again, all i can say is this is one the greatest musical scores of all time and it's ashame that you can't somehow find your way to recognize how beautiful these songs are... but i give up, your bitchiness knows no bounds..."
Yes, the score is wonderful and the show is flawed. What's pathetic is your constant inability to acknowledge how totally dreadful this concert presentation was. You saw it free on PBS. Think of us who paid $225/ticket to sit through such major and pathetic ineptitude from a director who will never be a classy one nor a particularly good one.
Updated On: 5/9/08 at 12:38 PM
#246re: Live From Lincoln Center: Camelot, airs this Thursday on PBS
Posted: 5/9/08 at 12:58pm
Agree that this was a mixed bag at best. Byrne was a poor choice (I still would like to see what Liam Neeson could do with this). Mazzie sang well but her characterization was way too broad - methinks she thought she was still in Spamalot rather than Camelot.
Glad to read all the positive posts about Gunn. But of course, those of us who follow opera have known about him for quite awhile now. (Yes, that's him in my avatar 
The only thing that could have improved his performance is if there had been at least one shirtless scene... as gratuitous as it would have been, it would have been so worth it... trust...
"When you're a gay man, you have to feel good about yourself when a urologist says, "Yeah. I pick you". - Happy Endings
#247re: Live From Lincoln Center: Camelot, airs this Thursday on PBS
Posted: 5/9/08 at 1:06pm
CAMELOT. Ah, CAMELOT. One of those shows that everyone has an opinion on. You either love it or you hate it; there seems to be no middle ground. It was even that way when it first opened! I think it's one of those shows that, if done badly, is excruciating, and if done well, is very moving. In other words, there can no weak links in the cast, the production values, etc. It all has to be stellar and seamless. Same thing goes for CARNIVAL.
I also thought Mazzie was a bit too old for the role, but then again, we were seeing it with the camera almost down her throat. In an actual theatre setting, they could bath her in surprise pink and she'd be fine. Nathan Gunn -- probably the best "Lance" I've ever seen. (I saw Steve Blanchard do the role in the Goulet tour and he was a little iffy.) No one has mentioned his "Ces't Moi" -- I thought it was great! Gabriel Byrne -- he had his moments, but his weak link was the vocals.
All the above aside, one of the great things about the concert version is hearing that magnificent score and the lush orchestrations played by the Philharmonic. I needed a towel after hearing the overture and the entracte...
Updated On: 5/9/08 at 01:06 PM
AvenueQPat
Stand-by Joined: 5/9/04
#248re: Live From Lincoln Center: Camelot, airs this Thursday on PBS
Posted: 5/9/08 at 1:44pm
First off I thought the orchestra was Amazing, and Paul Gemingani did an AMAZING job with them.
As for the cast, I was not as impressed.
I understand King Arthur has a lot of music in the show that can be spoken, but there was way too much of it. Even in his first song, he only sang about 8 notes.
I also agree with the people on this board that said Guenevere was singing flat - it isn't the easiest role to sing, but there are certainly much more difficult roles out there.
I thought Lancelot was the shining star of the 3 leads, and I can't say that I agree with everything that he did either. He did have the strongest vocals, and in my opinion the best acting for the character he was playing.
Mordred sounded great, but had a horrible costume, and Morgan le Fay is just what I expected. Nothing special.
Nimue had a beautiful voice, and I wish I could have heard more from her.
Overall, the beautiful score was there with a full orchestra which made it worth while to me, but the singing and performances of the 2 main roles left me disapointed.
You learn to play the straight man, the lines become routine - never really saying what you mean - but i know the scene will change :)
SueleenGay
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/9/03
#249re: Live From Lincoln Center: Camelot, airs this Thursday on PBS
Posted: 5/9/08 at 1:44pm
I won't be able to see this for a while so I was going to avoid this thread. However, a friend sent me his review which made me laugh out loud. Literally. With his permission I will reproduce (most) of it here. I would post the whole review, but it might get the thread deleted:
Honestly, it was such a train wreck that I couldn't bring myself to change the channel. Mazzie's performance was postively puzzling. The purposeful, all-American, slightly mannish stride she employed whilst gallumphing around the stage. That accent...OH THAT ACCENT. My friend wondered if she was the Princess of Wisconsin. And don't even get me started on the costumes. Was the fabric found at the Rag Shop on Route 17 in Paramus? IN THE DISCOUNT BIN??? Honestly, not since Diana Ross was completely undone by that tight 'fro in THE WIZ has the physical appearance of an (or should I say 'all') actor been so damaged. It reminded me of that exchange in TOOTSIE:
Doris Belack: I'd like to make her look a little more attractive, how far can you pull back?
Fat Camerman: How do you feel about Cleveland?
And that poor Bobby Steggert. In a role that certainly can read 'gay' (Roddy McDowell, anyone?), it was taken to a horrifying level. A role that could have a slight hint of 'swish', but that should also have an underlying menace and, in the end, become a maniacal terror, had all the edgy dangerousness of Meshach Taylor as Hollywood in MANNEQUIN. Make that MANNEQUIN 2. If one HAS to go the route of Gay As Villain...at least make him a scary, CRUISING villain. Or even Malificent. But this incarnation was offensive and toothless at the same time. Thanks Lonny Price. I revoke your early 90's Freedom Rings.
Gabriel Byrne doesn't really even merit any sort of criticism. He's a terrific actor, but was so wrong for the role. Yes, he couldn't find the beat if Gemigniani had his son beating it on him with a big club. But his feckless Wart never blossomed into the King. And so then, the rest of the show can never work.
I liked Gunn. His accent was actually pretty good, but his egotism was too knowing. He's gorgeous and sings beautifully, but if you're going to put him in leather pants, you put in him BAGGY LEATHER PANTS???? They should have been a little tight. Maybe not as tight as that woman whom I saw in Vegas who somehow managed to sport camel toe in leather pants (just how tight do those pants have to be and just how big must that vagina be to actually sport camel toe in leather???), but come ON!
I did delight when Kudish went for a big high note and managed to crack 5 times within it. Drescher may have actually worked if the rest of the night were of a polish that it could allow a bit of fun absurdity. But, alas, no. She was just another rusty nail in the coffin of poor Alan Jay Lerner.
Actually, the entire score took a beating, for the most part. Because of Byrne's comeplete ineptness, there was a desperation to the rest of the singing that screamed, 'IF I SING THIS WELL ENOUGH, I'LL SAVE THE WHOLE NIGHT.'
Didn't work.
PEACE.
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