Part of the cable series "HBO Theatre", this is a videotaped presentation of the 1980 Broadway revival of the musical.
Director: Marty Callner
Stars: Richard Harris, Meg Bussert, Richard Muenz.
Choreographed by Buddy Schwab.
The image quality of the dvd is poor, blurry. It was only intended for HBO broadcast.
No songs in the Soundtracks, but clearly it has plenty. Below is the IBDb list of songs for this revival.
This revival, with RH, ran Nov 15, 1981 - Jan 2, 1982 per IBDb. The 1980 revival had Richard Burton. Each revival ran only 48-58 performances plus previews.
RH is in good form, both acting and singing, and we get plenty of closeups, especially of him.
MB sings a good Guenevere, especially singing. I wish she'd been in the film instead of Redgrave.
RM as Lancelot gets laughs in the comedic C'est Moi, but somehow weak in If Ever I Would Leave You (early in Act 3). Later, just before MB sings I Loved You Once in Silence, they played a strain of Leave You, and I wondered when the song would happen, and it had happened earlier. Maybe it was the staging.
I still didn't understand what Guenevere did that was treasonous. This Wikipedia article (not about the musical, but the Arthur legends) explains it was really her assisting Lancelot's escape and subsequent killing of knights trying to capture them.
ACT 1 Sung By
Guenevere Ensemble
I Wonder What the King Is Doing Tonight? Arthur
The Simple Joys of Maidenhood Guenevere
Camelot Arthur and Guenevere
Follow Me Nimue
Camelot (Reprise) Arthur and Guenevere
C'est Moi Lancelot Du Lac
The Lusty Month of May Guenevere and Ensemble (end of ch1 of dvd)
How to Handle a Woman Arthur
The Jousts Arthur, Guenevere and Ensemble
Before I Gaze at You Again Guenevere
ACT 2 Sung By
If Ever I Would Leave You Lancelot Du Lac (near the beginning of ch3 of dvd)
The Seven Deadly Virtues Mordred
What Do the Simple Folk Do? Guenevere and Arthur
Fie on Goodness! Knights and Mordred
I Loved You Once in Silence Guenevere
Guenevere (Reprise) Ensemble
Camelot (Reprise) Arthur
Although it's nice to hear the laughs of the theatre audience, the look and extreme closeups of the film was better. Here are my notes for the film (8). I'm giving this 8- only to compare with the film. I think that needs to bumped up. I'd say this is an 8 and the film is higher.
HBO, dir. Callner; 8-
