I had somehow lived 57 years of a relatively theater-soaked life never having seen a production of this musical. From what I had gathered based on seeing isolated scenes, I thought it was a droll take on chivalry and heroism. Reading it now, preparing to play Pellinore, I'm surprised at what a grim story it really is.

The theme is that golden ages of civilization are rare, brief, and fragile. That they're an aberration of humanity, not something we move closer and closer toward as the ages pass. The good always ends. As W.B. Yeats wrote:

Turning and turning in the widening gyre
The falcon cannot hear the falconer;
Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity.

We can't really hope for lasting civilization. Just brief, shining moments of it. And we must marvel that it ever happens at all, and commemorate it when it does.

JFK's presidency was associated with Camelot, and like Camelot, it only flickered briefly and ended in violence. In Camelot, a charismatic figure, Mordred, shows up, who plays to people's fears and prejudices and scoffs at all the civilized virtues. And now, in the Age of Trump, civilization seems to be falling apart once again, with people reverting to ignorance, vengeance, and savagery.

So let's remember the good times, such as they were, and have our children tell stories about the olden days when things didn't absolutely suck.