Mainstage
This Music Man Loves Camelot
It’s an exciting week at Village Theatre, as we just started rehearsals for Lerner and Loewe’s Camelot — the first of the hit shows in our 2024-2025 season. We connected with Music Director Michael Nutting to find out what he’s working on right now and why he LOVES the music of Camelot.
Tell us about your role as a Music Director. What does that entail?
The music director’s primary job is to teach all of the music to the actors; collaborate with directors and choreographers about important things like underscoring and dance breaks; and then, a little later in the process, rehearse with the orchestra to make sure the musicians sound good and ready so we can put all the music aspects together during tech — the period just before opening where the whole show comes together.
What are you working on right now for Camelot?
We’ve just started rehearsals, so I’ve recently been focused on prepping the music so everything can run smoothly and efficiently, as rehearsal time is always at a premium. This involves becoming an expert on the music and learning the score at the piano so I can accompany every rehearsal and teach all of the vocal parts to the actors.
We’ve heard you especially love the music of Camelot. Why is that?
Lerner and Loewe’s Camelot sits right at the end of the Golden Age of musical theater. Musical theater became very popular in the late 1940s, both as a popular date activity for budding young couples following World War II, and as a popular medium for composers and playwrights. Our best and brightest creatives decided to write musicals, and the quality of musical theater skyrocketed.
One great thing about songs from this age is that they’re generally not stand-alone songs. Each song has a specific place where it fits within the story of a play — it doesn’t make much sense to perform a Golden Age song on its own, and the scenes would certainly suffer without them.
“What I really love about the music of Camelot is that it’s so intertwined with the lyrics, the characters, and the action happening on stage. The music is never at odds with the lyrics or characters. They all just fit perfectly together like pieces of a puzzle.”
About Michael Nutting
MICHAEL NUTTING, he/him (Music Director) loves to stay busy on as many projects as possible. Favorite past shows include: The Noteworthy Life of Howard Barnes and String (Village Theatre); Disney’s The Little Mermaid and Into the Woods (The 5th Avenue Theatre); Urinetown and Little Shop of Horrors (ACT Theatre); and The Hello Girls (Taproot Theatre). When he is not music directing, he is an avid composer, arranger and educator.
Originally published August 9, 2024
Lerner & Loewe’s Camelot
ISSAQUAH SEP 10—OCT 13, 2024 | EVERETT OCT 19—NOV 10, 2024