Camelot: The Medieval Love
Triangle
A Review by
Jane Haworth
Staff Writer
 Sitting
in audience at the unique Music Circus theatre I was transported
back in time to medieval England and the mythical kingdom of
Camelot. Audiences cannot help but become entangled in this fabled
love triangle, between King Arthur, Queen Guinevere and Sir
Lancelot. ‘Camelot’ opened on Broadway in 1960 with a star cast;
Richard Burton, Julie Andrews and Robert Goulet. It gained five
Tony Awards, many revivals, foreign productions and a film version
in 1967. The writers Alan Lerner and Moss Hart adapted the
screenplay ‘Once a Future King’ by T.H. White with Frederick Loewe
as musical composer. The journey was fraught with obstacles;
illness, lack of director, the first show in Toronto ran all night
and came under the wrath of the critics. With generous cutting and
a strong lead cast the advance sales for the first Broadway show
was record breaking.
Photo: Davis Gaines, Lisa O'Hare and
Sean Hayden in Camelot at Music Circus. Photo by Charr Crail
The story began with a meeting between King Arthur and his
bride-to-be Guinevere who, after an unlikely introduction, fell in
love and married. Arthur set up his “round table” as a new order of
chivalry for the kingdoms knights. During a duel Lancelot fatally
wounds a knight then miraculously brings him back to life, wining
Guinevere's affections. Rumors spread of the couple’s devotion.
When caught alone together, a situation set-up by Mordred, Arthur’s
illegitimate son, they are arrested for treason. The morning of her
execution Arthur is conflicted and eventually decides to let
Lancelot and Guinevere escape together. Finally meeting a young boy
with desires to be a knight Arthur is inspired and tells him to
spread the story of the glories of Camelot.
Arthur, excellently portrayed by Davies Gaines, as a gentle, mild
mannered king, who favors settling disputes with talk rather than
bloodshed. Davies previously played The Phantom in Andrew Lloyd
Webbers ‘Phantom of the Opera’ in over 2,000 performances. He has
appeared in many on and off-Broadway productions and can be heard
in over 30 cast recordings.
Lisa O’Hare who plays Guinevere, now resides in Los Angeles after a
move from her native England was perfectly suited for this role.
Her work credits include Eliza Doolittle in ‘My Fair Lady’, title
roles in both ‘Mary Poppins’ and ‘Gigi’. Her English poise, vocals
and sound reminded me so much of Julie Andrews, who originally
played the role. Sean Hayden played Lancelot du Lac. His portrayal
of the gallant French knight was a little hindered by his adopted
French accent that I found distracting to the dialogue and
storyline.
My favorite actor was Time Winters in his interpretation of the two
characters Merlyn and Pellinore. I could imagine he was taken right
off the set of Monty Python. As Merlyn, he was magical in his
raggedy garb and dreadlocked hair. His representation of Pellinore,
Arthur’s old childhood friend, brought a much-needed comic role to
the performance. His interpretation of a dizzy, old knight added a
lighter touch after many long, soliloquies.
The ensemble did a wonderful job in their role as the medieval
townsfolk. The scene set in a park in Camelot when the ensemble
sang and danced ‘The Lusty Month of May’ with Guinevere, was a
highlight. My other favorite songs were; “The Simple Joys of
Maidenhood” sung by Guinevere, “How to Handle a Woman” sung by
Arthur, “What Do the Simple Folk Do?” a duet with Arthur and
Guinevere and “Take Me to the Fair” by Guinevere, and knights Sir
Dinadan, Sir Sagramore and Sir Leonold.
I took both of my teenage daughters to see Camelot, and although
they both enjoyed the experience, one was a little disappointed
when she realized it wasn’t “Spamalot” she was going to see! She
also blamed jet lag as the cause for her eyes closing towards the
end of the show! Although the show is for theater-goers eight and
up I would not recommend it for a younger audience as their boredom
threshold might not hold up for this two and a half hour
production. Camelot runs until Sunday, August 7, 2011.
Performances
still to come this summer at California’s Musical Theatre, Music
Circus at the Wells Fargo Pavilion located on H St. downtown,
Sacramento are: Irving Berlin’s ‘Annie Get Your Gun’ August
9-14th, ‘I Do! I Do!’ August 16-21st, closing with Miss
Saigon between August 23- 28th. Tickets are available at
http://tickets.com or the pavilion
box office 916 557-1999.
Single tickets range from $42 - $59
and are available at Wells Fargo Pavilion Box Office, 1419 H
Street, Sacramento, CA 95814, phone (916) 557-1999 or at
http://Tickets.com More
information can be found on the web at
www.californiamusicaltheatre.com
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