Lerner and Loewe
Despite the short run, a Billboard magazine critic gave the musical a favorable review from its opening at the Shubert Theatre in Boston and deemed Lerner and Loewe "potential supermen.
[7] Loewe and Lerner reportedly auditioned their music fifty times before successfully finding investors to help mount their production.
[7] The material was said to be inspired by the stories of James M. Barrie and also a direct quote from Frederick Loewe: "faith can move mountains.
"[7] The original Broadway production opened in 1947 at the Ziegfeld Theatre and won the Drama Critics Award for Best Musical of the Year.
[2] While Lerner received permission and created new songs with Previn specifically for the film, the reception of the movie musical was predominantly negative.
[8] The most popular songs from this musical were written in its earliest stages with both Lerner and Loewe at the helm, including "I Was Born Under a Wand'rin' Star", "They Call the Wind Maria" and "I Talk To The Trees."
[2] After many frustrated work sessions and the input of Oscar Hammerstein, who had also tried to adapt the play with Richard Rodgers and failed, Lerner and Loewe abandoned the project.
[8] After reevaluating the state of the musical theater "rules"—or, rather, the new lack of them—and determining that it was no longer necessary to have a subplot or a larger-than-life ensemble, in 1954 both Lerner and Loewe resumed the project and continued their efforts on the adaptation.
[2] The main goal of Lerner and Loewe was not simply to do justice to the original text, but to create the right songs to emphasize character.
It took many failed attempts, tossing out unneeded songs and long hours at the piano before coming across the style they both wished to utilize, the dramatization of characters' inner turmoil.
[8] Lerner has said of Loewe's style that, when they were at the piano, he would often enter dreamlike states where he would continuously play until a musical moment appeared that they were both overjoyed with.
[3] During the time it played it set the record for the longest running Broadway musical, and has had numerous revivals since the original production.
[2] While in Paris preparing to shoot, Lerner, being more likely to make impulsive decisions, bought a blue Rolls-Royce and convinced Loewe to buy a grey one in an exchange that lasted less than five minutes at the car dealership.
[2] While it was at first difficult to gain the traction they were looking for, the cast's appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show brought the production great success and ended up resulting in Camelot's total profits grossing over seven figures.
The All Movie reviewer wrote: "Although Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe crafted a hummable and entertaining score, it is not among their best work; worse, its tone and style are frequently at odds with the story.
