The New York Philharmonic will present four semi-staged performances of Lerner & Loewe's Camelot in May 2008.

The concert staging of the classic musical about King Arthur's court will be directed by Lonny Price (who helmed 110 in the Shade, starring Audra McDonald, on Broadway earlier this year). Thomas Z. Shepard will produce the limited engagement, which will run May 7-8 at 7:30 p.m. and May 9-10 at 8:00 p.m. at Avery Fisher Hall in Lincoln Center. Casting and additional production credits will be announced at a later date.

In Camelot, as the press notes put it, "idealistic King Arthur longs to create a perfectly principled kingdom, but sees his dream undone by a tragic love triangle involving Queen Guenevere and his best friend Lancelot." The musical — featuring music by Frederick Loewe and book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner — originally opened at Broadway's Majestic Theatre in December of 1960, playing 873 performances before closing on January 5, 1963. The original company included Richard Burton, Julie Andrews, Robert Goulet, Robert Coote, John Cullum and Roddy McDowall. The score boasts such tunes as "If Ever I Would Leave You," "I Loved You Once in Silence," "Follow Me," "I Wonder What the King Is Doing Tonight" and the title tune.

Tickets, priced $65-$225, will go on sale for subscribers and donors on November 30 and to the general public on December 7; they are available at the Avery Fisher Hall box office, online at www.nyphil.org or by telephone at 1-212-875-5656.

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The May 7, 2008, performance, the New York Philharmonic's Spring Gala, includes a black-tie, pre-concert reception, the performance and a post-concert dinner with the artists. For information on the gala, contact Eve Helfstein at helfsteine@nyphil.org or 1-212-875-5757.

By Andrew Gans
and Matthew Westphal