"The rain may never fall till after sundown. By eight, the morning fog must disappear."

Unfortunately, these lines were sung about CAMELOT, and most definitely not about Seattle, where I spent March break. I spent the week slightly soggy, but thankfully, not Starbucks-deprived. I think there are more Starbucks in Seattle than even New York -- not surprising given this is the city that started it all! One of the highlights of the week was going with the family to the opening night of CAMELOT, currently playing at Seattle's 5th Avenue Theatre. Starring Michael York as King Arthur, Rachel York as Guenevere, and James Barbour as a very French Lancelot, this touring production is directed by Glenn Casale and will be at the 5th Avenue from March 20 to April 8. With book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe, CAMELOT is based on The Once and Future King by T.H. White.

From the 5th Avenue Web site:

British stage and film legend, Michael York (The Three Musketeers, Cabaret, Austin Powers) stars in this magnificent new production of Lerner and Loewe’s timeless masterpiece. King Arthur’s enchanted kingdom, Camelot, is a place where honor and chivalry reign. But can this idyllic land survive when Queen Guenevere falls in love with Sir Lancelot? The splendid, memorable score includes the romantic and haunting “If Ever I Would Leave You,” the captivating “How To Handle a Woman” and the majestic “Camelot.” Re-discover the grandeur of one of history’s greatest love stories.

There is a really interesting story in the program about the long, arduous journey that CAMELOT took to the Broadway stage. The project was plagued by creative team illnesses, the O'Keefe Centre in Toronto, and an initial running time of around four hours. Thanks to strong advance sales (on the strength of MY FAIR LADY I would guess), and a guest spot on The Ed Sullivan Show, the story has a happy ending and CAMELOT was able to survive long enough to become the wonderful classic it is today! Of course the original Broadway cast which included Julie Andrews, Richard Burton, Robert Goulet and Roddy McDowell might have helped too!

I had never seen CAMELOT on stage before (other than the Ed Sullivan show footage) and I'd never been to 5th Avenue before (which is appropriately located on 5th Avenue!). The 5th Avenue is a gorgeous theatre, originally built as a vaudeville house, beautifully preserved. The whole theatre is decorated with a Chinese theme and has great acoustics.

I really enjoyed this show. The music and lyrics are divine, of course, but I was happily surprised at how much I was swept up by the book.

Michael York is great as King Arthur, and brings a nice vulnerability to the role, making it very believable. Rachel York is a force of nature. Wow what a voice! She is unbelievable. I saw her in a few years ago in VICTOR/VICTORIA and she was amazing. So she was playing the role Julie Andrews originated in CAMELOT, and appeared with Julie Andrews in VICTOR/VICTORIA! Believe it or not! And James Barbour has a gorgeous voice, especially when he sang "If Ever I Would Leave You". A week later and I'm still humming "Camelot".

Before the show I went to the Producers Club lounge to hang out with the important people! It was really cool because they have posters on the walls of all the shows they've done. I saw that the HAIRSPRAY poster was signed by Hollie Howard! She played Holly Banks in the 2005 NYMF production of PLANE CRAZY. And there was a 1776 poster as well, with Christopher Guilmet, who played Larry in the 2005 NYMF production of PLANE CRAZY! Small world! After the show we went to the opening night party and mingled with all the stars! What a great night!

"In short, there's simply not a more congenial spot for happily-ever-aftering than here in Camelot."

Yes, indeed!

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