Sensational autograph musical manuscript by Frederick Lowe, containing a song entitled “The Quests,” which was intended for Camelot but omitted from the published score, three pages, 9.5 x 12.5, unsigned, [1959], with the cover sheet marked in pencil, “The Quests,” and with the names of the scene’s four characters: “Lancelot—Prisoner—Sirens—Knights.” Annotated by Lowe in pencil, the inside and back cover contain 36 lines of music and lyrics, which read, in part: “Woe is me [Sir Roderick], Woe is me! What bitter fate is mine! Woe is me! The victim of a swine, home he has a dungeon full of pris-ness; And thrice a day he gives them all the business. Woe is me! Woe is me! Yes! Lance Will You Change? Yes! Yes! Will you change? Will you change? Will you scrub your soul until you change? Turn from evil if I spare you? Will you change? [Meliagrance] I will change! I will change! I will scrub my soul until I change. I’ll become a saint I swear you! I will change. [Lance] [A chair at the table, Oh!] Go back to the table O! Tell them you have seen the light! Long as you’re able O! You will serve the cause of Right. Vow to the King you’ll never more live by brutal force; All of the things he’s fighting for You endorse [Meliagrance] Of course!” In fine condition.
Based on the Arthurian legend and T. H. White’s The Once and Future King, Camelot opened on Broadway in New York on December 3, 1960, and had a run of 873 performances over two years. Production was staged by Moss Hart, with Richard Burton, Julie Andrews, and Robert Goulet in the leading roles (Arthur, Guenevere, and Lancelot). Written in collaboration with Alan Jay Lerner, the musical symbolized to many Americans an ideal society during the presidency of John F. Kennedy. In fact, its admirers included President and First Lady Kennedy, whose White House circle was often likened to Camelot. A rare early draft of the melody and words from Lowe’s own personal archive, written during the creation of this remarkable classic musical.
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