‘Camelot’ Review: Aaron Sorkin’s Rethink of a Beloved Broadway Musical Loses the Magic, in Every Sense of the Word
Frank Rizzo In Aaron Sorkin’s revised script for Lincoln Center Theater’s new Broadway production of “Camelot,” the magic is missing — in more ways than one. The declared aim of the stage, TV and film writer (“To Kill a Mockingbird,” “The West Wing,” “The Social Network”) was to eliminate the fantastical elements in the 1960 musical and prune its cumbersome book, based on T.H. White’s books of King Arthur and the tales of the knights of the round table. Sorkin makes his version more about human aspirations, choices and failings — plus a little politics — rather than potions, prophecies and sorcery. But in its place Sorkin and the veteran director Bartlett Sher (“South Pacific,” “The King and I”) jettison much of the fun, too. What remains is a cooler “Camelot,” with its own head-scratching dramaturgy. In making the three central characters — King Arthur (Andrew Burnap), Queen Guenevere (Phillipa Soo) and Sir Lancelot (Jordan Donica) — all tied up in emotional knots yet strangely aloof, the production’s creative team also deprives the show of much of its heart, joy and romance.