When CAMELOT first opened in Toronto, it was over four hours long. Opening night droned on until 12.40 am the next day. Soon after, book writer Alan Jay Lerner was off for three weeks with a bleeding ulcer. He came back, and Moss Hart had a massive heart attack. Hart never returned to the production before its Broadway opening. Lerner took over as director, and Burton was very supportive. They tried to find a director to take over theshow but to no avail.
They got the show down to about 3 hours for the Broadway opening. A few months after the opening, when Hart was able to work again, he and Lerner revisisted the show, making various cuts, including two songs: 'Then you may take me to teh fair', and 'Fie on goodness.'
So much for 'the show is frozen'.
'Before I gaze at you again' was given to Andrews on the day of teh first of two previews prior to the Broadway opening. |
