New York City Theater

CAMELOT happens to be a show that is near and dear to my heart. I played Merlin at theater camp. And though it wasn't too great of a production, the show's score continues to amaze and astound me. And that's what I really took away from the Philharmonic's concert - the glory of hearing its superb score performed under Paul Gemignani's conducting with a full orchestra.

But what the hell was up with Gabriel Byrne as Arthur? Talk about miscasting!

The trend has always been to cast Arthur much older than he is supposed to be. In the first scene, Arthur is supposed to be in his late 20s, and then we see him age gradually throughout the show.

But whatever. Byrne was fine dramatically, accentuating the fear, timidity and boyishness of Arthur. But then there were the vocal issues... Arthur was written to be played by a non-singer. And you can speak through about 90 percent of his songs. BUT YOU NEED TO SPEAK IT IN TEMPO!!! Byrne did not speak it in tempo at all. He was always at least five measures ahead of the orchestra. And it was damn painful to endure!! Seriously, how hard would it have been to say it all in synch with the orchestra?? Didn't Byrne bother to pick up the original cast recording?? It would not have been that hard to do. So the one to blame is Lonny Price, the director, for not properly fixing this issue.

But other than Byrne's singing, I thought it was a pretty well done concert. It was more than semi-staged. It was very intricately done. Of course, the lighting cues were sloppy and the exits were awkward, but the cast was making due with performing a big Broadway musical in a music hall venue, not a real theater.

As for the score, I was really surprised at how much of it was cut. "The Joust" was gone, but that was alright. It's a weird, long number. The film cut it too. But couldn't they put in "Fie on Goodness," a really fantastic number for the knights? Wouldn't that have given the underused Marc Kudisch, Will Swenson and Christopher Seiber something else to do? Most of the time, they looked like three stooges at the back of the stage.

Marin Mazzie is too old for Guenavere, but for the purposes of this concert, it didn't really matter. She really nailed the songs vocally, and brought humor and pathos to the role.

Bobby Steggert, who is on his way to becoming a Broadway mainstay, was fine as Mordred. He was dressed as a punk rocker, which was interesting. In fact, the costume design was extremely mixed - some in suggestive medieval garb, some in gowns, some in tuxes. It was weird...

Christopher Lloyd made the most of the comic relief role of King Pellinore, and I laughed quite a lot whenever he took the stage.

But the real victor of this concert was truly Nathan Gunn as Lancelot. What a voice! He's also set to be in the SHOWBOAT concert next month as Gaylord Ravenol. Here's a thought: when Paul Svogt leaves SOUTH PACIFIC, perhaps Gunn would make an ideal replacement as Emilie? He clearly can do the French accent.

Overall, this was a decent concert, but hurt almost beyond repair by Byrne's tempo deaf vocal performance.