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King Arthur: [singing] Don't let it be forgot / That once there was a spot / For one brief shining moment / That was known as Camelot! ~~from the play "Camelot", lyrics by Lerner and Lowe
"I'd get out of bed at night and play it for him, when it was so cold getting out of bed... on a Victrola ten years old—and the song he loved most came at the very end of this record, the last side of Camelot, sad Camelot... "Don't let it be forgot, that once there was a spot, for one brief shining moment that was known as Camelot."...There'll never be another Camelot again... "~Jacqueline Lee Bouvier Kennedy in an interview with TH White, the author of 'The Once and Future King'
From a story by TH White to a play on Broadway to becoming an icon for the Kennedy years, there is much to and behind the Camelot story and legend as it figures into the varied worlds of literature and politics...but did you know that the play almost closed on opening night? Here then, to borrow a phrase from Paul Harvey, is the rest of the story.
I am Fyndorian, and I am pleased to bring you this week's Drama Newsletter as a guest editor. |
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Saturday, December 2, 1960. I was six years old and at my very first Broadway play. It was opening night and I was transported into the world of King Arthur and Camelot. If the aim of theater is to put one in the moment, then I was there as much as I, right now, am sitting at my desk. I was too young to realize that third row center seats were next to impossible to get. I was far too young to understand that this 'wasn't real.' For to me it was.
After the final words had been said and the theater cleared, I went backstage with my parents. I remember that people didn't seem very happy, and I didn't really understand why. I figured that it must be because they were worried about people remembering Camelot. I was closer than I knew, although I didn't know this for some thirty-five years in the future.
My parents were busy talking 'grown-up' talk and paying no attention to me. I saw King Arthur come into the room. He was immediately surrounded by more grown-ups and none of them seemed happy at all. Were they going to forget Camelot too?
I went over to the king and stood there for a few moments, but no one even noticed me. Finally, I tugged on King Arthur's cape. He turned and looked down at me and I, being as well versed in fairy tale lore as any six year old, curtsied to the king He knelt down on one knee to talk to me. Tear stains trailed down his cheeks. He looked so sad.
'I'll remember.' I told him. 'I will tell everyone the story of Camelot! I know I'm only a girl, but I can tell everyone as well as that boy could! No one will ever forget Camelot!'
He smiled. Then he stood up and told me to kneel. He took out his sword. He touched the tip of Excalibur to both my shoulders saying, 'On this day, in this hour, this young lady who so believes in all that Camelot stands for, shall become for now and forever, a Princess of Camelot.'
As my parents then hustled me away from King Arthur and the gentlemen he was with, I heard him saying, 'See, some of them really do sparkle!'
Well, that in and of itself was always a cool story to tell and remember. And remember it, I did. Long after I knew that it wasn't really King Arthur, but a man named Richard Burton who merely 'played' the role of the king. Long after I'd been to numerous renditions of the play all of which I always, of course, compared to the first one.
Fast forward thirty-five years to an endless line on Christmas Eve at a Barnes & Nobel Bookstore. I noticed the woman behind me in line had a copy of Graham Jenkins' book, 'Richard Burton, My Brother.' I commented on its being a wonderful biography of Richard Burton. She answered that she agreed and that she hoped the final revision was as good as the galleys had been. 'You read the galleys for it?' I asked, almost incredulously.
Well, as it turns out, this lady, Elizabeth Bush, is Hilda Jenkin's adopted daughter. Hilda Jenkins was Richard Burton's elder sister. The line was moving forward so slowly we both feared Christmas would be done and over with before we ever reached the registers. To pass some time, I told her my 'Richard Burton story.'
'You! You are the Camelot princess?' Her turn to be incredulous. 'That was one of Dicken's favorite stories!' Small world. How cool was that.
Then she said, 'I bet you don't know who those men were he was talking to, do you?'
No, I didn't know. To a six year old, they were grown-ups. She smiled and filled me in on (thank you Paul Harvey) the rest of the story.
Those sad people I was mentioning earlier? Well, as it turns out, they were upset because the show was running way too long and people were laughing in the wrong places. It had been reworked, but the powers that were didn't want to make the changes some thought should be made. The gentlemen? The director, the producers and Ed Sullivan. Now they were primarily talking about doing a short bit on 'The Ed Sullivan Show' about the anniversary of 'My Fair Lady,' and then including a song from the 'newest production.' But there seemed to be some difficulty in this as there was serious consideration being discussed about closing the show.
After I had been hustled away by my folks, Ed Sullivan, who up until then had been quiet, spoke up and said that any show that came make that much of an impression on a child needed to be reworked or what ever was necessary to continue, and that he thought the entire segment should be dedicated to 'Camelot.' That with using the reworked version should ensure a success. Usually, there might be two condensed songs from a new Broadway show. Ed Sullivan gave permission for four full length ones! By the following Monday morning, the show was sold out for the next six months!
I told King Arthur that Camelot wouldn't be forgotten!
'In short, there's simply not
A more congenial spot
For happily-ever-aftering than here
In Camelot.'
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Here are some dramatic pieces I found while meandering around WDC.
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Drama: February 27, 2008 Issue [#2245]
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